Overdrive, Is it worth it ?

[carbore]

Some of you may remember I had a knackered gearbox and bought  geabox, transfer box and overdrive to repalce it. Still currently in the barn but as iv nearly finsihed my diy buildign job at home im nearly ready to start on the Landy.

No the Question is.

Is overdrive worth having ? or should I flog it as they are worth c£200 ?

The landrover is not my everyday car so mileage will be going to local shows/auctions for collecting things, driving to pay-play events and local trials/club things and jobs round my small holding.
Im not lilely to go over 60mph as faster than that will be scary
The landrover will never be a show winner or special things so not worth it for any "originality" reason.

I dont want to sell it unless I test it (coz im like that) so will throw the whole it in drive round the field then remove the overdrive. But seeing as its bought/paid for im almost tempted to leave it in, but then gain £200 towards a hi-lift jack and some sand ladders or a "period" winch and such like.

Im also thinking of doing a rear PTO to drive a topper or such like and think that you cant have a PTO and Overdrive? is this the case, if so front, rear or both.

Decisions, decisions.......

[ian_s]

if its originality you want, get rid of the OD, afaik they werent an optional extra
if it was me (in your position) i would sell the unit, its just another thing to maintain, even if you dont use it.

i'll buy it off you for a tenner :D
i'd love to have one, but cant afford it yet

[Range Rover Blues]

There is a reason folks will pay £200 for an old overdrive unit.  Question is would you rather have the money.

[Lucy1978]

I wouldn't be without mine now.

[Bowie]

I think mine makes the vehicle so much better to drive, it is definately more than just an extra gear :)

[Pete]

 Keep the overdrive. 
 It's probably the best add on you can get for a series motor.
 If nothing else, it confuses peopel faced with four levers. Mine baffled a few first time series drivers.
 Pete.

[muddyjames]

I had an od on both my series landies. if it is a diesel one then the volume level from the engine drops too! A god send in a diesel one!

Fitting the actual unit is dead easy. had that down to a 40min job in the end. Fitting the levers in the pain in the rear job. If you ever need to replace the speedo cable the OD unit needs to come out.

Also by having the OD meens you have something daft like 54 gears!!! :D

Keep it and use it. Best add on I had for my series landies.  :D

[lightweight-love]

if its in ok condition may go on ebay for nearer £250 - £275 , but damn handy thing to have on ya landy!

[TBM]

I had an od on both my series landies. if it is a diesel one then the volume level from the engine drops too! A god send in a diesel one!

Fitting the actual unit is dead easy. had that down to a 40min job in the end. Fitting the levers in the pain in the rear job. If you ever need to replace the speedo cable the OD unit needs to come out.

Also by having the OD meens you have something daft like 54 gears!!! :D

Keep it and use it. Best add on I had for my series landies.  :D

Agree with all the above (and other comments) apart from the speedo cable bit. Depends on if you fit the cable holder thing. Replace it with a tie wrap and you can leave the overdrive when you change the cable.

[S188]

If you drive it over 40mph then you'll find yourself useing an OD alot if its fitted!  In 3rd gear its useful on hills too.

If its diesel I recon they are a must have - 55 becomes a comfortable speed (I know, I've just spend 3 hours behind the wheel tonight doing exactly that!) rather than a stressful thrash at 50 without OD - can't understand how people cope.  If the landy drives properly then cruseing at 55 will be well within its handleing charictoristics and not too bad on fuel eather.

If its petrol then its probubly not qute such a big deal, but my Dad has a 2.0 petrol series 1 with an OD and I find I use it in just the same as my diesel as it sounds happyest and pulls well.  A 2.25p would be even happyer I suspect.

[electricbluebadger]

Also by having the OD meens you have something daft like 54 gears!!! :D

Or maybe a maximum of 20 and actually effectively 12 cos theres no need to really use O/D in 1st and 2nd or reverse as you'll kill it quicker due to the extra torque and stress if a bit lead footed :)

However its definately a bonus in a series, if you have a good petrol engine and up tyre size to 7.50 youll definately see much better fuel figures and cruising will be much more comfortable.

Cheers Steve

[Rich_P]

if its originality you want, get rid of the OD, afaik they werent an optional extra

The Fairey overdrive was an optional extra as were the Fairey FWHs.

[Singlefin]

I've spent about four hours so far jiggling my replacement overdrive into place. That's how worth it they are!

[Devon-Rover]

For the love of all things holy what ever your god viking or otherwise, keep the OD.

60 might sound scary but minus the OD doing 45 everywhere because it sounds noisy is even worse.
Many of the hills down your way make sense to have an OD you can split the gears and make it more pleasant driving. Save either laboring in an high gear or screaming in a lower gear.
Overdrive takes about an hour to put in. So not a big job.
You can use it in all gears. Soo much fun using OD in reverse  :lol: The look on car drivers in the lane as i zoom backwards towards a passing space is priceless as they don't expect to see a landy go that fast backwards.
I would happily give you a demo if i'm back down that way in the future. I wouldn't be without my OD now.

[Bowie]

It's not recommended to use the OD in first, second  (or reverse) as the torque is too much for it and will cause premature failure.... if you read the manual on it, it is designed only for third and fourth gears :)

[Devon-Rover]

Or you listen to the bloke who had a development OD from Fairey, and used it in all gears with no harm to the unit.......  and every so often had to leave his landy to them so they could look at the OD to evaluate it and check the unit.

