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5R55E... Lets discuss towing in overdrive!


Gotta_gofast

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First off, yes I tow and haul in overdrive... within reason of course. I picked up a scangauge and it gives plenty of reference as to what my truck is doing. Before I get all scatterbrained, here's what I have, what I do, and why I do it.

I use a 2005 ranger 4x4 with the 5R55E trans (larger cooler) 4.10:1 rear gears on 265/75R16. As for the trans, I have an SCT programmer which allows me to increase/decrease transmission line pressure upto 25%. Using the scangauge's "transmission line pressure" readout, I can in fact see the difference.

What usually do, is haul atvs and gear. The 400ex goes into the bed (400lbs) the banshee (400lbs) goes onto a small 4x6 trailer (200lbs) and the fuel + baggage might be another 100lbs. Not much wind resistance, looking at an increase of roughly 1100lbs.

Why do I tow in overdrive? Well because at interstate speeds I run at 2500rpm in overdrive and maintain 15mpg with this vs. 10-11mpg running upwards of 3700rpm. First off, similar RBVs such as the explorer weigh in at almost 1000lbs more than my ranger and run overdrive all the time every day in OD. Second, it is my belief that the Overdrive gearset/bands themselves must be somewhat stout or ford wouldn't engage it under heavy throttle to split first and third gear on the 5R55E. What I believe does kill the trans is heat and bands slipping. I monitor the line pressure and have no "drops" during extended cruising. My trans fluid reaches 150 degrees quickly (valve body has a t-stat that opens about then) and when towing in od or drive I never seen anything above 185. If the transmission stays in overdrive without "hunting" or cycling the torque converter clutch (locking and unlocking) I feel there is no harm in towing in overdrive. How can a trans build more heat than the cooler can dissipate if the torque converter is locked at 70mph? I understand that if the torque converter stays unlocked you are now multiplying the engines torque (which is then applied to the OD unit) and the slipping produces a lot heat.

My truck does not have an issue unlocking the T.C. or hunting unless I face a tough headwind or hills (which I'll just leave it in Drive). So, what's others opinions on the subject? I want to know what is fact and what is myth. What do you do? Should there be a general "don't tow/haul with od" or are their exeptions.

Also, what is your opinions about the strength of overdrive itself. If it truely is weak, why under wide open throttle will it apply all of the 4.0Ls torque (multiplied by the converter) to the overdrive set +1st gear?
 


RangerBoy94

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I have a solution for all these problems....



















































M5OD
:thefinger:
 

bobbywalter

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First off, yes I tow and haul in overdrive... within reason of course. I picked up a scangauge and it gives plenty of reference as to what my truck is doing. Before I get all scatterbrained, here's what I have, what I do, and why I do it.

I use a 2005 ranger 4x4 with the 5R55E trans (larger cooler) 4.10:1 rear gears on 265/75R16. As for the trans, I have an SCT programmer which allows me to increase/decrease transmission line pressure upto 25%. Using the scangauge's "transmission line pressure" readout, I can in fact see the difference.

What usually do, is haul atvs and gear. The 400ex goes into the bed (400lbs) the banshee (400lbs) goes onto a small 4x6 trailer (200lbs) and the fuel + baggage might be another 100lbs. Not much wind resistance, looking at an increase of roughly 1100lbs.

Why do I tow in overdrive? Well because at interstate speeds I run at 2500rpm in overdrive and maintain 15mpg with this vs. 10-11mpg running upwards of 3700rpm. First off, similar RBVs such as the explorer weigh in at almost 1000lbs more than my ranger and run overdrive all the time every day in OD. Second, it is my belief that the Overdrive gearset/bands themselves must be somewhat stout or ford wouldn't engage it under heavy throttle to split first and third gear on the 5R55E. What I believe does kill the trans is heat and bands slipping. I monitor the line pressure and have no "drops" during extended cruising. My trans fluid reaches 150 degrees quickly (valve body has a t-stat that opens about then) and when towing in od or drive I never seen anything above 185. If the transmission stays in overdrive without "hunting" or cycling the torque converter clutch (locking and unlocking) I feel there is no harm in towing in overdrive. How can a trans build more heat than the cooler can dissipate if the torque converter is locked at 70mph? I understand that if the torque converter stays unlocked you are now multiplying the engines torque (which is then applied to the OD unit) and the slipping produces a lot heat.

