But service every 5k, it doesn’t see that in years and if left in gear below a certain speed you can damage has anyone had a bad experience with it?
I have a GVod.
But behind a Commando-speed.
I have mine set up for Gear-Splitting and so, I left the command module in the box.
The only trouble that I have had is forgetting to outshift it before backing up, which immediately killed it. This would not have happened had I been running the GV control unit.
If you leave it engaged and come to a stop, then take off again; chances are that it will keep enough pressure to not slip on take-off.
But, the unit will not hold pressure thru a stoplight. which means that it will slip on take-off for some distance, which varies with whatever rear gear has been installed. With 4.30s, it only takes a few feet to have adequate pressure.
I finally installed a couple of LEDS under my tach, a green one comes on, whenever the unit has been selected. A red one comes on if the trans is in reverse. Since then, I have had no more trouble.
But
I gotta tell ya Anthony, the buy-in is very steep, and gear-splitting a regular 904 is not worth the effort.
Knowing what I know now, I would not again go that route.
Your 4.10s tell me that you enjoy a spunky take off. and I'm assuming yur trying to get away from the hiway rpm. Am I right?
IMO, there are, or at least may be, better options for a whole lotta less money.
I want to show you something;
gears are just torque multipliers.
If you have a stock 2000 rpm type stall and say your engine puts out 300 ftlbs of torque at that rpm. Thru the 904 and thru the 4.10s this will put 300 x 2.45 x 4.10=3013.5 ftlbs into the rear axles. This is about what you are used to. and
65 =3445@ zero-slip
( From now on, all numbers will be calculated to zero-slip. Your tach may read 3>4% higher, perhaps as much as 5%)
But you can reconfigure this any way you want, and if it comes out to the same 3013.5 ftlbs it will take off exactly the same.
Say you had a trans with a 4.10 low gear and a rearend of 2.45, the new numbers would be:
300 x 4.10 x 2.45=3013.5.
Or say you modded your engine to get 330 ft lbs at Zero mph, and kept the 2.45 low gear. The rear gear to get 3013.5 would be;
3013.5/(2.45 x 330)= 3.73s;
and 65=3134@zero-slip.
Or say you got yourself an A999 with a 2.74 low gear, And the modded engine that makes 330#; the new numbers are;
3013.5/(330 x 2.74)= 3.33 gears.
and 65= 2800@ zero-slip
But say you dropped a 360 in there with a 2800Convertor and it makes 360ftlbs at 2800. the new numbers are;
3013.5/(360 x 2.74) =3.05s and
65=2560@zero-slip.
You see what I'm getting at?
Ok but, as you already know, your 318/904/4.10 combo has a killer first gear, and you know that you can sacrifice some of that; am I right?
Lets say you are willing to give up 10% of that which is ~300 ftlbs at the axles.
You have three good choices which are;
1) more Trans low gear or
2) less rear gear or
3) more torque. This choice comes with 3 possible solutions
a) a modified 318, or
b) a higher stall convertor or
c) a bigger engine.
Ok , I get that you are on a budget, so I'm not gonna recommend to mod the 318 .
And dropping in a JY 360LA is kindof a crapshoot,and a 5.9Magnum is getting pricey, so lets decide to keep the current 318.
But the 4.10s have to go.
And so does either; the A904 with it's lowly 2.45 low gear. OR
the 2000 stall convertor
So my suggestion is drop an A999 in there, with ratios of 2.74-1.54-1.00; which may already come with a 2400>2600 stall, and lets go with 3.23s and see what that gets us.
Now we are shooting for 2700Ftlbs into the rear axles, so
2700/(2.74 x 3.23)=305 ftlbs required, which, if you recall is very close to the 300 I started this exercise with, so no engine mods of any kind are required. And with the 3.23s and a Lock-Up,
65=2714. That's a drop of about 731rpm from 3445 with a modest 10% loss of Torque multiplication off the line.
The GVod would get you 3445 x .78=
65=2687, a drop of 760......
Your cost is;
an A999 core, A rebuild kit, a shift kit,
a set of 3.23gears, and a new speed-O gear
If you have an 8.75 you can swap them both around in less than a day.
>Ok to be fair, if you want the 3013.5ftlbs back, which is
3013/(2.74 x 3.23) =340 ftlbs in the engine, which is 40 more than the control engine. You can get some of that back with a mechanical-secondary carb, but better is a higher stall convertor.
>to be even more fair, the 200R4 has ratios of
2.78-1.57-1.00-.67od
This is very close to the A999 , but with 4.10s,
65mph=2308 @zero-slip
Your cost is;
the core and rebuiild kit, a shift kit, and probably a convertor,
an engine-adapter, a driveshaft, and a speedo-adapter,
>on the flipside
Even with a tired smog 360 short block, and the trans you now have;
2700/(2.45 x 3.23)= will require 341 crank ftlbs, which should be a breeze with whatever your current stall is.
Your cost is a 360 short, gaskets, and the 3.23s.
You can bolt your entire top end onto that 360, and in less that two days be having fun.
and
65=2714 @zero slip, which is close to the same as with the GVod with 4.10s, which was 2687@ zeroslip.
Finally, the torque numbers I chose to work with, might be a little optimistic; but because I used the same numbers thruout the exercise, it doesn't matter.