Overdrive choice.

[84 M1008]

700R4, or a Gear Vendors behind the TH400? I'm really leaning towards the Gear Vendors. I've heard the 700R4 doesn't hold up with the 6.2.

 

[Dutch Rutter]

After having my r4 behind the 350, and everything setup correctly I have come to like it. However, I cannot speak about one behind the 6.2. The 6.2 I had was backed by a th400 which proved unbreakable. by reading everything from here https://www.gearvendors.com/hrgm3s.html
The GV OD setup behind a th400 sounds great and I am sure it can and will hold up. Most likely better then a r4 will especially if the motor is built up and the trans gets abused or ran hard. That being said. The GV kit is pretty spendy. If price isn't a factor and I planned on keeping the truck forever then I'd jump on a GV OD setup.

Plus already having a TH400 makes it even that much more appealing, but I could see the possibility of needing custom drive lines made up.

 

[Blue Ox]

Having, if you'll pardon the expression, done it both ways I can state that it depends on the 700R4. I had a local performance shop build mine for heavy duty and it held up fine for over 100K miles. If the truck hadn't suffered an unfortunate fate it would probably still be going.

The GV behind the 400 lasted almost 200K before it fell out. It's been exchanged with Gear Vendors for a reman and still holding up just fine.

IIRC they have slightly different OD ratios so you'd need to look at your gearing too. Also consider that the 700 transfer case will not interchange with the 400.

If you're serious about considering it we're a Gear Vendors dealer. Look and see which one you want and I'll see what kind of number they throw at me.

 

[idahovette]

Oh man, Derek bad choice of phrases . This could go south in a heartbeat. LOL

 

[84 M1008]

Thanks Dutch, I've weighed the pros and cons of of each and I fully agree that the TH400 with the GV is the way to go. I had an R4 in my 86 M1031, but I didn't put enough miles on it to make a judgment on its longevity. The GV is actually less expensive than the R4. A super duty R4 will set you back $3200 buckaroos as compared to 3K GV. I was very close to ordering an R4 last week, but wanted some input on the GV before I did anything .

 

[Blue Ox]

Oh man, Derek bad choice of phrases . This could go south in a heartbeat. LOL

And you know who's going to do it too.

I did say pardon the expression. Probably wasn't enough.

 

[idahovette]

Only Trump can give pardons

 

[Blue Ox]

Only Trump can give pardons

But we have so much in common. We're.both from New York and we have the same job title and initials. That's got to grant me some special authority.



Right?

 

[HotRodPC]

First question is, what's the budget? Gear Vendor is very expensive.

Gear Vendor of those options is the one to go with and you also get the advantage of underdrive too with most units.

However, by the time you build a 700r4 that may only last 8 months to a year depending on who builds it, the cost how often you drive the truck and what you use it for, usually for 2 700r4 builds you can do the Gear Vendor unit or a 4L80-E unit with stand alone controller and put it to bed for years and many miles.

Blue Ox should knock on wood having a Rebuilt 700r4 go for over 100K, not that it don't happen, but it's not all that common from what I hear. You can throw all the upgrades you want at a 700r4 and spend almost as much to buy and build a 4L80-E (Not including the controller) but it's still a 700r4.

I'm keeping my eye out for a cheap 4L80-E core atm. Not likely I'll be able to afford the controller unless I find one out of 93ish diesel truck since those are factory stand alone controllers, but I'll have to go with a full manual which doesn't bother me at all.

 

[Dutch Rutter]

@84 M1008 No problem at all. Completely makes sense to me! but then again I haven't looked into the 4L80E swap that HRPC mentioned very much. Sounds like a decent option as well. I'm guessing the 4L80e would take the place of a 700r4 easier. While adding the GV kit to an existing TH400 truck would be pretty straight forward.

 

[84 M1008]

That's what I was thinking Dutch. The GV is far less labor intensive, and I wouldn't have to get a 27 spline TC. Been there done that with my M1031.

 

[Blue Ox]

Blue Ox should knock on wood having a Rebuilt 700r4 go for over 100K, not that it don't happen, but it's not all that common from what I hear.

Behind a turbocharged 6.2 and with a stint towing a 7000 lb racecar trailer. But the qualifier is it was built by a shop that did nothing but performance transmissions. It wasn't the local AAMCO.

But I agree, the Gear Vendors is probably the easiest retrofit, and likely to be the cheapest in the long run.