My truck does not have an issue unlocking the T.C. or hunting unless I face a tough headwind or hills (which I'll just leave it in Drive). So, what's others opinions on the subject? I want to know what is fact and what is myth. What do you do? Should there be a general "don't tow/haul with od" or are their exeptions.

Also, what is your opinions about the strength of overdrive itself. If it truely is weak, why under wide open throttle will it apply all of the 4.0Ls torque (multiplied by the converter) to the overdrive set +1st gear?


:dunno:


dont consider it towing till you have 3 k or so in weight with stockish tires...your no where near that, not worth discussing. your truck could give a shit less according to you.

put 5 k behind it and see what happens. if it dont like it then drop it in t/h
 

Will

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I have a solution for all these problems....

M5OD
:thefinger:
Maybe. Manual trannies make heat, too. Go smash your freshly shaven face against the rear axle of your truck after pulling 5,000# for an hour on the interstate.

With a lockup converter, the auto isn't working that hard. Just the pressure to keep the servos and pistons gripping. There is so much cooling, and a more efficient coolant, that the parts don't have to be that big.

I like driving autos more, but when my money is on the line, I buy manuals. I hate being covered in red oil working on stuff. When I bought my bus, I waited a long time to find one without an Allison, because I didn't want to benchpress a 400# auto and get oil-slicked like a Katrina seabird. I'm getting old.

Still, I do prefer autos. My pickup truck has a TH400 (It has HD cast into the bellhousing so it's actuall a TH475) and it's been in there for 23 years. I've owned it since '04 and I tow with it regularly. It does not have a lock-up converter. My other house has a 28% grade for a driveway. I can tell you that when you pull a 10,000# trailer from a stop up a 28% grade--you know you have a torque converter. You start up, the truck almost stops and the pedal is almost to the floor, and then magic shit starts happening and you are thrust forward and off you go.

You don't get that with a manual. You better have low-range.
 

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I don't tow much with my Ranger, and I ripped the A4LD so OD isn't an option with it anyway.

But in my F-150, if it is nice and flat I do pop it into OD when I can. I tow quite a bit of weight (5-8k) with it and it gets along fine. 4R70W in a 2002 F-150 with a 5.4, only thing I would change is 3.31 cogs.
 

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With what little weight you are hauling leave it in OD if it isn't hunting for gears.

I towed 5000+lbs travel trailer behind my explorer sport trac 5r55e 4.10 gears with LT265/75R16's and towed with OD off.
 

Gotta_gofast

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I suppose I should explain what sparked the post. A few friends told me-in short- towing this with my ranger in OD is a SURE way to burn up the trans (my ranger might pull this a total of 500 miles accumulative yearly). I asked for reasons, or proof, or theory (anything) to support their opinion. They said "because its an auto". I stated my side of the debate to them (same points as brought up in post #1). Didn't matter, its a glorified A4LD to them.

And that may be true. But the revisions were to improve the trans, no? The AOD-E/4R70W roots back to the AOD (which has a bad rep, too). On the interstate, they smooth out the hills to the smallest of gradual grades, so I rarely see the trans converter unlock. The only time drive is used is when I know I will pass someone so I lock out overdrive, let it shift into drive under normal throttle (not accelerating already) and let the torque converter lock up in drive before speeding up to make a pass.


And I have never towed 5Klbs but did tow a an enclosed trailer on a terrible head wind with maybe 2000lbs (including trailer weight) and I never even attempted overdrive. lol

Lastly, I first test drove a 4.0L with a manual.... wife said she wanted an auto in case she needed to drive it. I reminded her that she gets three strikes before she's out, and this would be strike one.
 

hondaxr650

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I wouldn't worry too much about hurting it by towing in OD. If you put too much load on it in OD, it's gonna drop back into 3rd gear anyway. However, I have found that towing with the OD off makes the converter lock up much easier in 3rd than if I just let it downshift into 3rd on it's own. I'm seriously under-geared and over-tired though, turning 33s with 3.73s. Even the slightest grade makes mine shift out of OD, even without a trailer. I need to come up with the time, money and ambition to toss in some 4.56 gears.
 

p38fln

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Turning O/D off engages the 'engine brake' in the transmission (Whatever that is). Something I read in the workshop manual back when i had the '03 Ranger.
 

