Some newbie question about towing and safey

[FPrep2ndGenRX7]

Towing first. I found a 96XLT w/V8 I'm considering buying. It has what appears to be an aftermarket trans cooler mounted infront of the radiator. Is there an easy way to identify if this is factory? And along he same lines was there a tow package available for them? That would answer the first question. I'll be towing my racecar(hence the user name) maybe twice a month 100 miles round trip and it would be nice to not question the reliability of my tow vehicle. I guess the main thing is the trans reilability.

Next question. With all the took place with the Firestone tire recall and Fords recomendations of lower than usual air pressure for the Explorer I'm a little hesitant to buy an Explorer. Is there something inherently wrong with the design of the Explorer to cause all the publicity that took place. I'm cuious what some of you think the problem stemmed from. Was it one(Firestone) or the other(Ford) or a combination of the both or something totally different(design).

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[liquidx9]

first off... the firestone thing was driver error mainly.. yea the tires failed, but if a tire blows, your not supposed to slam the brakes and try to change 4 lanes.. any car would flip like that. this is not a design flaw, if you know how to drive, it shouldnt be a problem.

a ton of people on this board use their v8 expos to tow big ass boats (27ft plus) hundreds of miles, i dont think that towing a race car would stress it... at all. the v8 explorers have the 4rw40 (or something like that), tranny thats very reliable. its a 3 speed + OD tranny, and they last a damn long time. i dont know how much your getting the expo for, but they are incredible bargains now... thanks to that firestone deal, buy it, you wont regret it

 

[section525]

Welcome to the site!

First off, buy that Explorer! It'll be perfect what your needs. It's basically the exact same one I have... so I can vouch for the towing and reliability.

Mine also came with a factory tranny cooler. Here is a pic of what mine looks like. It's pretty 'factory' lookin so yours is probably aftermarket.
Dead Link Removed

As far as the tires go.. that was a total Firestone deal. I've been running BFGs on mine for the last couple years with NO problems. Not even a flat. I had 5 blow outs with the Firestones!

Liquids right, the 4R70W tranny is pretty bulletproof. Every summer I tow our Nautique and I have a 250 gallon slurry tank I haul around. I've had no problems at all with the tranny.

 

[mrboyle]

Do yourself a favor, run the tires at 35psi. unstead of the recomended 28psi. Then you will never have to worry about them.

 

[FPrep2ndGenRX7]

Thanks guys(or gals as the case may be). Years ago I worked as a service manager for a Firestone store and I never saw any tire wear properly inflated to 28 psi on a heavier vehicle. I thought it was BS also about Fords recomendations to run the lower air pressure.

Is the trans on the V8 Explorers the same as the one used on the F150 trucks?

 

[Jason_25]

Yes it's the same one as on mustangs and F-150's except the ones with the 5.4L.

 

[cobrajeff]

5.0 V8 makes a good tow vehicle

I have a 5.0 Mountaineer (my second one) that I use to tow an 18 foot enclosed car-hauling trailer. I have run about 50k on each Mounty, towing a half dozen times a year, with no problems.

Both were equipped with factory Class III tow package, that includes a tranny cooler. The rig works quite well. No towing in OD with a loaded trailer, though.

Have never had a tire problem, even with the Firestone tires. But, then again, I never run less than 30 lbs. air in the tires of ANY of my cars.

regards,

Jeff

 

[98GT-40P]

I tow a 4800lb travel trailer with mine without a single problem. It rides on Michelin LTX M/S LT235/75/15 at 48psi.

I would recommend a weight-distributing hitch or air ride in the rear for tongue weight over 350lbs or so. The rear squat at 480lbs tongue weight (my trailer) is quite significant and probably not too safe.

 

[james t]

you will have no trouble at all towing your RX7. i tow with my 96 5liter all the time, and with much heavier loads than that. as far as i know, all 5.0's came with a factory tranny cooler. later on, get the Baumann shift kit and install stage 3 (the kit goes from 1-5). this will also extend tranny life while towing, and stage 3 is not very harsh. here is my X (before the wheel change) towing my 75 bronc...