Is this about right?

[bilfman]

I've got a 46 ffpw and just put a brand new engine in it. I've got it all broke in and running great. I was interested to see what a 4th gear cruising speed would be, so I took it out for a spin with a gps. It appears that 39mph is the sweet spot.

Is this about right for these trucks? The reason I ask is when I ordered new dash tags from Vintage PW the 4th gear tag speed reads much higher.

Also being from Canada I am looking for a product to put in the winch for lubrication, from what I have read a standard gear oil is not good. Any recommendations on a product available in Canada?

Thanx!

[53Crusher]

Top Speed

The data plate in my 53 says it has a top speed of 55. Only time it ever did that was going down a steep hill with a really good tail wind. Sounds like you are probably in the right ball park. I have to assume you are running the 5.83 gearing. I changed my gears to 4.89 and can now do around 55.

For the winch, I run Lubriplate SPO-277 based on posts from others and my research. It's won't eat the brass gears in our Braden winch like modern gear oil will.
https://www.lubriplate.com/Online-St...rt-bottle.html

[John Waak]

Gear oil recommendations vary depending on the temperature in which the winch is used. From the 2010 Braden Winch Manual:

-20 to 20 degrees: AGMA Grade 3EP, Mobilgear 600xp 100 or equivalent
0 to 50 degrees: AGMA Grade 5 EP, Mobilgear 600xp 220 or equivalent
40 to 105 degrees: AMGA Grade 7 EP, Mobilgear 600xp 460 or equivalent
90 to 130 degrees: AMGA Grade 8 EP, 600xp 680 or equivalent

Mobilgear is available through McMaster-Carr, Graingers, etc. if not available locally.

[bilfman]

Thanx for the replies. Yeah I have 5.83s. I will check graingers as we do have one locally .

[Clint Dixon]

Not knowing what tires you have, I am going to make a ballpark assumption that your loaded rolling radius is somewhere in the neighborhood of 17.5 inches. That would be about right for a 9:00x16 NDT with some age on it.

Given this, the road speed formulas from an old published Dodge Salesman's literature indicate that your engine is turning approximately 2183 RPM at 39 MPH:

http://www.t137.com/cpg/albums/userp...1/Formulas.jpg

A factory set engine governor would allow you a maximum engine RPM of 3200 - about 57 MPH according to the math, but I tend to go with the stated MPH on the dash tags which varied by year.

A lot of attention is given to newly rebuilt engines in a desire to not over-rev them during the break-in period. Sometimes less consideration is given to avoiding lugging them. I think at around 2200 RPM you should be fine as long as you are not carrying heavy loads and/or are traveling up hills or into strong head winds without first downshifting.

[bilfman]

They are the aged 9.00x16. Also I have restored many vehicles over the past 30 years and hearing this engine it sounds/feels that pushing past that 40mph mark is too much rpm for a sustained period. Or is the reality that the flat head just sounds that way and can be pushed farther down the rpm line?

[Tom Petroff]

Remember your hearing a lot of "Fan" noise that most are not
Accustomed to.
These fans roar like bull at speed especially if it's a 6 blade.

Oh surely you are in "high" range correct?
Don't laugh that mistake has been made by plenty.
TGP

[bilfman]

Yes for sure in high range😀 And it does have a 6 blade fan. Thanx for the replies. It just seems past 40 mph is too much.

[wayneh]

When I first got our PW with 5.83 gears my wife was convinced something was wrong and I needed to find where the next gear was... 30-35 MPH was the sweet spot. It could go faster, but it sounded like it was ready to blow up... We've since balanced and blueprinted the engine, but with stock gears the power train still makes a lot of noise. I put in a 22% OD unit, so at least now it cruises nicely at 40-45.

Wayne

[bilfman]

Great to know, I think in reading some of the great posts on here and actually doing an rpm/mph calculator the 35-40 mph seems to be normal. I am ok with that and love these trucks for exactly what they are 🙂 Thank you all for your responses, it is much appreciated . I am a *ahem* Chevy guy and this is my first Dodge build and first time build not in the 60/70 era. A lot of new ground for me.

[PWFFnut]

I have a 1956 POWER WAGON it is very happy to do between 35-45 mph it has a 230 cid flat head 5.83 gears 900x16 power king tires if I take it on the highway and try to stay with the traffic it very unhappy (80kph/50mph)

[PWFFnut]

Oh ya I had the six blade fan on the motor than put on a four blade not so noisy a little easier to live with.