Overdrive unit question

I came across a DNE2 overdrive near me and I have some questions about it. I’ve been able to find a few helpful things about it on here. I haven’t got a chance to look at it yet, but the seller said it came off an ‘01 superduty, and that it has a yoke for a u-joint on each end. Also, it comes with the cross member to mount it. My first question is, how can I tell if it’s any good? What tends to break on these that I need to watch out for? Question 2, are they very fixable if it is torn up in some way? Question 3, what kind of prices do these go for? I can find some info about them online but prices are harder to find. And last question, what else would I need to make it work for me? I’m assuming a new/modified drive shaft. I also assume I could only use it in 2wd. My truck is an ‘86 f250 6.9L NA reg cab long bed 4wd T19

That's an odd one with a ujoint yoke on each end. That does make it very universal so you can use it behind any tranny. My first question is, is it a DNE2 for sure or is it the newer US Gear version? Both were similar, but the US Gear version had finer teeth inside and a higher torque rating. Also the DNE2 used an old Eaton 2sp rear shift motor and switch where as the US Gear had a box that would energize the motor for a certain number of seconds. Only issue with the old setup is sometimes the plastic switch in the box would break causing the motor to continue to run and eventually burn up. Luckily though the shift motors and switch are available yet when looked up for an early eaton 2sp rear. Also many of the replacement switches are more robust so they should be better. They are very durable units as long as you keep oil in them. If you have any internal issues though, just remember these are no longer supported by US Gear. Also one last thing, they were available as an overdrive or underdrive so just make sure you are getting the one you want.

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Thanks! I'll hopefully take a look at it on Thursday. In the pictures it looks like the electric controller says DNE2 on it. The seller was pretty positive that it was an overdrive and not an underdrive. He's never run it personally though. Is there any kind of markings that would tell me either way?

No external markings that I know of. They used the same case with different guts. If it has the 2 motor wires hook fast to the cover plate then it is the older DNE2 electrical setup. If the wires come out of the shift motor then it is the newer US Gear version. Also just fyi, the motor faces to the rear of the vehicle so you know which is the input and output. Hopefully someone left it in od or ud so that you can spin the shafts and see if its an overdrive or underdrive. Believe it or not the underdrives are pretty common.

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Anybody got an idea of what it's worth? It's in 1:1 ratio right now, so I can't tell if it's O/D or U/D. Also, here are some pictures of the yokes on each end. Any reason these wouldn't work?

does it have wire connections on the side cover......or two pin connector at back of motor.

the later style has the connector on the motor, and requires a control box to run it...….and very few of those boxes still work.

There are these two wires on the side. I don't remember any connections on the back of the motor, and you can't see all of the motor from the picture I put in the previous post of the output yoke.

I would probably be getting nervous about it after seeing that the yoke in the top picture seems to be welded on. You won't be replacing that one!

What sort of mileage increase do you hope to see with this unit. Sounds like you and I have the same set up with the exception mine is a f350. I am very interested to see how this works out for you and may attempt this myself based on your results.

It's hard to say on price without knowing if its OD or UD. It should shift if you take a jump pack and power one of the wires while grounding to the case. If it does nothing then move power to the other pin. That will make it shift if it is working properly. Also on a side note that yoke may have been welded on from the factory since it's a divorced unit. That should unbolt and slide out when you remove the 6 bolts holding the adapter plate fast. This is just an assumption though since I've never really seen a divorced unit in person before.

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Next time I’m there, I’ll see if I can’t get the motor to shift it like it’s supposed to. If it turns out to be U/D, it’s not worth much to me. But if it’s O/D, then that’s a different story. I’m still trying to figure out what it might be worth as an overdrive.

When looking at it, I was under the impression that it would unbolt the way tjsea said.

As far as mpg increases go, I haven’t given it that much thought. I mostly would like a gear in between 3rd and 4th. When I’m pulling my mill (only about 4K lbs) up hills, I’m either lugging in 4th or winding it up in 3rd.

If you are wanting to split 3rd & 4th you may want to do some calculations. I have a T-19 with 3.55 gears in my 87 F250 and it’s a “close ratio” (4:1 1st). My calcs with 80% overdrive (GearVendor ratio) I found 3rd Over was very similar to 4th so no real benefit. Ford did have a “wide ratio” T-19 (5:1 1st) but don’t think common after about ‘85. With a wide ratio, the splits between 2nd & 3rd and 3rd & 4th are pretty even. Just thought you may want to ponder that aspect.

I have a US gear overdrive and ran it years behind my T-19 and now have it behind my ZF-5. I like it a lot for splitting gears when pulling heavy. It's noisy though. i used it a lot for overdrive with my T-19.

That unit wouldn't be worth much to me as they are not easy to get parts for. I've had my US gear since around 2000. If it ever has issues I'll have to remove it.

tjsea said:

That's an odd one with a ujoint yoke on each end.

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IDIBRONCO said:

I would probably be getting nervous about it after seeing that the yoke in the top picture seems to be welded on. You won't be replacing that one!

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You think that's a standard offering? Or somebody got creative converting a married one?

u2slow said:

You think that's a standard offering? Or somebody got creative converting a married one?

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I would guess that someone got creative (to be nice about it). It just doesn't seem like something that would be manufactured that way. There appears to be a seal behind the yoke that come off to the outside and there's definitely a snap ring behind that yoke. Even if you could unbolt the plate behind the yoke and remove the shaft that the yoke's welded to and then the seal and snap ring, it just doesn't seem very feasible to go through all of the to replace a leaking seal. Especially one that comes off in the outside direction.