Towing With Explorer

[moterboat]

did some major surfing to find this info I needed for pulling with my boat with my explorer, the 1991 I have is the early model that come with the A4LD transmission,this year also come with a very high gear ratio rear end.
the transmissions are not tow worthy,they overheat easily,which destroys the transmission,thought this may be good info for anyone planing to pull with a early ford explorer..and anyone towing with any year explorer, its bad on the transmission to tow in overdrive.. overheats the tranny..

 

[bazrfc]

Re: Towing With Explorer

hey,
ive been towing with my 1994 limited explorer for 2 years now.
right now im towing a 1300lb boat and have been for 6 months, i have never had any kind of problems. the furthest in one day was 6 hours through the malahat in victoria.
i feel its very reliable.
i thought id put in ma 2 cents

 

[blues]

Re: Towing With Explorer

I ve been towing a 23 foot day cruiser, must weigh , total around 4600 pounds, using my 2001 explorer with the V6
new shocks were needed,. and I have changed my atf once a year.
no problems,,..,.,. but, I have heard that overdrive should be avoided while towing,.,.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Depends on the terrain you tow across hills vs flat.... when on a hill take it out of OD to help the transmission. If you are going distance where you feel it may be heating the transmission then add on a cooler which is fairly simple installation.

 

[rentalguy1]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Depends on the terrain you tow across hills vs flat.... when on a hill take it out of OD to help the transmission. If you are going distance where you feel it may be heating the transmission then add on a cooler which is fairly simple installation.

Sorry, but you should never tow with any vehicle in OD. Not even a manual tranny. They aren't made for this, and it most likely says so in your owner's manual. Even if you have added a beefiest of aftermarket coolers, don't do it.
This especially goes for the Ford A4LD. If you are unlucky enough to have one of those Godforsaken hunks of scrap, try to find a way to ditch in in favor of a C5, or a C4/C6 hybrid. Thank heavens that Ford only used it from about 1986 to 1994, but woe to all the Ranger, BroncoII, and Explorer drivers who have them.

 

[moterboat]

Re: Towing With Explorer

I ve been towing a 23 foot day cruiser, must weigh , total around 4600 pounds, using my 2001 explorer with the V6
new shocks were needed,. and I have changed my atf once a year.
no problems,,..,.,. but, I have heard that overdrive should be avoided while towing,.,.

2001's do not have the A4LD transmissions and they have more hp than the earlier 4.0's and they have a lower gear,much better for pulling,the early years are 91 - 94 but 91 was the worst,they had a higher gear then the later ones.. the transmission shops suggest the addition of a high performance trans cooler to lenthen the life of the ford transmission when their being used to pull.. and I agree,never pull in overdrive,overheats the trans. and shortens the life of it...

 

[moterboat]

Re: Towing With Explorer

hey,
ive been towing with my 1994 limited explorer for 2 years now.
right now im towing a 1300lb boat and have been for 6 months, i have never had any kind of problems. the furthest in one day was 6 hours through the malahat in victoria.
i feel its very reliable.
i thought id put in ma 2 cents

1300LBS is nothing,the explorer can handle that.. the 91 - 94 are rated at around 5000LBS,I would never pull anything heavier then 1500LBS with the older explorers,it will pull it,but the trans will not take it for long or many trips.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Towing With Explorer

There is a myth that towing in overdrive overheats the transmission. While that is partially true, it is not the fact the tranny is in overdrive that causes the problem. In direct or OD, the torque converter locks up when a given road speed and engine vacuum spec is reached. At that point nothing in the tranny is slipping or creating heat except rotating parts. However, when the converter unlocks, the torque converter now creates heat and in overdrive it builds heat quickly. The point here is that it is indeed OK to tow in overdrive as long as the tranny isn't constantly hunting between direct and OD or if the converter is frequently locking and unlocking. Lastly, if towing at or near the maximum tow rating, or if towing in very hilly terrain you are advised to stick to direct and avoid OD.

 

[rentalguy1]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Well, let me put it this way...I've owned nothing but RBV's (Ranger Based Vehicles) for quite a while now, and I feel pretty good about my knowledge on these particular vehicles (learned in large part through mistakes and not listening to those who came before me). You guys tow however you wanna tow, but in my sploder, the OD button is the last thing pushed before I leave the driveway or boat ramp. It's your repair bill.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Agreed, there is no need for a blanket "No Towing In Overdrive" rule. I like the 14MPG I get while towing my boat, but you have to know your truck, it's capabilities, and the load you are pulling. Granted, I don't have a '91 Explorer, I have an Isuzu with a 5spd, 4.30 gears and small(for a truck) 30" tires. I keep the revs above 2k, which in overdrive is about 50MPH. 90k an runnin' strong.

 

[Monkaroo]

Re: Towing With Explorer

There is a myth that towing in overdrive overheats the transmission. While that is partially true, it is not the fact the tranny is in overdrive that causes the problem. In direct or OD, the torque converter locks up when a given road speed and engine vacuum spec is reached. At that point nothing in the tranny is slipping or creating heat except rotating parts. However, when the converter unlocks, the torque converter now creates heat and in overdrive it builds heat quickly. The point here is that it is indeed OK to tow in overdrive as long as the tranny isn't constantly hunting between direct and OD or if the converter is frequently locking and unlocking. Lastly, if towing at or near the maximum tow rating, or if towing in very hilly terrain you are advised to stick to direct and avoid OD.

Couldn't be put any more to the point than that . Good answer Silvertip . I didn't know how the converter functioned as far as locking and unlocking . Very interesting .

