danpaw
New Member
- Joined
- January 30, 2014
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Michigan
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2010 Mountaineer
Hi all, Dan here from the west Michigan coast... Have recently bought a '10 Mountaineer and have lots of questions regarding towing.
My unit has a full-size AFTERMARKET class III/IV hitch installed (no controller or large trailer plug yet, that will be the first thing I do). 13k miles on the odo. Has a factory tranny cooler mounted in front of the radiator. Has the 4L V6, w/ 3.55 gears, O/D switch on PRNDL post, 4 conductor factory trailer wire. I hope to tow a smallish travel trailer with it within a year or two. (~3500 -4000 lb class, 20-22 ft). I have a strong background in electronics, electricals, and prototyping, so not afraid to get my wire strippers and soldering tools dirty.
My big questions: what do I need to do to make this little truck tow the 5305 lb capacity that it claims to have? 3.73 gear? Extra oil/ Larger trans cooler? Suspension upgrades?
The 2010 Ford Towing guide indicates that for the Explorer/Mountaineer, the class III/IV factory tow package was only available on the V6 with a 3:73 diff... So, is it a case of needing the 3:73 (and potentially a different Trans/Motor ECM with different software, and potentially a larger tranny cooler) or are they only indicating that you could only BUY the larger hitch along with the 3:73 diff in a factory package? Put another way, what do I need to add to the existing 4.0L / 3:55 setup to tow the full 5305 lb rating? I can't see the lower gears hurting me if I keep speeds reasonable..
My unit has a full-size AFTERMARKET class III/IV hitch installed (no controller or large trailer plug yet, that will be the first thing I do). 13k miles on the odo. Has a factory tranny cooler mounted in front of the radiator. Has the 4L V6, w/ 3.55 gears, O/D switch on PRNDL post, 4 conductor factory trailer wire. I hope to tow a smallish travel trailer with it within a year or two. (~3500 -4000 lb class, 20-22 ft). I have a strong background in electronics, electricals, and prototyping, so not afraid to get my wire strippers and soldering tools dirty.
My big questions: what do I need to do to make this little truck tow the 5305 lb capacity that it claims to have? 3.73 gear? Extra oil/ Larger trans cooler? Suspension upgrades?
The 2010 Ford Towing guide indicates that for the Explorer/Mountaineer, the class III/IV factory tow package was only available on the V6 with a 3:73 diff... So, is it a case of needing the 3:73 (and potentially a different Trans/Motor ECM with different software, and potentially a larger tranny cooler) or are they only indicating that you could only BUY the larger hitch along with the 3:73 diff in a factory package? Put another way, what do I need to add to the existing 4.0L / 3:55 setup to tow the full 5305 lb rating? I can't see the lower gears hurting me if I keep speeds reasonable..