I'm supposed to pick up a 1984 F350 next weekend, the guy I'm buying it from told me that it needs transmission fluid occasionally and that sometimes it won't go into reverse until you drive forward a few inches. Rather than deal with rebuilding the stock transmission in the truck I was just going to replace it. I was reading some threads around the site and have seen multiple people mention Gear Vendor, I looked it up to see how much they want for their transmissions. A little bit of sticker shot later, I'm back on the forums asking a few questions since I can't find a thread explaining the reasons I'd want to spend that much money on a transmission. I can get a remanufactured stock transmission from Auto Zone for $1k, while the Gear Vendor costs 3x's that. Why is it so much more expensive and is it worth it? I plan on driving this truck pretty much as it sits for the next two years while I'm in school then it's going to become the project truck once I get done with school and start working. Solid front axle and either a 7.3 or a Cummins swap, I'll decide when I'm closer to actually having the money to do the swap.

 

1 this is the 87-97 forum. If you need info about an 84, ask here

1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

2 the overdrive has a ton of benefits but if your gonna yank it out in a couple of years I wouldn't fork over that much cash for one of them.

3 if you do a cummins swap, build threads are always appreciated. If you do one, send me a link

 

gear vendors is not a transmission, it is an aftermarket overdrive/undrerdrive unit bolted to the tailshaft of your existing transmission.

 

X2....the gear vendors product is an add-on to a working transmission. For ~$3k you get this:

 

Heck for that kind of money, buy an allison trans. with a bellhousing adapter.

 

1) Sorry for the wrong forum, it was late and I hadn't slept.
2) For the amount of highway driving this truck will see I think I'm just going to stick with the stock transmission.
3) It'll be a while before I'm ready to do anything major, but I'll probably start a build thread just to show the over all long time evolution of the truck.

Thanks for all the info, guys