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: Towing With Explorer

i would never tow with anything with an A4LD and if i did theres not a chance in hell id put it in overdrive for that matter if i ever bought anything with an A4LD id swap it for an c-4 before it left me stranded. now towing my little 14fter behind eather of my half ton chevys i dont hesitate to use od one is 5speed and the other is setup to handle trailers well over its rated capacity and does it well not that id want to back down an boat lauch with an 8000lb load but iv towed neer 10,000lbs of load and trailer many times down the intersate no OD with any kind of load heavy enough for it to drop down going up hills

 

[hal2814]

Re: Towing With Explorer

did some major surfing to find this info I needed for pulling with my boat with my explorer, the 1991 I have is the early model that come with the A4LD transmission,this year also come with a very high gear ratio rear end.
the transmissions are not tow worthy,they overheat easily,which destroys the transmission,thought this may be good info for anyone planing to pull with a early ford explorer..and anyone towing with any year explorer, its bad on the transmission to tow in overdrive.. overheats the tranny..

There are 3 to 4 different gear ratios they put in those rear ends in 91 according to the owners manual. The most common one was very high but they did have some low gear options available. There's a table in the owners manual stating the tow capacities based on gear ratio and transmission type.

The A4LD was largely a piece of tin but a rebuilt one (I'm sure they've all been rebuilt by now) will do ok since Ford decided to replace what I assume was styrofoam or plastic with a low melting point with proper non-metal transmission components. It's still a pain to use, work with, or work on, but it will pull a boat assuming you keep it out of OD (per owners manual directions). If you do have a 91, make sure you had the near ancient hitch recall taken care of if you tow with the bumper hitch. They used the wrong kind of metal and it really wouldn't tow the advertised 3500lbs labeled on the bumper.

I towed a 2500lb rig and then a 3200lbs rig (loaded weight) with a 91 Explorer for several years. The rear seal on the tranny went out once on me but I'm not convinced that was due to towing. They had a habit of doing that anyways. The transmission was rebuilt at 32K miles. I bought it with 100K miles on it and put almost 200K on it before I sold it. Rebuilt tranny held up and is still holding up for my brother who purchased it about a year ago. The rest of the vehicle is falling apart though.

 

[rentalguy1]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Axle Codes for Ford Explorers with 8.8" rear differential and Dana 35 front (code can be found on the id tag inside the driver's door):

Explorer:


All Explorer are 31 spline 8.8" rear.
Code Ratio
41 Open 3.27
44 Open 3.73
45 Open 3.55
D1 L/S 3.27
D2 L/S 4.10
D4 L/S 3.55
D5 L/S 3.73

Originally posted on www.broncoii.org

Just about any info for these particular transmissions can be found on the above mentioned site, or on www.rangerforums.com, or on www.explorerforum.com

I hope this doesn't break the "direct link" statutes.

 

[1730V]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Silvertips explanation was right on. It's not the OD, it's the "hunting".

The very first post in this thread mentions a high ratio. Since so few know what a ratio is. What is high? 4.10 or 3.27? A 3.27 is going to cause a lot more hunting than a 4.10.

I towed thousands of miles with AWD Aerostars (A4LD) with 3.55 ratios (front and rear) and never had one issue-ever.

Making blanket statements does not always (rarely) apply. I'm just passing on my experience.

We also have to remember that a 1991 vehicle is now 17 years old.

 

[ibew1933]

Re: Towing With Explorer

I tow with a 95 explorer with od off, no problems but only 10mpg.

 

[Monkaroo]

Re: Towing With Explorer

Silvertips explanation was right on. It's not the OD, it's the "hunting".

The very first post in this thread mentions a high ratio. Since so few know what a ratio is. What is high? 4.10 or 3.27? A 3.27 is going to cause a lot more hunting than a 4.10.

I towed thousands of miles with AWD Aerostars (A4LD) with 3.55 ratios (front and rear) and never had one issue-ever.

Making blanket statements does not always (rarely) apply. I'm just passing on my experience.

We also have to remember that a 1991 vehicle is now 17 years old.

I stake a lot of confidence in what Silvertip has to say . He has helped me on issues I would have never figured out without his help . Anyone who reads his posts should figure out real quick , this guy knows his stuff . If I'm in hilly terrain , I kick the OD off , but if I'm in areas where it doesn't make me downshift back and forth too often I leave it in OD . I drive an F 150 with the 4.6 V8 . No problems so far with 111,000 miles . KNOCK ON WOOD ! lol

 

[Esox]

Re: Towing With Explorer

I always tow in OD. Never have a need to turn it off. Can open the throttle quite a bit before it downshifts or unlocks the converter. The 45RFE trans in my jeep has 145k+ miles on it so far with no problems. I'm sure there are some vehicles that it's not a good idea to tow in OD but not all of them.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Towing With Explorer

My new-to-me 2006 EXPLORER, 4.6L, 3V with the 6 speed auto pulled my boat long distance Saturday for the first time. Did a flawless job. To the ramp I kept it out of OD. Coming home I let it in OD and did not notice anything in the way of struggling. Land here is pretty flat. My boat trailer combo is probably around 4000#.

It has the factory class III/IV tow package and the sticker on the hitch says 7000lbs capacity.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Towing With Explorer

I've owned several early Explorers and Rangers, the A4LD is not the more robust trans made, but with proper driver habits, proper service, and a good cooler it can be made to last. I would say however that about 5500lbs would be the max I'd attempt to tow with that vehicle, at least on a regular basis.
Ford did only make that trans for a few years, but the newer versions are still the same basic trans. Many internals are near identical and many interchange with the older unit. The overdrive automatics that were used in the full sized truck were a lot better for towing. Keep in mind that the A4LD is a light duty trans, it obviously wasn't designed with towing in mind.