Towing with OverDrive "ON" - Do it!

[Badspell68]

97 AWD 5.0 XLT, Tow capacity 6k

Form advice was to tow with overdrive off. I took this advice and was towing 5k for only 2 hours. My tranny got so hot that the whole cab, center console and even the metal on the seats, connected to the frame, was very very hot. I've never seen anything like it.

After talking with a tranny expert I was told, if you drive with over drive off you're perpetually in 3rd gear and you will burn out the tranny fast, real fast! His advice was to only turn the over drive of when confronted with large hills, not simply dippidy-do type hills.

FYI = You simply cant tow with overdrive off, no if-ands-or-buts


Any feedback?

 

[IZwack]

Of course you can tow with overdrive off - especially when you're in city/town streets

 

[james t]

After talking with a tranny expert I was told, if you drive with over drive off you're perpetually in 3rd gear and you will burn out the tranny fast, real fast!

Not to sound like a know-it-all, but i question the knowledge of your tranny expert as 3rd gear is 1:1 ratio and any transmission is strongest set up as direct drive.

If you are on flat ground it probably wont be an issue so long as you can maintain your speed without keeping the hammer down. If you are running down the interstate towing in OD with your foot near the floor trying to hold 70mph you are not doing the tranny a favor thats for sure.

 

[Willard]

Yea I don't see how it could be building up excess heat unless something isn't quite right. When you tow with overdrive off, it tows in 3rd gear, which is a 1:1 ratio as already stated. Once you get up to speed, the torque converter should lock, which means nothing is slipping creating heat. Either your torque converter didn't lock because something is wrong, or you never got up enough speed to let it lock, or never let off the pedal enough for it to.

Also in addition to 3rd being the strongest gear in a transmission, OD is generally the weakest gear in the transmission. Which means towing in OD could be asking for it to break. However, you are towing with the 4r70w, a very strong transmission. So it may not in your case. But it could.

 

[Gus Gorilla]

If you got it that hot, you should probably change the fluid, now. Trans fluid life is inversely proportional to temperature. This chart is from BrooklynBay, Aerostar Moderator. He has more but they all say about the same thing.
Dead Link Removed

 

[Tbars4]

...As mentioned, you can tow with overdrive "off" when in city/town, streets and facing hills...

...The only two things I can relate to the excessive heat was that you were in third and was doing highway speeds while towing ( high rpm's for a long period), and I have seen this when someone adds fuel injector or tank cleaner...The cats will get hot if you do a long run...

 

[james t]

Ive towed 5k with the same truck, 5.0 96 model. Time is the problem. 30 minutes hauling 5k is no big deal- 2 hours is pushing it hard. You need to change all the fluid (either flush or some other method) and get a bigger cooler.

5k lbs is alot of weight behind a 5 liter explorer. The tranny slowly makes more heat than it can shed through the cooler... each pass of the coolant through the system gets a degree or so hotter every cycle... after 30 mins- 1 hour the tranny cooling system becomes overloaded and it cant shed heat as fast as the transmission makes it. A good big plate and fin style cooler helps alot. I added a giant B&M plate/fin cooler to mine after the stock cooler, switched to synthetic, and never saw over 200 degrees trans temps pulling 5k lbs in 3rd NOT od. It would cruise with that load in the summer here at 160.

Honestly, i think your tranny expert is trying to dupe you into burning your **** up so you will become a customer. Just IMHO.

 

[Badspell68]

I was doing around 55 to 60 on the highway with OD off, my RPMs very continually around 3000, the heat was so excessive that the legs of the seats were hot and fluid in the tranny was brand new.

Advice?

 

[james t]

A big plate and fin style cooler.

 

[Tbars4]

...I second the big cooler and might also suggest fan for that cooler and a tranny temp guage..:biggthump

...My X runs at about 2000 rpm in overdrive while at 65 mph and around 140*-160* until the air temp is above 80* outside (not towing)....I myself will be adding another cooler and fan for my X as it gets 100* plus here and heat is a tranny's worst enemy...

 

[nitro71]

Mechanics dont' know squat.. Remember that. If you look in your owners manual I'm sure it tells you to tow with OD off. Change that fluid ASAP and get a cooler for the next time you tow that much.

 

[Badspell68]

Advice please, Will this work?

I was planning on towing my travel trailer from NJ to Alaska Until this happened only 1.5 hours into the trip. The trailer loaded is 5k and I would be running at least 8 to 10 hours a day. Even if I change the fluid, get a huge cooler and fan is my model equipet and capable of doing this. Or is it simply the wrong type of vehicle for this type of journey?

Thanks!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Jumping in & out of overdrive could cause excessive heat. If you are towing in an area where there are hills, then flat sufaces, then hills, this will create excessive heat to build up. It would be better to leave the overdrive off in this case. You could use overdrive providing that you are always going to travel on a flat terrain at a constant speed. Any other driving on wavy inclines would cause the overdrive to cycle, and that isn't good.

 

[turboexplorer]

I tow with OD on on the flats when hills come just before pull it off it climbs nicely and easy then down put the OD back on truck has NO problem staying at speed with a load pulls great! 4500Lbs big towhauler tent trailer with two quads. Tranny rarely hits 190F Most it chills at 160-170, and that's in 100* air. Again with what is being said change fluid soon be nice to the truck on the pedal and shouldn't be a problem.

 

[nitro71]

Running a engine at 3K RPM's does not hurt it. Probably runs cleaner and more effecient. Not sure what your engine red lines at but the 4.0 is 5K. So running at 3K is fine. When I'm going 70mph I'll drop to 4th to pass. Every manufacturer recomends against running with OD on when towing.

 

[Badspell68]

Ive towed 5k with the same truck, 5.0 96 model. Time is the problem. 30 minutes hauling 5k is no big deal- 2 hours is pushing it hard. You need to change all the fluid (either flush or some other method) and get a bigger cooler.

5k lbs is alot of weight behind a 5 liter explorer. The tranny slowly makes more heat than it can shed through the cooler... each pass of the coolant through the system gets a degree or so hotter every cycle... after 30 mins- 1 hour the tranny cooling system becomes overloaded and it cant shed heat as fast as the transmission makes it. A good big plate and fin style cooler helps alot. I added a giant B&M plate/fin cooler to mine after the stock cooler, switched to synthetic, and never saw over 200 degrees trans temps pulling 5k lbs in 3rd NOT od. It would cruise with that load in the summer here at 160.

Based on 5k being a lot of weight for a 5.0 explorer is it possible to do a drive from NJ to Alaska even if I install A large cooler with a fan?

Advice... and is my truck capable of doing the journey with modifications?

 

[james t]

I would change the fluid out to synthetic (no brand preference) and big quality cooler and it should be okay. Id also give the engine cooling system a good flush and put a new Tstat in and a new radiator cap just for the hell of it.

It will be a taxing drive for sure. Possible? Yeah i think so. Remember to get a plate and fin style cooler like a B&M and run it after the stock cooler. The plate/fin style are not only more efficient they also introduce less restriction on flow so its okay to run them inline with a stock cooler.

Keep in mind your current fluid is probably roasted. Dropping the pan and changing it is not enough... you only get about 3-4 quarts this way and the tranny itself holds- well i dunno the capacity but its like 10 quarts or more.

 

[Badspell68]

Tstat?

 

[kert0307]

engine thermostat

 

[Badspell68]

ah...

Would it be an upgrade or simply a replacement?