[A/S] Re: GV vs. US Gear

[Neal Warren <uncleneal@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I had an '86 345 Motorhome that had a Gear Vendors overdrive in it when I
bought it used.   Never had any trouble out of the GV, it was a lot tougher
than the TH400 trans that I had to replace.  I pulled a Z71 pickup with it,
so the total weight was somewhere around 21,000 pounds.  The gear splitting
was nice for accelerating and pulling hills.  I don't think it helped the
gas mileage, tho.  It got about 6 mpg. The '83 310 that I had before it got
about 8 with no overdrive.  Both had 454's, both pulling the same pickup on
the same route.

The US gear has the advantage of being able to be set up as an underdrive,
and some say it is stronger than the GV.   If you have a GM with the 4L80E
trans, you can get a valve body for it that will allow you to switch the od
on and off between gears, much like a GV with a TH400, plus you have the
lockup torque converter.

Neal