Yup, my RS comes home tommarow after its week and a half long visit to the tranny shop, i ended up having to pay $750 for a rebuild, after he took it apart he said its gonna need more than the overhaul kit since metal shavings got worked up into the pump or somethin i dont really remember and he said the gears were worn, so i figured $750 isnt that much but i dont get paid till fri. so i dont get her back till then. Uh-oh better make it tech....whats the difference between driving in OD and just regular D?

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91 Blue RS with ASCD SS hood w/hood pins, Flowmaster 80 series w/3 inch dual exhaust, K&N, Hypertech Power Chip, Bosch Platinum wires and plugs

 

That's a pretty good price for the rebuild- was he removing & installing the transmission, too? Or are you doing that work yourself? I paid $1400 for Lee Myles to do the whole job for me- and they put in an already-rebuild trans! If I wanted them to rebuild mine it would've been past $2000!

"D" is a 1.00 gear ratio. "OD" is a 0.70 gear ratio. You could drive around all year in "D" and the car won't mind, but your engine rpm's will be higher. That'll cause the engine to run hotter and use more gas, and the transmission will also heat up more.

The old cars, with 3-speed automatics, have 1.00 as their "D"rive ratio; they have no problems driving around all the time in D.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

the $750 includes parts and labor all around, he already figured out the bill last friday and i paid him $260 then, and i only owe him $489 which is what i'm giving him fri. and he's not charging me the $25 a day holding fee for every day your car sits in the yard two days after its done.
So whats better for the transmission, D or OD for regular everyday driving and whats better if your sitting at a stop light and somebody wants to race, now that my tranny is fixed i wanna take care of it but at the same time jump back on the racing scene since i havent been able to race in a month or so.

 

Here's my response to that.
Under 50 MPH (city driving) leave it in "D"
CONSTANT over 50 MPH, "OD".
that works very well in LA traffic.
PLUS, you save the clutches from jumping back and forth.
BUT
The tranny goes into OD upon reaching 45 MPH, IF starting out in "OD" position on gear selector.
mention this to the tranny guy.
Sounds like you had afair job done.
Good going!

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

I agree with KED all the way. Leave it in D unless you're going to be crusin on the highway for more than five minutes at a time. Then you can manually shift it into OD. When you're sitting at a light and wanna race someone it's best to put it in 1 and shift it yourself. If you don't wanna shift it yourself, leave it in D.

 

It sounds like you got a good deal. I would not be unhappy. Any warranty like 1 year or 10,000 miles? Since I had mine redone every year since then I get new tranny fluid and a filter on it's anniversary.

 

Glad to say my baby is back and better than ever, the rebuild went flawlessly and she drives like a dream.(and it was a 1yr. warranty)

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91 Blue RS with ASCD SS hood w/hood pins, Flowmaster 80 series w/3 inch dual exhaust, K&N, Hypertech Power Chip, Bosch Platinum wires and plugs.

Soon to be added:
Z28 spoiler.(to compliment the ram air hood)
New paint.(black with orange stripes)
A 3.4L V6.(WOOHOO!!)