Automatic or manual for towing

[Wicked_Sludge]

the only time your likely to get in trouble for being overweight is if your DANGEROUSLY over weight...or if you get in an accident. an officer isnt (and probably couldnt, legally) going to follow you to the nearest scales and make you weigh in if he only pulled you over for speeding or a broken taillight.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Run a E4OD under heavy load day in and day out, and run a T18 under the same conditions, gurantee that E4OD will puke.

The T18 was designed for trucks up to 2.5tons. The E4OD seen max duty in the F350 (maybe the F450, not sure), no where near the duty the T18 seen.

What is the biggest killer of all automatic tranmissions? HEAT.

With a manual transmission, heat is not really an issue, of course there is heat, but since everything should be completly locked to togther all the time (with the exception of taking off and shifting) heat should be kept to a minimum. Not to metion that a stick shift isnt as sensitive to fluid levels as an automatic, so when the fluid does get hot in a manual and expand it isnt confusing itself, shifting back and fourth, back and fourth, creating heat, which will ultimiatly kill an automatic.

Also, with a automatic its harder to detect when your working the tranny to hard. Atleast a manual gives some warning (it whines, or becomes hard to shift) before it takes a dump, normally an automatic will start slipping and a mile down the road you'll be walking.

They dont call them slushboxes for nothing.

later,
Dustin

 

[Ozwynn]

Run a E4OD under heavy load day in and day out, and run a T18 under the same conditions, gurantee that E4OD will puke.

The T18 was designed for trucks up to 2.5tons. The E4OD seen max duty in the F350 (maybe the F450, not sure), no where near the duty the T18 seen.

What is the biggest killer of all automatic tranmissions? HEAT.

With a manual transmission, heat is not really an issue, of course there is heat, but since everything should be completly locked to togther all the time (with the exception of taking off and shifting) heat should be kept to a minimum. Not to metion that a stick shift isnt as sensitive to fluid levels as an automatic, so when the fluid does get hot in a manual and expand it isnt confusing itself, shifting back and fourth, back and fourth, creating heat, which will ultimiatly kill an automatic.

Also, with a automatic its harder to detect when your working the tranny to hard. Atleast a manual gives some warning (it whines, or becomes hard to shift) before it takes a dump, normally an automatic will start slipping and a mile down the road you'll be walking.

They dont call them slushboxes for nothing.

later,
Dustin

Just so you know i actually have no preference.

Heat is also the enemy of the clutch

if you have the right gearing then your transmission is not hunting for a gear. and get a big ass cooler and then it stays cool.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

What is the biggest killer of all automatic tranmissions? HEAT.

With a manual transmission, heat is not really an issue, of course there is heat, but since everything should be completly locked to togther all the time (with the exception of taking off and shifting) heat should be kept to a minimum. Not to metion that a stick shift isnt as sensitive to fluid levels as an automatic, so when the fluid does get hot in a manual and expand it isnt confusing itself, shifting back and fourth, back and fourth, creating heat, which will ultimiatly kill an automatic.

Also, with a automatic its harder to detect when your working the tranny to hard. Atleast a manual gives some warning (it whines, or becomes hard to shift) before it takes a dump, normally an automatic will start slipping and a mile down the road you'll be walking.

They dont call them slushboxes for nothing.

later,
Dustin

When you are overworking an auto so it hunts... you need to take it out of OD. I have overloaded my F-150 and with the OD locked out it held its own just fine. Running in OD it thinks it is empty or close to it and tries to run in OD as much as it can... and idiot with a manual will do the same thing trying it stay in OD as much as possible when they really shouldn't and will fry the clutch.

The computer running the tranny is only as smart as the guy driving... if they are too stupid to turn off OD it will be too.

 

[therieldeal]

has anyone here ever been stopped for being overweight?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ive been overweight. ive even been pulled over while overweight (long story), but ive never been in trouble for it.

 

[therieldeal]

hmmm

the thing that worries me is the GVWR and unladen weight is on my registration (DMV puts it there based on my VIN) and its obvious that the difference is a lot less than my escort weighs lol

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

has anyone here ever been stopped for being overweight?

No, but you do leave yourself wide open for a lawsuit if you get into a wreck.

 

[gw33gp]

and idiot with a manual will do the same thing trying it stay in OD as much as possible when they really shouldn't and will fry the clutch.

Towing in OD will not fry the clutch unless the clutch is already bad. Running in OD will not cause a good clutch to slip.

Towing in OD can cause a manual transmission to overheat. I don't know if this is true of all manuals but I almost cooked the Mitsubishi 5 spd in my 89 Ranger while towing about 3,500 lbs on a flat section of Interstate thinking it would be safe to tow in OD. Apparently the OD bearings are not designed to work under medium to high towing conditions in the Mitsubishi 5 spd and possibly other transmissions.

