I realize that this is a controversial subject & I watched with interest a TV session on 4WD Pro Tips last night.
A representative from 360 Gearbox & Diffs (I think that was their business name) stated quite emphatically that you should not tow in 5th gear & went on to describe why.
She also described the way that they strengthen gear boxes & stressed that they recommend that even the strengthened boxes should not be used for 5th gear towing.
Very interesting to me was a (lay?) shaft from an early Nissan patrol that showed the small width gear that is often damaged by towing in 5th. They modified it to be about twice as wide. A mechanic at Darwin showed me the same thing when he was fixing a noisy thrust bearing in my 1996 4.2 EFI Patrol.
When I got the Nissan in 1998 my mechanic stressed that I should not tow in 5th & I have always followed this advice. A call to the then Nissan Qld Service Manager confirmed this view.
Have towed a 2.5 ton van for >200,000km with no problems so far.
I realize that this is a controversial subject & I watched with interest a TV session on 4WD Pro Tips last night.
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When I got the Nissan in 1998 my mechanic stressed that I should not tow in 5th & I have always followed this advice. A call to the then Nissan Qld Service Manager confirmed this view.
Have towed a 2.5 ton van for >200,000km with no problems so far.
Hi Cupie,
If it ain't broke don't fix it. Keep using 4th for another couple of hundreds of kms 4th gear in these boxes is a direct through drive so there are no gears being used to wear or break. Makes sense
jaahn
-- Edited by Jaahn on Friday 20th of June 2014 09:43:56 AM
It does depend on the car, and gearbox type, I'm particularly referring to the newer 6, 7 & 8 speed auto boxes. Generally, if it's a 5 speed box the fifth gear is an overdrive and you would always tow in fourth if you wanted to go easy on it and make it last longer.
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Cheers Jeff
Ticking off the bucket list before we kick it!
200 TTD with Evernew 22'6" and 40+ years in the oil & gas industry, now retired. CMCA Member.
The old Troopy that I have been using for the last 25 yrs for towing had 350.000kls on the clock. Ive done 275 of them , 200 would be townig a 1.5ton off rd camper trailer with boat etc, also caravan for many of them.
It is anold 4lt that I turbo'ed to make some thing of a vehicle of it, Its been around the block, criss crossed the country, cape york twice, simpson, tanami, corner country, birdsville track, gibb river twice etc etc, always used 5th with no problems.
In saying that its an old heavy duty system & has had a hard life.
As for the newer units then I have to agree with what has been said, they are much lighter built with a small 5th gear outside the main box in the extension housing with very little support for the bearings as well.
I may add that the new Iveco just loves 6th, pulls hard with no effort.
JC.
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Be your self; there's no body better qualified ! "I came into this world with nothing , I still have most of it"
I have a Ford XL 2012 ranger ute, 6 speed box. I was told never to tow in 6th (overdrive) as it puts too much stress on the drive train. OK this confirms it, 5th gear while towing. Thanks guys
Safe travels
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P B Crockart EX RAAF Electrician,
Aircraft Avionics tech. Senior high school teacher.
As for the newer units then I have to agree with what has been said, they are much lighter built with a small 5th gear outside the main box in the extension housing with very little support for the bearings as well.
JC.
Spot on & that lack of bearing support & small 5th gear, seems to be at the crux of the problem.
-- Edited by Cupie on Saturday 21st of June 2014 10:19:09 PM
Just blown up my auto transmission because I had no idea that this thing has an overdrive which is always on. Has to be turned off for towing. It was gone in no time. ! After that I did a bit of further investigation and found out that towing in highest gear (manual) or overdrive (auto trans) can kill your gear box in no time. "Can". Ordered a transmission temperature gauge and will put it in next week. The temperature of the ATF is a very good indicator to see if everything is going well or not. Can save thousands of dollars.
Be aware that, if it worked for you a couple of times and you didn't have any problems, does not mean that it is the way to go. Can be a very costly experience. I didn't have any problems until it was too late...........and my vehicle manual has no warning too.
Regards, Berni
-- Edited by BTSV_Berni on Saturday 21st of June 2014 09:36:30 PM
I bought a s/h Prado about 8 years ago 4 speed Auto ,I asked the salesman at Toyota what gear to tow in his answer was put it in Drive and let it do it's own thing 2000 model that was 1.5 around the block not a problem ,have a 03 diesel Prado 4 speed now and do the same no problems yet touch wood.
Mazda Tribute 2006. Google for it and you'll find heaps of transmission fails. Read far further (and between the lines) and you'll find out that most of the problems were selfmade due to lack of knowledge and lack of information from the manufacturer (manual). Ford CD4E Transmission. Needs regular transmission service (every 30k) and shorter transmission service intervals (15-20k) if used for towing.
If treated right it lasts forever, if treated wrong.......500km. . If you have your service done by a dodgy workshop that only ticks the box.......you are f...d. And it is impossible
to get some evidence for the not done right service.
This transmission is also in the Ford Escape and the older Mazda 626......and a few other cars.
I didn't even know that it has an overdrive and didn't know that it "can" be turned off. RTFM. . But even that wouldn't help because the manual doesn't tell me to turn it off
when towing. A fail in the manual made by the manufacturer.
Keeping an eye on the ATF temperature seems to be essential for all auto transmissions. No matter what make. An unusual increase of temperature is a good indicator that something
in the trans is going wrong and if detected early enough it is relatively inexpensive to fix. If the warning light in the dash board comes on then the trans is gone.
No big drama. Towing my A'van Aliner. Every 4-6 weeks for about 35 km. Not that much, but enough to kill it. .
I'm already used to the good old stuff. Had a Mercedes 280 E W123, taken over from my father at 200k and sold it for 50 Dollar years later with 800k on the odo. Never done any kind of service.
After that I bought a 300 E W124 with 180k on the odo. Did a service when I bought it and after that refilled the oil level when needed. Next service happened at 500k......the oil filter was gone completely (only the rubber rings were left) . And this thing was a rocket. 240km/h on the good german autobahn nearly every second weekend fully loaded with mates for going to away matches from my soccer club. Was built to last for ever.
With the Mazda all services were done..........didn't help that much, and no one knows if it was really done or if only a few boxes were ticked.
Nowadays all cars/parts are designed to the limit from the beginning. Old VW Golf with 1.3 litre engine had 60 hp. now they get 160 hp out of the same size engine. That can not last long without service. And even with service it will never last as long as the old bricks did.
In newer turbo diesels .. Towing in high gears for long periods heats up turbo exhaust housing . As it works its gut out trying to maintain speed.. It's ok for short periods. But say ? Cruising around 89 /90 kph in a 4 cyl (ESP) is hard work . Even though it sounds ok diving .. The bigger Diesel engines don't have the same issue..
4th gear in these boxes is a direct through drive so there are no gears being used to wear or break. Makes sense 
. If you have your service done by a dodgy workshop that only ticks the box.......you are f...d. And it is impossible
