Overdrive is actually a "taller" gear, that is a numerically lower ratio.
When the trans. is in overdrive, the driveshaft is actually turning faster
than the engine is rotating - hence, the driveshaft is "overdriven". When you
take it out of overdrive, the transmission functions like a "regular" 3-speed
automatic transmission, with the final drive ratio (3rd gear), being a 1 to 1
ratio. When the O/D is on, I believe that it is a 0.69 to 1 ratio. That is,
for every time the engine rotates 0.69 times, the driveshaft rotates 1 time.
This allows the engine to turn less rpms for a given speed.
Hope this helps.
Steve.
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