anybody used this trans?

[exfordman]

hey guys I was wondering if anybody has ever used gear vendors? how do you like them as a company, and has anybody ever tried their sm465 replacement trans? im looking at it mostly for the highway gears and using it for towing some, anybody ever used one? the trans is at the top of this page


edit: it looks like i was wrong its not a whole trans just a replacement for the tailhousing with an overdrive in it

[chevybuilder18]

Originally Posted by exfordman

hey guys I was wondering if anybody has ever used gear vendors? how do you like them as a company, and has anybody ever tried their sm465 replacement trans? im looking at it mostly for the highway gears and using it for towing some, anybody ever used one? the trans is at the top of this page


edit: it looks like i was wrong its not a whole trans just a replacement for the tailhousing with an overdrive in it

Gear vendors is great if you got the $$$$. theres alot of good talk about the automatic torque splitting each of 3 speeds, taking your TH350 or Th400 and turning it into a 6 speed. great for hauling, and very good gas milege with an OD on highway. Idk about the SM465 but there products are usually well recommended around hotrodders site

[chevybuilder18]

forgot to add the tail housing does this to your trans. all you need to do is install it.

[bilfman]

Gear vendors are pricy but are a great quality item. As an after market overdrive they are hard to beat. They can shift on the fly at any rpm and are durable enough for a pullin truck. It is hard to find anything negative about a gear vendor, other than the price.

[chevybuilder18]

Originally Posted by bilfman

Gear vendors are pricy but are a great quality item. As an after market overdrive they are hard to beat. They can shift on the fly at any rpm and are durable enough for a pullin truck. It is hard to find anything negative about a gear vendor, other than the price.

Right!

[Edahall]

For my Suburban, I'm running a Gear Vendors behind a NV5600 6 speed manual transmission. The gear splitting is extremely nice when towing heavy loads. I don't know if it'll ever pay for itself but it's definitely a nice product.

[Pyrotechnic]

For the SM465, I would go with a Ranger OD unit from Advance Adapters. A fraction of the price of the gear vendors. http://www.advanceadapters.com/tech-...ger-overdrive/

The less money you spend to save gas, the more money you'll save in gas! You really have to do the math on whether a fuel saving device is going to pay off in the long run. The gear vendors unit is cool, but with the near $3000 price tag...I'll pass. I just don't drive my truck enough miles every year to justify it.

[chevybuilder18]

Originally Posted by Edahall

For my Suburban, I'm running a Gear Vendors behind a NV5600 6 speed manual transmission. The gear splitting is extremely nice when towing heavy loads. I don't know if it'll ever pay for itself but it's definitely a nice product.

thats alot of gears

[exfordman]

wow i like that ranger unit from advance adapters, only downside over the gear vendors unit i can see is that the ranger unit uses a stick instead of a thumb switch... but with 1/2 the price i think ill be able to get over it quite quickly

[chevybuilder18]

Originally Posted by exfordman

wow i like that ranger unit from advance adapters, only downside over the gear vendors unit i can see is that the ranger unit uses a stick instead of a thumb switch... but with 1/2 the price i think ill be able to get over it quite quickly

They make a manual gear splitter for half the price. Its my dream come true

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Yah and your driveline angle doesn't get screwed royaly either which is a plusas well
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[andrewmp6]

With a stick its all mechanical nothing electronic in it that could go wrong.I'm not knocking gear vendors but i like everything simple less stuff can go wrong that way.If you really want the gear vendors find one used people do sell them here and there.

[Pyrotechnic]

Only thing about buying a used gear vendors is to make sure it has the correct adapter for the transmission you are using. Gear vendors is very protective about their adapters. If you need a different one, they expect the old one in return plus cash, and if you need to buy one outright, then the price starts to multiply.

The reason is, the gear vendors is actually the british laycock overdrive. Used in many vehicles over the years, even in some Volvo's over the years before gear vendors bought the design though they aren't all the same size. The point is, they are the only company that makes the adapters for american transmissions. It is not in their best interest for you to find a used unit and get an adapter for cheap to get around the prices they charge.

Smart business practices for sure, but not good for those wanting to save gas on the cheap.

[chevybuilder18]

You know these things are fairly simple. its only two gears put in to split each gear, if you could split a gear 3 ways.... then your talking

[gchemist]

New auto transmissions are 6 or 8 speeds!! V-6 are efficient with so many extra gears. If I had extra money to blow, I would install 4.11 years with a 700R4 and gear splitter. Now that would be fun for donuts and strip!!

[bk2life]

awesome, awesome, awesome.

price? not so awesome..

[Firebirdjones]

I have one for my 79 1 ton. Running the 400 turbo and 3.73's has actually been just fine, even for the cross country trips and towing, but I wanted to drop the cruise rpm slightly.

What attracted me was the fact that I can turn this thing on while towing a 10,000 lbs trailer and drop the cruise rpm. All the overdrive transmissions I checked into don't want you to tow in overdrive, so they lose their appeal (for me anyway) That alone made the Gear Vendor the choice for me.

