Auto Gearbox 2020

[Gerry64]

Hi All , has anyone done a fair bit of towing a van without upgrading gearbox cooling , worried about voiding warranty

 

[adsm08]

What exactly do you mean by "towing a van"?

 

[Gerry64]

Were going to buy a 18ft caravan , and worried the standard gearbox cooling will not cool it enough

 

[adsm08]

Were going to buy a 18ft caravan , and worried the standard gearbox cooling will not cool it enough

Ok, see, I still had to go and Google that.

You want to tow a pull-behind camper/RV unit like this:




What I thought you asked was about towing this:

I don't have any direct experience towing with the newer Rangers, but I do have some experience working on them and the transmission system.

The transmission coolers for the 10R transmissions aren't like the old radiator style units. It's a pretty beefy and dense block under the truck with engine coolant running through it to keep the transmission fluid at a constant temp. It is going to be a lot more efficient than the old school ones.

As long as you have the tow package and the trailer isn't more than the truck's rated towing capacity you shouldn't have any issues. You aren't going to be able to easily put a mechanical trans temp gauge on that truck, but it might not be a bad idea to buy a scan gauge of some sort to monitor the transmission temp.

I

 

[sgtsandman]

Welcome to the forum! From the sounds of it, you are from across the pond. From how the manual for the U.S. models read, a transmission cooler should not be needed if it's kept with in the limitations specified in the owner's manual.

With that being said, an added transmission cooler is not a bad idea. Especially if you are dealing with quite a bit of steep roads.

EDIT: adsm08 is a Ford Technician. So, I would go by his recommendations.

 

[adsm08]

EDIT: adsm08 is a Ford Technician. So, I would go by his recommendations.

The other issue with an add-on cooler on the 10R series of transmissions is that there are no cooler lines. The heat exchanger is bolted right to the side of the trans and the ports that handle the trans fluid are plugged directly into the case. It would be quite a bit of work to plumb one in.


Also (and another thing I had to use the Google for), Albion Park is in New South Wales Australia, which has contributed to some of our confusion.

Now, not having worked on an Aussie Ranger, and not having access to that version of the shop manuals, I don't know for sure that anything I've said is correct, but given Ford's recent push to streamline things by globalizing designs as much as possible, it's a good bet the US and Aussie Rangers for 2020 aren't that different.

 

[Gerry64]

Thanks heaps , abit of peace of mind , i’ll stick with the factory one , 5years warranty if any trouble , p.s great forum site

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The other issue with an add-on cooler on the 10R series of transmissions is that there are no cooler lines. The heat exchanger is bolted right to the side of the trans and the ports that handle the trans fluid are plugged directly into the case. It would be quite a bit of work to plumb one in.


Also (and another thing I had to use the Google for), Albion Park is in New South Wales Australia, which has contributed to some of our confusion.

Now, not having worked on an Aussie Ranger, and not having access to that version of the shop manuals, I don't know for sure that anything I've said is correct, but given Ford's recent push to streamline things by globalizing designs as much as possible, it's a good bet the US and Aussie Rangers for 2020 aren't that different.

Looks like the global T6 has the 6R80 per wikipedia, they are trying to go global on everything but the Ranger powertrain aside from possibly the front diff is pretty unique to North America.

 

[wildbill23c]

Ok, see, I still had to go and Google that.

You want to tow a pull-behind camper/RV unit like this:




What I thought you asked was about towing this:

I don't have any direct experience towing with the newer Rangers, but I do have some experience working on them and the transmission system.

The transmission coolers for the 10R transmissions aren't like the old radiator style units. It's a pretty beefy and dense block under the truck with engine coolant running through it to keep the transmission fluid at a constant temp. It is going to be a lot more efficient than the old school ones.

As long as you have the tow package and the trailer isn't more than the truck's rated towing capacity you shouldn't have any issues. You aren't going to be able to easily put a mechanical trans temp gauge on that truck, but it might not be a bad idea to buy a scan gauge of some sort to monitor the transmission temp.

I

Haha, I was thinking the same thing when the OP said towing a van.

Aren't many of today's automatic transmission equipped with some sort of transmission cooler thermostat/bypass system? So when the vehicle is cold the transmission fluid bypasses the cooler and circulates within the transmission until the thermostat opens to allow the fluid to go through the external/auxiliary cooler? Is this something similar to how the 10R transmissions and probably others work as well? If I recall my 08 Toyota Tundra did this as well, which helped warm the transmission up to temperature quicker and maintain a more steady temperature instead of what could be large temperature swings in cold weather and hot weather.

 

[wildbill23c]

OP: Check the towing capacity and the payload capacity of your Ranger. Then check the trailer's weight, and payload capacity, plus tongue weight of trailer. That will give you a good idea if your Ranger is up to the task of towing a particular trailer. If its well within the towing capacity of your Ranger you should be good to go. Don't buy a trailer that is right at the limits of the truck you are going to be using, get a larger truck or a smaller trailer, don't tow at the limit or close to with any vehicle.

Transmission cooling options have changed a lot in the past decade. All my vehicles are older, well my newest is a 2008 Ford Explorer but even it has external coolers for the transmission, engine oil, and power steering. Today's vehicles are built with extremely tight tolerances in mind so keeping consistent temperatures are a must for keeping the vehicle in its best fuel efficiency map according to all the on-board computers. Even with transmission coolers I think many of today's vehicles have a bypass/thermostat in the transmission cooler loop to keep the transmission at optimal temperatures to avoid sudden temperature spikes both high and low which could cause damage and/or change the gear selection mapping. Some vehicles maybe all with overdrive may not shift into overdrive until the transmission and engine have reached operating temperatures, so allowing the transmission fluid to circulate through an external/auxiliary cooler when its below freezing for example may cause the computers to think its too cold, and prevent the transmission from shifting into overdrive at all. Same goes for getting too hot, many transmissions are designed to drop out of overdrive if the transmission gets too hot, so having a cooler may help prevent or keep that from happening quite as frequently while towing. The engineering that goes into this stuff is quite complex and trying to change it can have some not so good results.

I'd get a scan gauge of some sort that can monitor transmission temps do some towing tests and watch the temperatures, and go from there. Sounds like there may not be any option to add any sort of additional cooling capability to the transmission. I'm not sure what temps the transmissions of today really are built to run at, maybe adsm08 knows, but I know you don't want them running at boiling temperatures that'll quickly suck the life out of an automatic transmission for sure.

 

[adsm08]

Haha, I was thinking the same thing when the OP said towing a van.

Aren't many of today's automatic transmission equipped with some sort of transmission cooler thermostat/bypass system? So when the vehicle is cold the transmission fluid bypasses the cooler and circulates within the transmission until the thermostat opens to allow the fluid to go through the external/auxiliary cooler? Is this something similar to how the 10R transmissions and probably others work as well? If I recall my 08 Toyota Tundra did this as well, which helped warm the transmission up to temperature quicker and maintain a more steady temperature instead of what could be large temperature swings in cold weather and hot weather.

Yes. The 6R80 in particular, which seems to be what his Ranger has definately has a thermostat valve. Enough of them have hit me in the head for me to be sure of that. They are an electric pastel blue.