Let's talk Overdrives vs Gears

[LCAM-01XA]

Bart, keep in mind the Ranger box only works if you have a 4-speed manual transmission. The 5-speeds have the bellhousing (part that goes around the clutch and bolts to the engine block) cast as part of the transmission's case (main body that contain the gears and such), it's a one-piece design that cannot be separated like the 4-speeds can to insert the Ranger box between the two. Automatic transmissions are also one-piece, so same restriction applies

 

[Bart F-350]

Thanks, But I also have a '77 Dodge with a 318/435/div.205, and i called Advance Adapters today, and asked if there were any possibilities there?, he had to ask somebody, and when he came back he said that for a Dodge they hadn't sold such a thing in 20 years, so they were taken out of production.
strange, while they still sell something for a Ford 435???

Bart

 

[Mikey89014]

4.10 with e4od is way to go with a .7 od. 2000 rpm @70 with 33's

 

[riotwarrior]

4.10 with e4od is way to go with a .7 od. 2000 rpm @70 with 33's

Got 3.55 gears 255x85x16 tyres C6 and no od...2000k is bout 43-45 mph if lucky

Zf swap soom

 

[Pork_Chop50]

I am in a similar boat and for what it's worth I settled on doing a 3.73 ratio front and rear, as I won't have to change the carrier in either diff and my overall RPM's drop to 91% of where I am at with 4.10's. I am running an E4OD so my OD ratio is slightly better than a ZF-5, but again after looking through the options of maintaining pulling ability while reducing engine speed the 3.73's seem the most cost effective option. What I also like is that if that does not solve my dilemma, I can always swap back to 4.10's and then get a GV unit. I haven't done the swap, and it's in the forecast for a few years out depending on funding but I will be documenting heavily when I do.

I looked at all the same options listed in this thread and that's the best conclusion I came to.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Thanks, But I also have a '77 Dodge with a 318/435/div.205, and i called Advance Adapters today, and asked if there were any possibilities there?, he had to ask somebody, and when he came back he said that for a Dodge they hadn't sold such a thing in 20 years, so they were taken out of production.
strange, while they still sell something for a Ford 435???

Bart

Bart, the beauty of Ford transmissions and transfer cases is that as long as you have the bellhousing to match your engine you can run pretty much anything behind it. Case in point our IDI for a while had a setup that was never offered from the factory, ever - we pieced it together ourselves based on our particular needs. Gonna be the same again when I'm done screwing around with the ZFs, already have the custom t-case done. This flexibility makes Ford transmissions quite popular, not sure how Dodge does things but in my experience Dodge products have typically always been a paint in the ass one way or another. So it could be (and likely is) just a matter of supply and demand - more folks run the Ford transmissions and so Advance Adapters continue to offer the Ranger for them.

What works in your favor, however, is that you have a divorced transfer case. You can easily add an aftermarket OD unit to your 435, or you could use a 5-speed altogether, and it will not affect your 4x4 capabilities. This is my biggest beef with one of the popular aftermarket OD units, the stupid thing goes BEHIND the transfer case (in a married t-case setup) and thus is not only useless in 4x4 mode, but also requires complicated controls to ensure that it stays in the proper range while the t-case is being used for what it's supposed to be used. Your t-case being stand-alone, you don't have to deal with this mess, you can do pretty much whatever the heck you feel like with the transmission and worst case scenario you may have to move the 205 back a little and alter the driveshafts and shifter linkage rod accordingly.

 

[Bart F-350]

Correct! big positive about that, therefore when I knew that that setup came on the market (somebody I knew parted out and sold his truck) I didn't have to think 1 second about buying it! because over here about 90% of the Dodges running around are the M-880 series the US army left behind leaving Germany. that means 318/727/203.

Though about the aftermarked OD's, that leaves only one? to my knowledge? (gv)
and that one is so expensive, If I buy the Ranger, with shipping and import, I think I'm close to the price of a gv

you might have understood, here in France parts supply, new or graveyard, is difficult at least.

 

[Bart F-350]

anyone a hint?

 

[LCAM-01XA]

anyone a hint?

Bart, I think you're right on GearVendors being the only current aftermarket overdrive unit manufacturer. And quite frankly I don't see this changing any time soon - back 10 years ago when everything automatic was 4-speed there was a fairly stable market for add-on gearboxes, but nowadays trucks come with 8-speeds from the factory so as long as the PCM tunes are halfway decent (which they are) the trucks are much more pleasant to drive than the older 4-speed main with a 2-speed aux box setups. So pretty soon we'll be lucky to even have the GV available for the old "junk" we're driving...

An option you may want to look into would be an actual gear-driven auxiliary transmission. Some folks on here have successfully adapted 3-speed Brown-Lipe units from older large trucks, I'm sure something of that sort was used in European trucks as well and since it's a stand-alone transmission (very much like your divorced t-case) it really doesn't care what's in front of or behind it. That may be your best bet, get on some Scania/Volvo/Mercedes-Benz/Iveco/DAF/MAN online board and start asking questions.

 

[Bart F-350]

Thanks whatever your name is, that might be a very good Idea!

Bart