Will

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It's the hunting that hurts it, not overloading overdrive. Like you said, it will just kick out when you load it too much. Hunting makes heat as the clutches are gripping and releasing. If it isn't hunting, there is no reason not to use overdrive. If it kicks out, pull it down a gear. That's true with any gear.

A camper is going to have a lot more resistance than a tractor on the highway, obviously. Frontal area and angle have a huge impact. The air pressure on the front surface varies by the sin of the angle. So if you have a 90-degree angle on the front of a camper and it is making 100# of resistance, a 45 degree angle, for the same area, will only have 70# on it. There will be more surface area to drag on it, but the effect of that is much lower. Puttin anything on there to make the air hit it at an angle will reduce the drag. Increasing the length of the body moving through the air also reduces drag. If you can use air dams to blend the truck into the trailer you get both of those bonuses. A flatbed with a tractor on it doesn't see much surface area or frontal area. Just weight.
 

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When I was low on cash I towed a lot of stuff with overdrive on. Just don't set the cruise control. You have to 'feel' on the pedal where the unlock point is at a given speed, and hold it just before that, and let your speed go up and down with the hills. If it was a steep one, then I'd just hit the button, because as mentioned previously, it's quicker to lock up the converter in 4th (or drive or whatever you wanna call it).

And frontal area is very important, much more than weight it seems at speed. I hauled in scrap metal loads at highways speeds with no hunting that weighed in at 9500 gross combined. At the time my trailer was still low to the ground, and the load wasn't more than a foot and a half tall. Then I've had loads that weren't near as much pull a lot harder due to being taller and less areo.

Same truck has 172k miles on it on stock trans. But then again, the auto is junk, you have to get the manual!
 

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Do u have a tcc manual lock up switch on your truck?
 

Gotta_gofast

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Do u have a tcc manual lock up switch on your truck?
No, I won't do that. Some have reported that the computer gets wacky.

Anyway, the load pulled great. Ran in overdrive and maintained 16.4mpg with two atvs and all the camping gear.

Now I have an idea. Since my wife and I have two atvs and are tired of setting up tent and gear, I am thinking of a 6X10 enclosed trailer and modifying it with a few windows and a bed.

So, anyone pull an enclosed trailer with their ranger? What is your average fuel economy? Would a V-nose provide an advantage over a flat nose for me?
 

Will

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My dad has a flat-nose motorcycle trailer. It is 14' long inside, 8' wide with wheel-wells inside, and 7' tall inside--I can touch the ceiling with my arms up, but just. He bought it on EBay and I went to Detroit to pick it up for him. At the time, I had a Ranger with 29" tires, a 4.0 manual and 3.55 gears. It was empty, not very heavy, and I moved it through town easily. Once I hit the on-ramp, at about 60mph a hand grabbed the trailer and held me back. I left it in 4th, set the cruise at 60 and got 12mpg. It was enough truck, but I had to go slower. It wouldn't have been that much different with a couple 800# bikes inside. The weight was nothing--it was the air resistance.

Yes, V-nose is better. V-nose is not better if your truck is the same size as the trailer. V-nose is better if your truck is punching a little hole in the air and a big trailer won't fit in it.

Cruise doesn't matter with an auto. The cruise control knows not what the tranny is doing. The tranny can't overload itself. You can't force the tranny into a gear it doesn't want to be in. newer trucks with tow-haul simply keep the tranny into a lower gear and do not let it upshift at the slightest reduction of load. To tow with an auto, it doesn't take the fingertips of a piano tuner to reliaze the bloody thing is constantly down and upshifting. Just pop it down to the next lower gear if it keeps trying to go there. It takes no special skills.

A manual is not physically stronger than an auto. The things the Ranger auto fail for are not stress related.
 

aspevacek

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My Truck is a 97 Ranger Splash 4X4 with the 4.0l and the 5R55E trans. They have both been trouble free since I have owned the truck new. The only change i make when I tow any thing is take my big tires off and swap to a set of Stock sized. I towed a 21' Dove trail car hauler with my 87 WS6 Trans AM on it From Harrisburg PA to Fort Polk, LA. I was stationed there and the gas bill to get the car down there would have killed me. I had the truck in OD mos tof th etime on the highway but for saftey sake I popped it off when going up hills. The truck never gave me a single issue what so ever. I figure the combo had to be in the range of 5000 to 5500 pounds.
 

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