The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 261 rpm range

What's a reasonable redline for a stock style 261? I've seen a lot of differing opinions.
What's a good rpm range to run all day long?

261's were HP rated ar 3600 RPM, I believe, and I'm sure GM would not have used a speed that would damage the engine for rating the power output. A 235 or 261 with good oil pressure and proper bearing clearances will run all day at 3K RPM without any problems at all. Just for grins, try removing the fan and running a few miles at highway speed, and I believe you'll learn where most of the "engine noise" that people get concerned about is actually coming from. If you can come up with a gear ratio spread that allows the engine to have good torque in the 1800-2K range on an upshift, and pull strong to the the next gear change at around 3K RPM or slightly above, your 261 will be a happy camper for a long time.
Jerry

Some years back I had the opportunity to drive my at the time tired 235 a 12 hour 600 mile none stop trip at 3000 rpm due to malfunction of my over drive gears caused by yours truly . That rpm gave me 60 mph. and it climbed hills better and got better gpm s then when the over drive worked and I ran at 2,200 rpm.
I just completed a 1,700 mile round trip turning between 2,500 rpm and 3,000 for 14 hours at a time traveling 65 to 70 mph and when I let the rpm drop to low below 2,500 it struggled to climb hills .
All that being said ,when traveling less demanding country roads at a leisurely pace less rpm s work fine .
Hope this helps .

John

Thanks for the responses guys!