brewern
Cadet
- Joined
- Dec 31, 1969
- Messages
- 12
Re: Advice buying a used boat
Let the adventure begin! My old truck, a '94 Ford Ranger, 6 cylinder, 3.0 has had a very slow leak in the transmission for quite some time. However, while towing the boat home yesterday, I noticed some smoke coming from under the truck, so I pulled over and looked, and the transmission was dripping fluid slowly and hitting the exhaust. Uh oh! But I occasionally pulled over and checked the fluids until we made it home. After that, I put a box of cat litter under the tranny, and checked it this morning. I only saw about 4 drops of fluid. I checked the fluid levels, and added a 1/2 quart of fluid, and the levels looked ok.
I asked my step father about it. He's a big gear head and once owned used car lot. But, he's not the most wordy guy on the planet. Here was his response:
"The truck is not made to tow a boat unless you and have an extra tranmission cooler and it still may not do the job. When fuild comes out the seal it is getting to hot and to much pressure in transmission and the weak link is the seal."
So, I need advice. Do I keep this truck, or should I trade it in now. If I do trade it in, what should I get. I'm a frugal guy and refuse to buy new. And, I live within walking distance of work. Even though I don't walk it, if I get a bigger gas guzzling engine, it's really no big deal for daily use. It won't eat up my wallet, and every now and then I'll budget in a trip to the lake.
But, I don't know what to get, how do I know if a vehicle is rated to tow my new beauty?
Thanks as always,
Neil
Let the adventure begin! My old truck, a '94 Ford Ranger, 6 cylinder, 3.0 has had a very slow leak in the transmission for quite some time. However, while towing the boat home yesterday, I noticed some smoke coming from under the truck, so I pulled over and looked, and the transmission was dripping fluid slowly and hitting the exhaust. Uh oh! But I occasionally pulled over and checked the fluids until we made it home. After that, I put a box of cat litter under the tranny, and checked it this morning. I only saw about 4 drops of fluid. I checked the fluid levels, and added a 1/2 quart of fluid, and the levels looked ok.
I asked my step father about it. He's a big gear head and once owned used car lot. But, he's not the most wordy guy on the planet. Here was his response:
"The truck is not made to tow a boat unless you and have an extra tranmission cooler and it still may not do the job. When fuild comes out the seal it is getting to hot and to much pressure in transmission and the weak link is the seal."
So, I need advice. Do I keep this truck, or should I trade it in now. If I do trade it in, what should I get. I'm a frugal guy and refuse to buy new. And, I live within walking distance of work. Even though I don't walk it, if I get a bigger gas guzzling engine, it's really no big deal for daily use. It won't eat up my wallet, and every now and then I'll budget in a trip to the lake.
But, I don't know what to get, how do I know if a vehicle is rated to tow my new beauty?
Thanks as always,
Neil