I don't even tow in OD now with my 4.0 SOHC engine with a manual transmission even though I know the engine could handle it. I will not take the chance of damaging the transmission.

 

[therieldeal]

No, but you do leave yourself wide open for a lawsuit if you get into a wreck.

i was thinking that as well.

damn, this sucks lol... i guess i'm buying another truck then, good thing i bought this one less than a week ago.... wtf.

 

[Will]

Run a E4OD under heavy load day in and day out, and run a T18 under the same conditions, gurantee that E4OD will puke.

The T18 was designed for trucks up to 2.5tons. The E4OD seen max duty in the F350 (maybe the F450, not sure), no where near the duty the T18 seen.

The T18 was not designed for trucks up to 2.5 ton. I have the 1976 Ford service manual (I had an LN700 some years ago) and the T18 is used only in the F100, F250 and F350. The C6 was used in the F600, the B600/700 school buses and in the C600. The E40D is a C6 with an overdrive and lock-up converter. I've seen C6s in old Uhaul trucks. Sure a T18 might last longer, but it's not as easy to drive for the average bus driver or U-Haul renter. A C6 tank take pretty huge abuse considering it is churning the fluid in the torque converter making lots of heat.

Of course the E40D had a lock-up converter so it doesn't run hotter than a manual going down the road. You are talking a very small amount of pressure to hold the clutches in--under 150psi. It has an overdrive so it can actually travel the interstate; it has more gears available because it can unlock the torque converter and basically split each gear hydraulically.

Obviously for a heavy application I too chose a manual--look at my bus. You know how hard it was to find a bus with a manual tranny with low miles on it? Kansas City, that's how hard. But I didn't want to mess with the risk of having to pull out a big fawker Allison auto and bathing myself in ten gallons of fluid after it puked its guts. I would prefer to just stomp on the gas and go and not mess with shifting, but I agree with the reliability of manuals.

Same thing on my Honda shitbox--I bought a manual shift because who wants to buy into a 20-yo auto in an obscure vehicle?

I prefered the TH400 in my Chevy because they are almost as reliable as any manual shift--maybe more if you count a clutch--and I don't have to shift. A TH400 is better than a C6. I didn't know fuel prices would have me scampering for a 30+mpg car to do my running around in.

I don't see what's so hard about looking for the virtue in things. I prefer a manual in a big truck, but if I had to purchase a fleet of rental I would get all autos. I wouldn't rent balky manual shift trucks to morons that are challenged manuevering a fullsize pickup or van. They'll bust the u-joints and then run into things while trying to figure out how to shift it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Towing in OD will not fry the clutch unless the clutch is already bad. Running in OD will not cause a good clutch to slip.

It is the shifting in and out of OD that would kill the clutch, not the actually towing. Just like what would happen when an automatic would die from jumping from gear to gear for hours on end...

Towing in OD can cause a manual transmission to overheat. I don't know if this is true of all manuals but I almost cooked the Mitsubishi 5 spd in my 89 Ranger while towing about 3,500 lbs on a flat section of Interstate thinking it would be safe to tow in OD. Apparently the OD bearings are not designed to work under medium to high towing conditions in the Mitsubishi 5 spd and possibly other transmissions.

I don't even tow in OD now with my 4.0 SOHC engine with a manual transmission even though I know the engine could handle it. I will not take the chance of damaging the transmission.

Ranger's have pretty light duty manual transmissions, the limit isn't very high on what you can tow in OD.

 

[gw33gp]

It is the shifting in and out of OD that would kill the clutch, not the actually towing. Just like what would happen when an automatic would die from jumping from gear to gear for hours on end...

If a person can't shift in and out of OD without slipping the clutch, they should not be driving with a manual transmission. Also, if they don't have the sense to know that it is not smart to keep shifting in and out of OD; maybe they should not be driving at all. Even allowing an automatic to shift in and out of OD (or any other gears) is bad for it.

 

[Will]

Shifting in and out of any gear doesn't hurt the clutch at all if you rpm match. You never let the clutch out unless it is spinning the same rpm as the flywheel. It's the load on the bearings and such I suspect. But a manual made for a truck should be able to tow in any gear. Is the M50D really designed for a truck? That's a good question.

Autos get hot fast when you let them hunt. Heat is what kills those. The planetary set is incredibly strong and it is buffered by the torque converter and clutches from load shocks. It also buffers the driveline.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Its really liek as prefrence of wheather you wear boxers or briefs, EFI or Carb, Coke or Pepsi, McD's or BK, its just what you like and if you dont like the other one you'll think of every possible way to put it down.

I prefer a stick shift to a automatic for the fact that i select what gear i want it in, i stays in that gear, and does not shift unless i want it to.

If i wanna go screaming at 4000RPM up a hill in Creeper low with my Dually, thats my right...and no automatic will take that away from me

later,
Dustin