Ohh i know my dad was useful for something. lol

Not creating an argument and i'm not adventing the fact of you using your OD in such a way.

[Rich_P]

That's all very well Devon, but that would be a pristine brand new unit wouldn't it?  What about when there's a few hundred thousand miles on the overdrive that will scream like a banshee? 

[carbore]

Thanks for the thoughts...

My OD is already fitted to the gearbox that I will be fitting so its no extra work at all to fit other than a cut out in the seat box for the lever.

I like the idea of a car with 4 gear sticks and the ability to split gears on hills is the real winner, after all, I spent the money months ago so its done. And I cant be bothered to test it and then de fit it!

So OD is staying!

[S188]

If you use OD in the lower gears they don't seem to go pop but they do eventully start whineing more - if its already had miles on it it'll probubly whine a fair bit already so if you don't want it to howl as loud as the engine would without it, treat it with a bit of respect!  They aren't the cheepest part of a series landy so why abuse them needlessly?  First and second gear put twice the torque load of 3rd and 4th respectively on the overdrive, thats not hard to work out!

The real way to kill an overdrive is to run it short of oil.  Farieys only take 0.4l so they don't need to loose much to run dry.  As the oil works hard its best to change it fairly often too.

I don't use mine in lower gears unless I forgot to take it out and soon notice after I've been wondering why it chugged off the line so slowly.  Must confess I use it in reverse ocasionly though, I try to avoid too harsh loadings on it when I do.  I think once in a while won't make much difference but if you leave it in all the time it won't help its life.  A probem with reverse OD is stopping again - Approx 20mph to be shed by 6 trailing shoes, 2 tiny leading shoes and no servo (well I don't have one anyway).  Takes a bit more room and pedal presure than you might first think!

[Devon-Rover]

Did i forget to mention that said landy and OD had already done 200 + thou before my dad sold her. Longevity wasn't an issue it was encouraged to use all the gear combo's and  the unit survived fine. So much i'm hoping to find her one day and put her back on the road.

Saying you won't use them in lowrange due to the increase torque load is like saying you won't use them in high when you have 3 tonne on the back end. 

[Rich_P]

Would you even be going quick enough to use an O/D with three tonnes on the back?  :shock:

[Devon-Rover]

Errr try pulling away where you would be needing every bit of gearing needed to get moving. So namely 1st -- 1stOD etc etc.. I use it exactly like a splitter box.

Same theory when i was towing a caravan last year. Where even the smallest inclines saw me having to drop an half gear or more.  on one hill was spent i 2ndOD for the best part of 10 mins.

[electricbluebadger]

Devon nobodys advocating 'never' do it, there are times that an intermediate 1st / 2nd/ 3rd can help, but most do not tow a caravan everywhere they go or 3 tonnes on the back every time they go out. The torque loading of a heavy foot in 1st / 2nd OD will put extra strain on the unit that the unit will not encounter in 3rd / 4th simple physics, as you rightly point out using OD with 3 tonnes on the back will be similar but as pointed out no one I know does that every time they take the vehicle out.

200TDI's have an appetite for OD's and series boxes if care is not taken because of this exact reason... more torque = more strain on components

Cheers Steve

[S188]

Did i forget to mention that said landy and OD had already done 200 + thou before my dad sold her. Longevity wasn't an issue it was encouraged to use all the gear combo's and  the unit survived fine. So much i'm hoping to find her one day and put her back on the road.

Saying you won't use them in lowrange due to the increase torque load is like saying you won't use them in high when you have 3 tonne on the back end. 

I didn't say I wouldn't use it in low RANGE, I said it wouldn't use it in the lower gears, them being 1st and 2nd on the main box.  As the overdrive is before the transfer box its the main box that affects the emount of torque going into the overdrive, the transfer box doesn't make a difference.  Infact using the overdrive decreases the torque on the overdrive!

If Fariey decided useing the OD in all gears then why did they decide to warn against it in all their instructions?  Why do overdrives have a history of whineing more if used in the lower gears over the least few decades in more than 1 vehicle?  Same thing is true for overdrives in other vehicles, the electronic types often don't let you use them in lower gears to save damage - why bother beefing it up for torque it doesn't really need to deal with? Makes it more expencive to manufacture and the fariey was definately built do a price, fairly well as it happens!

When pulling away I find 1st and 2nd close enough anyway, in the odd situations I'd want to split between them there is always low range, perfect for those speeds, with 4wd engaged its less likely to blow the back axle eather - its slow progress but they were designed for this.  Sits at 20mph in 2nd happy, if its so heavy/steep it won't pull 3rd I'd rather leave it slogging away in 2nd as it keeps the stresses down a bit - If its going to be doing that for 10 minutes plus why make it run flatout and struggle in as higher gear as possable, they are all over 23 years old now, mine, like many is more than double that.

[johnpirate]

I had mine on my SWB petrol for a while it didnt save me any fuel in fact I used more. I could keep up with traffic on the motorway instead of sitting in the inside lane doing 60 flat out.I then transfered it to my 2a diesel LWB .It felt that underpowered  I was always stirring the gears up or down.It was handy on hills to find that intermediate gear so I wasnt slowing traffic as the gear was too high or deafening myself as the gear was too low and it screamed for mercy.In the end I sold it on e,blag for £250 .The money was handier as I had a school holiday to pay for for my daughter.

[James.Harwood]

Overdrive is definitely worth it.

Had to do my gearbox last year and haven't put the OD back on yet and am seriously missing it.