The other attraction that sold me was the fact that now my 400 is a 6 speed. Very nice when pulling the trailer and leaving the stop lights getting up to speed. Much less strain on the engine with very minimal rpm drop.

It's a win win in my opinion, I'll gladly pay the price.

Swapping in a 4L80E wasn't any cheaper, (priced nearly the same when all said and done) and that's the only overdrive I'd even consider for a rig like mine. For the same price I'd still only have 3 gears to get up to speed, and most shops told me I shouldn't tow in overdrive anyway, so that killed the 4L80 idea for me.

[86c20]

if you have a sm465 think about a brownie box lot of is diesel guys us them. gives you a underdrive of 2;1 then 1;1 and then over of either .78 or .62 i think. when i do my change to a detroit i will be doing this also,

[Rubble]

Not trying to be a smarts$$, but why would you need the gear vendor unit behind a 6 speed tranny in a sub??? What possible weight are you puling to need that many gears?? Like I said,just more curious than anything....
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[chevybuilder18]

These gear vendors also garentee the 800 Hp plus lifetime garentee. i dont think advanced adapters do this? the thing about gear vendors is there prices are good for what you get... plain and simple. does anything for any app. this advanced adapters sm465 with an extra stick saddens me. thought it was a manual type gear vendor instead its and 80 pound aluminum transmission unit that doesnt sound real heavy duty.

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by chevybuilder18

These gear vendors also garentee the 800 Hp plus lifetime garentee. i dont think advanced adapters do this? the thing about gear vendors is there prices are good for what you get... plain and simple. does anything for any app. this advanced adapters sm465 with an extra stick saddens me. thought it was a manual type gear vendor instead its and 80 pound aluminum transmission unit that doesnt sound real heavy duty.

Yeah the Ranger unit is no Gear Vendor, that's for sure. It's not nearly as robust. Wouldn't work for my needs anyway. Although some use it and like it, it's cheap enough if you don't mind an extra stick.

Biggest issue though is that it mounts between the bellhousing and the SM465, so the whole trans moves backwards,,,yuk!!

Don't know about you guys but my arms aren't long enough to reach a shifter behind the seat Doesn't sound like a good idea if you have a bench seat either....

[chevybuilder18]

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

Yeah the Ranger unit is no Gear Vendor, that's for sure. It's not nearly as robust. Wouldn't work for my needs anyway. Although some use it and like it, it's cheap enough if you don't mind an extra stick.

Biggest issue though is that it mounts between the bellhousing and the SM465, so the whole trans moves backwards,,,yuk!!

Don't know about you guys but my arms aren't long enough to reach a shifter behind the seat Doesn't sound like a good idea if you have a bench seat either....

On top of that the fine print says it can haul 25000 pounds yet you gotta put in the extra wieght of the vehicle. c10 3750 pounds, with two persons, 4000, add the trailor car hauler, 1000-3000 (3000 closed dual axles) and the extra car and tools, 5000, your sm465s already done did it probably a million times, but is still in your truck... Hmm a big waste of $1500 if thats all it can hold..
Just my 2cents

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by chevybuilder18

On top of that the fine print says it can haul 25000 pounds yet you gotta put in the extra wieght of the vehicle. c10 3750 pounds, with two persons, 4000, add the trailor car hauler, 1000-3000 (3000 closed dual axles) and the extra car and tools, 5000, your sm465s already done did it probably a million times, but is still in your truck... Hmm a big waste of $1500 if thats all it can hold..
Just my 2cents

Yep, and that's the other drawback to this setup that I didn't mention. It doesn't work in front of a 400 turbo And I'm not an SM465 fan at all anyway, that would be a downgrade swap in my case, not interested.

Another reason I liked the gear vendor, darn things are rated for a ridiculous amount of HP and TQ, something like 1,500 or 2,000. I'll never have to worry about the thing quitting on me no matter what I hook to the back of the truck.
It's a damn near bullet proof setup, and I like bullet proof. Nothing wrong with overkill

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by Rubble

Not trying to be a smarts$$, but why would you need the gear vendor unit behind a 6 speed tranny in a sub??? What possible weight are you puling to need that many gears?? Like I said,just more curious than anything....
Posted via Mobile Device

There is no such thing as having too many gears.

The Gear Vendors behind the 6 speed tranny in my Suburban was more for higher cruising speed and better fuel economy. Before having the GV's, top speed was about 75 mph (3.73 gears & Cummins engine). Where I live, the speed limit is 85 mph. For fuel economy, I'm getting mid 20's with the setup. On top of this, the lower rpm's cuts engine noise inside the cab significantly. The Cummins is hardly any louder than the gas guzzling / anemic 350 engine it replaced. That said, was it worth it? No, if you're going to just use it for just several years. But I plan to drive the vehicle for another 1/2 million miles. Twenty years from now, most everybody probably will be driving Prius like vehicles and I'll probably still be driving the big honkin Suburban.

[86c20]

its 7.5 inches thats all. i would think that it would be better then haveing the long reach for second gear maybe