Towing with a 2.9L V-6 Ranger

LordVngr · Jul 10, 2008

So I got a 89 STX Ranger Supercab 4X4 with a 2.9L V-6 and a 5 speed Manual tranny. The truck also has a class 3 trailer hitch. How big of trailer or boat do you think I could reasonably tow using the above setup. Could I tow a 22-25 foot travel trailer in the 3600lb range. What about a boat, would it tow a 18 foot boat. Thanks...

LV

Boggin · Jul 10, 2008

mine put off a 18 foot boat out in the water no trouble, and it moved my grandparents 20 foot travel trailer around the garden no trouble at all,

Sunk · Jul 10, 2008

I towed an 18 ft Wellcraft with mine just fine, and at the time I had 31s and 3.73s. The boat would probably be fine, but I'm not too sure about the travel trailer.... I'd think that would be a little big.

And this should also be moved to the Towing Forum.

Boggin · Jul 10, 2008

the trailer wasnt as easy as the boat was for me, but i was still impressed, but my trailer was only 20 foot

LordVngr · Jul 10, 2008

Sunk said:
I towed an 18 ft Wellcraft with mine just fine, and at the time I had 31s and 3.73s. The boat would probably be fine, but I'm not too sure about the travel trailer.... I'd think that would be a little big.

And this should also be moved to the Towing Forum.

Hmm, didnt see the Towing forum. My truck has 30s and 3.73s also.

AllanD · Jul 10, 2008

Can you to it? sure

It is legal? No, not really.

will you be "comfortable" towing it? depends on your driving skill and/or talent

I've towed some pretty heavy stuff with my 2.9 but now that I have
a 4.0 I feel a lot more comfortable doing it.

I didn have the 4.0 flywheel and clutch in my truck as well as a 4.10 geared
8.8" axle, but I'm not sure I'd want to drag a 3400lb travel trailer any distance.

It isn't so much the weight as it is the frontal area (and thus wind drag)

I've nticed that hauling heavier loads with my 4.0 (installed in the same truck)
the 4.0 gets much better mileage while towing than the 2.9 did.
Even though the 2.9 would do 2-3mpg better on a road trip.

the absolute worst mileage recorded with my 4.0 was the first leg out of
Casper Wyoming eastbound into Ogalalla Nebraska in the rain and I got
(if memory serves correctly) 17.2mpg. I was towing an empty dovetail
trailer that weighs 1880lbs empty.

AD

Hahnsb2 · Jul 10, 2008

I pulled my sploder sport home, (a bit less than 4k maybe?) and my rig was a total turd. No way I'd do it for any distance.

4x4junkie · Jul 10, 2008

I've towed with my 2.9. Probably the biggest thing is the frontal area like AllanD mentioned, this is more what determines the workload the engine & driveline has to deal with at speed than the trailers weight (within reason, anyway).
If you have the Mitsubishi transmission, NEVER EVER tow in overdrive (5th)!! (except going downhill maybe). The Mitsu has issues in two areas that will very likely reveal themselves if the trans is worked too hard for too long in 5th (weak input shaft ball bearing, and poor lubrication in the 5th/R chamber). Your mileage will very likely not be helped by doing that either.

I got between 15-16 MPG towing a 6x12' enclosed trailer (weight about 3000lbs) up to Oregon and back to So Calif with my 2.9 and 5 speed, which isn't a whole lot different from what I remember getting while towing the same trailer with my 4.0L Ranger.

LordVngr · Jul 10, 2008

4x4junkie said:
If you have the Mitsubishi transmission, NEVER EVER tow in overdrive (5th)!! (except going downhill maybe). The Mitsu has issues in two areas that will very likely reveal themselves if the trans is worked too hard for too long in 5th (weak input shaft ball bearing, and poor lubrication in the 5th/R chamber).

Ok, Maybe I should post my question elsewhere But how can I tell What type of 5 speed tranny I got. Not sure what mine is. Thanks...

LV

4x4junkie · Jul 11, 2008

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/ManualTransmission.html

Basically if your transmission has a removable "pan" on the bottom, it's fragile. If there is no pan at all on the bottom, it's a Mazda M5OD, which is much more tolerant of heavy use.

LordVngr · Jul 11, 2008

4x4junkie said:
Basically if your transmission has a removable "pan" on the bottom, it's fragile. If there is no pan at all on the bottom, it's a Mazda M5OD, which is much more tolerant of heavy use.[/QUOTE] Yep, Mines got the Removable pan on the bottom. :(

tanbuddy · Jul 11, 2008

With that combination, your GCW is only 6000 lbs. Your truck is probablly bn 3500 and 4000 lbs, so that doenst leave much for towing. THe hardest part will be pulling out, esp if there is any kind of hill. Once your goin u should be ok, just dont expect to be able to go 60 mph up any hill or into headwinds.

gw33gp · Jul 11, 2008

I use to tow my race car all over the country with my 89 STX Ranger 4WD Supercab with 5 spd manual. The total for the trailer was around 3,500 lbs and additionally I carried about 800 lbs on the bed. I ran 31" tires with 4.10 gears. I installed AAL springs and helper air springs to keep the rear from sagging. The trailer was enclosed but was low profile to reduce wind resistance.

I did it many years and it was very doable but the engine sure did have to work hard. I had to shift down to 3rd and run it at around 4,000 rpm or more on moderate grades and even down to 2nd on steeper grades. It would tow well at up to 72 mph in 4th gear on level road but higher speed was risking trailer whip. I tried 5th gear once on a level stretch for less than one hour. I almost melted the transmission but, fortunately, I had to make a pit stop and discovered the overheating transmission before any serious damaged occurred. I did have the Mitsubishi transmission.

I did this carefully for a couple years without trailer brakes. Once I got trailer brakes, I could not believe attempted it without trailer brakes.

I now do it with my 2002 4.0 SOHC Ranger with everything else being nearly the same as my STX. It is so much easier to tow with it and I usually get close to 1 mpg better gas mileage than I did with the 2.9L. I don't have to shift down nearly as much on upgrades either. I still don't use 5th gear, EVER, when towing.

So, you can tow 3,500 lbs and even a little more with the 2.9L engine but you and the engine will have to work at it. Try not to stop on upgrades, it is very hard on the clutch to get going again.

AllanD · Jul 11, 2008

Just as a note "trailer whip" or "sway" is usually a symptom of insufficient
tongue loading OR aerodynamic loading creating a similar effect by causing
the trailer to "pitch up".

I have sometimes had a bit of sway, but usually correct it by shifting the load on the trailer, usually forward.

AD

racsan · Jul 12, 2008

i would never tow in overdrive no matter what trans it is. you are just putting a unnessasary load on the motor/trans and it will consume more fuel as well.

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