Re: some general questions about my 1998

From: Jared Kaplan (blizzard@gis.net)
Date: Sun Apr 15 2001 - 13:30:38 EDT


I have a 1994 and it seems like the shift points are slightly different
when the o/d is off but then again things can easily change in 4 years. O/D
Should also be shut off when driving in hilly terrain because as Andy
mentioned the acceleration down right sucks with o/d on and also as I found
out a few days ago, driving on some country roads where the speed limit is
45 or 50 you're likely to go in and out of o/d like crazy with all of the
turns you need to slow down for. O/D seems to kick in at 47 or 48 on my
truck so those speed limits (when followed) can be annoying. Of course if
you ever get into a steet race with someone also, you'll probably want to
turn it off and depending on how fast you end up going, perhaps shifting it
back on after reaching higher speeds to save the engine some work :)

Jared
94 Sport V6, 3.9L, Auto, K&N, Mobil 1.

<<
OD is a super-high gear to optimize gas mileage. On a '98 Dak with an
auto, it's 0.75:1. That is, for every 1 revolution of the driveshaft,
the engine only went through 3/4 of a revolution. Acceleration
absolutely sucks in this gear.
As for your observation, it's possible that either you're being left in
a higher gear when you come to a stop when you drive around in OD. I
think (but can't confirm) the shift points are slightly different if you
have the OD off vs. on.
You're supposed to leave it on b/c the transmission is (allegedly) smart
enough to figure things out on its own. If you're doing a lot of speed
changes (city driving) or towing a load, leave OD off. In the city
driving situation, leaving it on can cause the tranny to shift a lot
more, increasing the temperature and causing extra wear. For towing, OD
will pull the engine well down out of the torque band, which could put
you in a very bad spot, as well as the heat issues. I think my father
only puts his OD on when he's pulling his 27' travel trailer on long
flat stretches (we're talking Nebraska flat).
>>



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