O/D On or Off?
Junior User
Joined: Nov 2006
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Originally Posted by Chris1450
an over drive IS an extra gear. 4th gear is over drive. If your going slow on the trail, turning it off will do nothing. If your pulling a load, it will help the engine and tranny work less hard. if you want a burst of speed, mash the loud peddle. It will shift down for you. Go by what they say to do in the owners manual.
the OD in these auto transmissions isn't a 4th/5th gear; it effects every gear.
Turning OD off will give you a lower drive ratio for each gear you are in, that is why some of us turn it off for a 'burst of speed;' it raises the drive ratio and gives us more power . . .
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Originally Posted by abah
Is it harmful to turn o/d off while your going say 60 to 70 mph?
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Originally Posted by Chris1450
No, 4th gear is od. It does not affect the other gears. Read up on it.
Senior User
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From: buckley WA
If that is true, then it is a converter lock up feature not an overdrive. Then it would make sense to turn it off in many of the situations mentioned....over drive means nothing more than the drive shaft comming out of the transmision tail shaft is turning faster than the engine. The other three gears the engine is turning faster than the drive shaft.cars without over drive in top gear are turning the engine and drive shaft the same speed in top gear, 1:1
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Manually locking out OD (electronically) also locks out the torque converter lock, something you might notice in another gear at constant speed, but otherwise, OD is just one more gear set with a ratio of less than 1:1 (direct drive).
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From: SE Georgia
When to have O/D on: anytime your driving normally
When to have O/D off: towing in hills, towing extremely heavy trailers, hauling very heavy loads, going down steep inclines, icy/slippery weather.
as Cub129 said, OD only affects the torque converter lock-up. It has nothing to do with gears 1,2,3. And OD is a true 4th gear.
When to have O/D off: towing in hills, towing extremely heavy trailers, hauling very heavy loads, going down steep inclines, icy/slippery weather.
as Cub129 said, OD only affects the torque converter lock-up. It has nothing to do with gears 1,2,3. And OD is a true 4th gear.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2005
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From: Southern New England
Originally Posted by Chris1450
I know some vehicles have the feature to turn the OD on when necessary rather than off when not needed. I'm wondering if there is a way to have the OD off when the truck starts, because I drive most of the time around town and leave OD off.
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why not leave it on? it's not hurting a thing driving around town. Let the auto be an auto
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why not leave it on? it's not hurting a thing driving around town. Let the auto be an auto
I own a SCab, 8' box HD F150 with 4.10 gears. I've found that when leaving the OD on while normal around town driving, the gas mileage declines and the engine performance (lugging out of power range) is poor. Compared to using the OD only for over 60 mph driving. mpg's are up and so is performance.
Last edited by 2Fords1Jeep; Dec 5, 2006 at 07:30 PM.
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From: Marion, VA
Originally Posted by 2Fords1Jeep
I own a SCab, 8' box HD F150 with 4.10 gears. I've found that when leaving the OD on while normal around town driving, the gas mileage declines and the engine performance (lugging out of power range) is poor. Compared to using the OD only for over 60 mph driving. mpg's are up and so is performance.
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From: buckley WA
Park Avenue all have OD and none of them shifts into OD unless I am going between 40 and 45 MPH. What good does it do to lock it out in town when you are going no faster than that?
____________
Thats all true, but if the od off function prevents torque converter lock up also, then it would make a big difference in other gears. I guess that is the million dollar question
____________
Thats all true, but if the od off function prevents torque converter lock up also, then it would make a big difference in other gears. I guess that is the million dollar question
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Joined: May 2006
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The cops around here are somewhat sneaky and, while I do not "fracture" the speed limit by a large margin, I will hit the button to slow down without lighting up the brakelights. So far I have been lucky but I'm guessing there is no foul to the drivetrain.
More Turbo
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Groton, MA
The town I live in is very hilly and you can drive near the 3 -4 shift point in most of it, so I shut OD off to prevent hunting (constantly shifting in and out of 4th). Other than that I leave OD on.
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