Ordered My USGear OD today!

[LarryB]

Well I can stand it no longer. I ordered a USGear overdrive today. I'm tired of 2100rpm at 65 and a measley 14mpg pulling 17,000lbs. I'm hoping for 1mpg better. Id'e like to see 15 loaded. It will be nice to use 4th/over for pulling those tall hills too. Next month We are going to Mesa AZ for a visit and only pulling the Rabbit flat so I'm hopeing for 17-18 then. It gets 18 empty with 4. 11s so the od should help.



I 'm so excited!Oo. A new toy!Oo.

 

[Turbo Thom]

Larry:

If you like yours as well as I do , you will be in love again. I use mine all the time, empty as well as loaded. When shifing I can keep the rpm's in a 400 range. That's close. I never lose the power band. Remember to shift it under load, up or down. Also never put over 1 qt. of lub in it. 32 ozs is all. More than that and it will heat up. I ran mine like the transmission, full, and burned it up. Blew all the lub out the overflow.



Good luck with it.



. . Preston. .

 

[Utah Willie]

Ordered my USGear OD

I love mine! I too use mine loaded or empty. With the five speed and 3. 54s, I usually tow in 4th over. That keeps the strain off the fifth gear and allows an easy down-shift on a slight grade. I have also been known to split the gears on ramps with the 14K Alfa in tow. It works wonderfully. I chose US Gear because of two things..... they were the only one to answer my inquiries and they are the only one that allows full use of 4WD. Unloaded, at highway speeds, I run 1500 RPM at 60, which means 2000 at 75 and 2500 at 90... ... . Just don't get freaked by the THUD of the shift every now and then. .

 

[LarryB]

Thanks Preston

Is there a spot for a temp sender? I'll be putting a triple throw switch on my transmission temp gauge so I can read transmission, aux and rear axel.

Oo.



Willie, thanks for your input. I've got many miles, years ago, in my old Corn Binder driving a 5 and 2sp rear. I seem to remember that thing would clunk a bit too if you mis timed the throttle and/or clutch. I've worked out a pretty extensive spread sheet showing all the gear spacing, speeds and rpm. Looks like 4th over and 5th are close to redundant. 4th over for pulling it is.

 

[DRR-24V]

LarryB

Can you still use your exhaust brake with that? I read somewhere you could'nt.

 

[LarryB]

DRR-24V

I think that's the Gear Vendors 2speed your thinking of. I'm gonna double check right now. I think Gear Vendors says not to but US Gear says it is OK. In fact US Gear makes an exhaust brake. Mmmm...

 

[Turbo Thom]

DRR:

Don't worry about the brake. NO problem. Use it any time.



Larry;

There is not a temp. location the I know of but what I'm going to try is fit an adapter in the filler hole and install a prob there. We'll see. My rear temps are steady at 155 and the transmission at 160. I guess the od is right at the same.



. . Preston. .

 

[LarryB]

Preston



Do you notice a rise in rear/transmission temps when pulling? Mine will both rise to as high as 230 when pulling hard in the mountains. Looks like I may have a little more torque going through mine though. What gear oil are you running?



Thanks for all your input,

Larry

 

[Turbo Thom]

Well Larry:

I use that god awful Series 2000. Been in there about 40K and time to change.



I towed 14K yesterday and the rear got to 185 degrados. That was not in the mountians but some hills. Steady at 65 mph I think that temp in your rear end is too hot. The lub in my rear end is same blue color it was when I put it in. O' yeah, I am runnin the Mag-Hytec cover. That makes some difference. Don't know what, though.



That help you a little?



. . Preston. .

 

[LarryB]

Yea it does, thanks.

Mmm. . I have the Mag Hytec too. LE oil. Since both my rear and transmission are running hot I wonder if maybe my gauge is inaccurate. Guess I'll have to drop a sender in boiling water and see if it reads 212'f.



I am making around 750ft/lbs of torque. That probably doesn't help.

 

[trbotrk]

I am thinking of putting a US gear unit on my truck to help with the gear splits from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4. Ialso want to tow in 4 over to take the strain off of fifth gear. What are the choices of gear ratios. Can anyone tell me what the MPH will be at 2500RPM in third over with a 3. 55 rear end. who has the best prices on these units. TIA

 

[Turbo Thom]

trbotrk:

Assuming you have a 5 speed, I have never checked 3 over at 2500. That's beyond my shift point. at 2000rpm I read , in 4th over, 60 mph. 5th gear at 2000 , it's 67. 5th over at 2000 I'm at 80. I do run the 235 tires so that probably makes some difference. I always try to shift at 2400 with a load . Then when I shift into overdrive I drop about 400-450 rpm. That keep me around 1800 at the lowest.



This should help you a little.



. . Preston. .

 

[trbotrk]

TRBO THOM--- Thanks for the reply. I have the 24 valve engine with 3. 54 rear end gears so the RPM and MPH on my truck may be different. But I was glad to hear a drop of 500 RPM with the overdrive. Are these units ordered with a choice gearing or they all the same. TIA

 

[CRegal]

Check out their site. It should answer most of your q's. It is normaly a 20% over or under ratio. One of the sites actually has a ratio comparison to the differnt transmissions.



http://www.gearvendors.com/

http://www.usgear.com



Cole

 

[Turbo Thom]

Trbotrk:

All are the same in gearing. They have one over drive and one under drive. The over driver are the same and the under drives are the same...



. . Preston. .

 

[LarryB]

Preston

A 3K gov spring kit would make yours much easier to drive. Mine has no problem at all with rpm drop between gears as it pulls hard 1500 to 3000+. The reason I bought the USGear was for the double over and the ability to pull hard in 4th over instead of 5th. With my 4:11 rear gears I want the 1700rpm cruising revs. Probably would have been less money to change rear gears to 3:55 and put in a full splined shaft for 5th gear pulling. Oh well, now I have another gizmo to play with when traveling.

 

[trbotrk]

Thanks for your help TURBO THOM and C REGAL. I looked at those sites and the ratios seem right for me. Now I need to find a unit at a good price. I recall someone selling reconditioned units at about half price. I'll see if I can find that old thread.

 

[juicedcummins]

Does the US gear have a pile of wires and relays like their brakes!

354's and box=less gears to shift!

 

[LarryB]

For the standard transmission:



-power wire

-ground wire

-two wires to gearbox

-two wires to shifter switch



That's it!



Just finished mine, pick up driveline tomorrow. Actually a very easy install. Worst part is the guys at the driveline shop say my driveline welds are torque stressed after 6000mi. Asked me how much torque I am running through it. U-joints showing signs of being overtorqued too. Can't go to larger driveline because nobody makes a yoke for the USGear that uses the larger u-joints. Guess I'll have to lighten up on the power when pulling.

 

[juicedcummins]

Glad to hear they left the wiring simple.