Gear Vendor Overdrive

[kscheffler]

Geoff

You must not have the 4wd safety disengage system hooked up on the GV. You should I did diseable my exhaust brake disengage system I would rather manage that myself since it is not as severe.

 

[bpenrod]

I have been looking into a switch that would survive under the truck to hook it up. I think the switch I have for the exhaust brake clutch switch might work. One of these days I'll order one and try to rig it up!

 

[bpenrod]

I should have mentioned, I have a manual t-case lever and GV has no hook up for that. Why did you need to disable the exhaust brake lock out? My controller has a port for the 4X4 lockout. I think it looks for ground when normal and open in 4X4.

 

[kscheffler]

I have a 2001 which has a front axle CAD. The GV taps into the CAD to sense 4wd. Since you do not have a CAD I don't know how the GV whould determine if you are going into 4wd. I also have a Bob V 2wd kit which does not allow the 4wd to work after I pull the manual tranfer case shift. As soon as you pull the transfer case lever the GV is taken out of service. THe 2wd low kit just provides another safety mechanism; e. g. I have to pull the transfer case lever and then pull up on the 2wd switch to engage 4wd by then the GV is long been taken out of service.



I did not want the exhaust brake to automatically take out the GV. It is so shock to the drive system when the GV kicks out by the exhaust brake I think it is better to have the GV take some retarding in lieu of the shock load. It is pretty easy to manage all you have to do is take a look to make sure you are not in OD before you flip the exhaust on.

 

[GeoffParker]

GV Fixed (I hope)

Well after 2 trips to Camping World they think they found the problem... ... A connector on the back of the dash box was faulty... ... They replaced the connector and since then no problems.



Gear Vendor worked with Camping World to find the fix and it appears they did..... That is a credit to the support Gear Vendor offers.



PS Just bought a Bullydog Powerpup downloader and used it for the first time tonight... ... Love that power! :-laf

 

[Mundgyver]

Now that you have it running correctly, you need to let us know how your mileage goes.

 

[Jeremiah]

GV for performance or economy?

I considered buying the GV for reasons of economy. Then I did the arithmetic and discovered how many years it would take me to get my money back. My conclusion: unless you have money to spend, buy it for whatever performance it might give and forget the economy.

 

[GeoffParker]

I would agree to buy it for reasons other than economy... ... I did buy sooner rather than later so the GV unit could start to pay for itself... ... As I previously mentioned I bought way too soon as I should have done the research to determine if the GV would do what I hoped it would... ... I didn't do that research and as a result the GV unit will take far more time to pay for itself as I can't benefit from the better fuel economy with most of the driving I do today.

 

[JJ Jackson]

The GV unit can co-exist with an exhaust brake... ... You just aren't supposed to use the exhaust brake and be in overdrive at the same time... ...

Geoff

Hey Geoff sorry to hear you had a few problems. But guess what, it only gets worse.



GV will tell you that you should not use it when the exhaust brake is on, this is true, but the same clutches will exhibit wear no matter if the overdrive is on or off. There is no direct gear to gear drive in a GV. It is very strong when using forward gears but not so strong when in reverse or deceleration.



So anyone using the 2 low kit and backing a trailer up a hill, be forewarned, it is only a matter of time before it starts to slip.



Wait it gets worse, if you are in 4whl low in reverse and you try to back a trailer up a hill on pavement, if the worn clutches slip it will transfer all the power to the front tires momentarily while it slips, possibly damaging the transfer case or the front end.



I don't want people to think I am bashing the GV unit, I do love it for towing and freeway driving. BUT!!! it is not made to handle the abuse the Cummins can apply if you use an exhaust brake, have a heavy right foot or a 2 low kit.



It definitley works well as far as splitting 5th gear so I don't have to wear out the overdrive in the NV5600 when towing heavy. (Ever listen to the growl from the 6th gear under heavy load, 5th gear is direct drive, strongest gear).



So having said all that, I would say if I had it to do all over again, I probably would not buy one, but I sure would miss it if I took it out. I'll just have to learn to be nice to it



Good luck..... Jim

 

[kscheffler]

JJ Jackson

JJ: Isee you have 255/85/16 tires what rear gears do you have? I have a 4. 10 rear with a GV and I am considering going taller on the tires but I am wondering if I will still be able to operate the GV at 65 MPH with the taller tires and not be off the torque curve of the CTD.



You make a good point about the reverse with the 2wd low kit and I am going to have to take this into consideration when backing up loads which I seldom do so It will not be a big issue for me. Let me know how you like you 255's with the GV... thanks

 

[JJ Jackson]

JJ: Isee you have 255/85/16 tires what rear gears do you have? I have a 4. 10 rear with a GV and I am considering going taller on the tires but I am wondering if I will still be able to operate the GV at 65 MPH with the taller tires and not be off the torque curve of the CTD.

I have 3:55 gears, so it did lag a bit before I did the Comp and injectors. With your 4:10 gears you would do fine running empty. I don't think you would want to run 6th over when hauling heavy loads just because of the heat developed when pulling in double overdrive..... Jim