towing question

[Black99Snake]

Im trying to figure out if my truck will be able to handle pulling my mustang from alabama to colorado 1300 miles on a tow dolly. the car weighs roughly 4000lbs. the truck is pretty much stock just cai and exhaust. it is a 2000 4.0 4x4 automatic. will the trans handle that far of a pull?

 

[adsm08]

Install an auxiliary cooler on the transmission and go for it. Low rear end gears will help, but don't bother re-gearing just for the one tow.

 

[Will]

What's the auxiliary cooler for? That's within the published capabilities of the truck.

An auxiliary cooler is an air heat exchanger. The real tranny cooler is inside of the radiator and is a liquid heat exchanger. Air is actually a really good insulator. It's rubbish as a cooling medium. Liquid is probably 100x better. You want a real test--heat the oven to 210 and stick your hand in. It feels good. Set water to boiling-212-and stick your hand in. You'll now be both an expert in heat transfer, and an emergency room patient.

People will sell you anything. The best trans cooler is the one Ford put inside of your radiator. It's possible there is a small auxiliary cooler outside of the radiator from the factory, but its value is negligible. Your truck is already equipped for this haul.

 

[4.0B2]

only thing I'd worry about is stopping the load in case of QUICK stopping. Does the dolly have brakes?

 

[4 bangin]

the aux cooler is just to keep the trans fluid temp down. over heating is the biggest killer of autos. just make sure you kick out of o/d on the big hills and dont put her on the floor trying to keep at 75 pulling the hills and you will be fine.

and your cooler info is kinda off. the oven / water test has to do with density/ contact area and less with temp. fact is you running coolant at 195-210 down the road trying to "cool" the fluid with near boiling liquid.. where as the air blowing across the aux cooler is hopefully much less cooler... install the aux cooler after the fluid leavs the radiator as it returns to the trans

plus basic math 2 coolers > 1 cooler

 

[RonD]

Not sure what your requirements are for moving the Mustang but have you priced out an Auto Transporter service?
Vs one-way dolly and extra fuel cost, and wear and tear on the tow vehicle.

If you don't have a specific timetable, transporters are not expensive.
Also if you can drop off and pick up the car at prearranged points, i.e. car auctions, dealerships, ect....., that they are already picking up at or dropping off at, it can be down right reasonable.

It costs more if they have to come to your house, and only on Tuesday between 3:00 and 3:30, and drop it off in Colorado at your house on Friday between 1:00 and 1:30.

Make sure they are insured, and make sure you are insured if you are towing, don't assume you are covered.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

The reason a radiator works is the flow of coolant is restricted with the thermostat allowing heat to transfer to ambient air temps. fluid to fluid transfer is allways the most efficient form of heat exchange if you add a cooler make sure it is in the return line to the tranny in front of the radiator and as big as possible to have any real effect. The longer the fluid stays in the cooler the most effect it will actually have on heat transfer. Leave yourself alot of stopping distance if the dolly dont have breaks.

 

[Will]

the aux cooler is just to keep the trans fluid temp down. over heating is the biggest killer of autos. just make sure you kick out of o/d on the big hills and dont put her on the floor trying to keep at 75 pulling the hills and you will be fine.

and your cooler info is kinda off. the oven / water test has to do with density/ contact area and less with temp. fact is you running coolant at 195-210 down the road trying to "cool" the fluid with near boiling liquid.. where as the air blowing across the aux cooler is hopefully much less cooler... install the aux cooler after the fluid leavs the radiator as it returns to the trans

plus basic math 2 coolers > 1 cooler

My info is not off. Blowing on your 200* soup isn't going to work as well as dipping it into 140* water. Fluid is 100X better. That's 2 orders of magnitude.

My tow vehicle, which frequently sees over 10,000#, has a TH400 and no external fluid-air cooler. My trailer is a 3-axle deck-over and weighs 6,000# empty. It's 24 year's old with the original tranny and I've owned it for 10 of those. It's built for it, with the proper cooler in the radiator. The Ranger in question is also equipped for the weight stated.

The Ranger has the advantage of a lock-up torque converter, which my truck doesn't have. All of the heat in an auto comes from the torque converter when you are at a steady speed. If you can keep your converter locked up, heat isn't an issue. When the tranny unlocks the converter or downshifts, disengage the OD until you crest the hill. The converter acts as sort of a gear splitter when it is under heavy torque input. It makes a lot of heat while it does this trick. If you can keep the engine out of high-torque situations, your tranny won't get hot at all and non of this is a concern.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Still, a cooler is a good idea.

I tow 7000lbs with a 77 F250 with a 400 and a C6. Before the cooler i noticed shifts getting sloppier and i drove further, after the cooler (cheap insurance at 50 bucks from oreilys, took an hr to install), it shifts the same as it does when empty....

Auto trannies+Weight=Problems. One pull with 4000lbs, you would pry be fine without a cooler, but if you tow that much on any kind of a regular basis, get a cooler.

I personally prefer a manual transmission for towing.

 

[4.0B2]

I've never had an issue with auto's and towing... just have an aux cooler and make sure to stay out of overdrive (usually).

 

[Black99Snake]

well the reason i ask guys is cause im stationed in colorado and i will be going home on leave for christmas to alabama where the car is stored at the parents. i drove from bama to colorado in 2010 and blew a plug outta the head a few hours from my destination. i really didnt want to drive drive twoo cars from bama to colorado. it would be just a one time thing and the dolly would be a uhaul so i doubt it has brakes. the drive would be pretty smooth riding threw texas and going north threw the tip of n.m. into colorado.

 

[4x4junkie]

WHat gears are in your truck? If 3.73 or 4.10 and you're running stock (size) tires, I think you'll be fine. However I probably would not attempt it if you have 3.27s or oversized tires which you have not regeared for.


I have to disagree with Will's assessment above.
The OE setup does infact use air to cool the tranny (heat flows from the trans fluid to the engine coolant, finally to the air going through the radiator). Using that same air to cool BOTH an engine and a transmission IMO is where the problem is.
Adding a separate cooler to the transmission's return line (separate from the radiator & engine heat) will most certainly reduce transmission temperatures, greatly improving it's reliability. These trannys already seem to have some issues with inadequate cooling when used hard so anything will help.

 

[wildbill23c]

4x4junkie is correct. You definitely need a separate transmission cooler and they aren't really that expensive, well consider about $80 compared to a grand or 2 for a transmission, its very cheap insurance having a transmission cooler put in. I know with my trucks I've always had external coolers and never have had a transmission problem. Heck even my 1993 ford tempo had an external transmission cooler and it didn't even have a tow package (what a person would tow with a tempo is beyond me but it at least had the cooler on it).

 

[rusty ol ranger]

4x4junkie is correct. You definitely need a separate transmission cooler and they aren't really that expensive, well consider about $80 compared to a grand or 2 for a transmission, its very cheap insurance having a transmission cooler put in. I know with my trucks I've always had external coolers and never have had a transmission problem. Heck even my 1993 ford tempo had an external transmission cooler and it didn't even have a tow package (what a person would tow with a tempo is beyond me but it at least had the cooler on it).

I seen a Festiva with a trailer hitch...im sure a tempo could outpull that.

 

[wildbill23c]

I seen a Festiva with a trailer hitch...im sure a tempo could outpull that.

Pretty sure I wouldn't tow with either, but I've seen both with trailer hitches as well.