200r4 w/a 200 v-6???Will that work????

[chevymalibu1]

Like the title says,will that work and what will I need to do???I want to keep the original motor in my wagon due to the fact that it is a 26k car,but want to have an overdrive.I had someone tell me that that will not work because the v6 will chug under load(wont have enough power to pull it)??Is that what the lockup kit in jegs and summit is made for to run the lockup converters in cars w/o computers to prevent chugging under a load??

any help would be greatl,please let me know what will work and what wont.
thanks
mark

 

[80ECLT]

You would definatly need to change your rear end gears to a 3.73:1 if you want that motor to pull overdrive.

 

[mhamilton]

Agree with the above... you already have a major highway gear in there.

If you're looking for better off the line performance with lower gears and axle ratio... I would carefully consider the cost of changing the drivetrain. That engine (and the 267) was never designed to rev, the power curve is all at the bottom end. It may end up just wasting gas.

 

[chevymalibu1]

want to keep the original motor,because of the low miles and the history etc, I have on the car,so I don't want to change the motor,only the stuff you cant see(gears,transmission,etc).

So If I change the rear end gears to 373 it will be okay???I don't need it to be a neck snapper just want a good cruiser that gets good mpg.

let me know on the above!!!!!

Also guys what are the kits that jegs and summit sell so that you can run a lockup converter in a non computer controlled car,does that help at all with keeping it in low gear till you get going so that you dont have that problem or what do those kits do?????

thanks for the help so far guys

 

[chevymalibu1]

bump

 

[mhamilton]

For what it's worth, you're fighting an uphill battle. That engine made 95 hp when new. The 267 V8 was maligned, and the 200 is the 267 minus 2 cylinders.

The 2004R has a 0.67:1 top gear ratio. To keep your existing 2.41 or 2.22 final drive ratio, you would want an axle ratio of 3.59 or 3.31, respectively.

The 1980 model cars came with a lockup converter and no computer, so those have the equipment to control TCC lockup. The TCC does not come into play in low gears, only top gear, and only under light load conditions. The kits from the catalog basically do what the 1980 GM setup did (control lockup based on vacuum level).

 

[guitargoalie]

It will work fine given that you change your read end gears at the same time.
You will have the advantage of torque multiplication with 3.xx gears in the rear, this will actually improve your around town mileage and get up and go off the line.
With the over drive you will still be able to cruise at 2000 rpm's on the highway.

The bottom line is your engine will be in it's peak power band more often so you will get better power and fuel economy.

 

[mhamilton]

Performance off the line, without a doubt. Economy, I'm not convinced. If you want economy, grandma the throttle and don't rev past 2k.

If low gear ratios really helped city driving, these new cars and crossovers with 6 speed trannies would be getting more than 20 mpg city. Besides that, reving up to 3k at every stop is not going to help an engine with a powerband from 600-2000 rpm.

 

[Darwinskeeper]

I suspect that an overdrive trans could work pretty well with the little six. The problem I have with Darwin's modified 262 V6 is that the engine is not happy running below 1200rpm or so, the vacuum and fuel efficiency drop off With the 3 speed manual and 2.73 rear gears, my wagon is reasonably efficient above 40mph in third but when I start approaching 30mph (like driving in downtown Wichita) I find myself getting ready to shift into 2nd. My eventual plan is to replace the Saginaw 3 speed with a 5 speed OD and a set of 3.23-3.42 gears so that 4th gear will keep the engine happy for 25-45mph "around town" cruising and 5th will keep the revs even lower on the highway than they currently are.

You might want to play with the following equation:

rpm = (MPH X Gear Ratio X 336)/Tire Diameter

where
rpm is engine speed in revolutions per minute
MPH is speed in miles per hour
Gear Ratio is the final drive ratio (rear end ratio X trans gear ratio)
Tire Diameter is the tire's diameter in inches.

Play with different vehicle speeds and see what rear gear ratio will keep you in the 1000-2000rpm range for most of your normal driving range.

Commonly available ring and pinion sets for a 7.5 GM rear are 2.73, 3.08, 3.23, 3.42 3.73 & 4.10

Have Fun!!!

 

[80ECLT]

Also consider if you have the ability, swapping your dualjet 2bbl carb to a factory 2bbl TBI Fuel injection setup from a 87-93 s-10 4.3 TBI. As alot of ppl on this site know, I am all about factory fuel injection. They are cheap, simple, reliable, and you could pretty much keep the look of a carb with the TBI. It would really help you pull that overdrive, and help with your mileage to boot. Howel makes a great stand alone computer harness for the TBI V6 it is 350$ and you could get the rest of the parts needed from the junkyard dirt cheap. Just a thought. You would have to drill and tap some holes for sensors and use a custom TBI distributor, but if the car is real nice (like it sounds) it would be very worth it, and an a ultra slick mod, especially with OD. Fuel injected motors seem to fair better with OD than carbed motors, especially engines that are limited in size/power.