I just got back from towing a small pop-up from Hampton VA to Blairsville GA and then back again. We had several mountains to cross and at several points I thought I wasn't going to make it up the hill. We got down to 25mph going over the Eastern Continental Divide. I don't have a transmission temp gauge so I have no idea how it was running but my engine temp never rose above the "A" on "NORMAL". I was loaded down pretty good with bikes, canoe, kayak and camping gear plus the pop-up but I was still really surprised the truck had that much trouble. I'm considering adding a transmission cooler but I wanted to see if anyone else had similar problems. I'm running a 95 extended cab, long bed, 5.0 auto, 4X4. I have an ARE contractor cap which I put the canoe and kayak on. I know the 5.0 motors aren't powerful engines but I've always known them to be dependable. My truck got me to GA and back, over mountains loaded down in 100+ heat so I guess I shouldn't gripe too much.

 

How heavy is the trailer?
Oversize tires?
What rearend ratio?

 

My 5.0 E4OD Bronco with 33's and 3.55's I wouldn't even consider towing with.

Like he asked, whats your door jam sticker code under the axle tab?

Adrianspeeder

 

I have 31 inch tires. I'm going to have to wait till I'm back in Hampton on Friday to see what the door jam says. My tires are a little bigger but not a lot. I don't have a lift. I have air suspension on the back to level my truck when loaded. I'm wondering if maybe I just need to look at increasing HP. I also need a tach and a tranny temp gauge. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on with my truck.

 

I would check the trannie fluid for one thing and see if it smells burnt or changed color. If it does, then you definitely need to change it and get a transmission cooler. The fluid is cooled by going through the radiator, but a trannie cooler would not hurt.

If your rear is a 3.08, IO could certainly understand the problem.

 

Good info. I did have the fluid flushed about two years ago along with the differential fluid and radiator. I figured I had no idea when it was last done so why not just change everything. I will check it again this Friday. I looked at etrailer.com and they had coolers that ran around $60 and the installation video didn't look too complicated. I did see where one guy had a line running out of the tranny to a filter and then through a cooler. Would that just be making things too complicated? I use my truck regularly to pull a 17 foot boat and a pop-up out to the Blue Ridge Mountains. If I go the route of adding a cooler how hard is it to t-off the hot side of the cooler for a temp gauge? Any recommendations for gauge and gauge location? Ext cooler suggestions? Thanks again for the advice.

 

I would almost bet it is his gearing. I pulled a much heavier 17" full size, single axle camper with a 3.0 ranger and had no issue. It had 4.10 due to the off road package.

 

I would never tow without an external cooler. The one built into the radiator just isn't big enough.
If you put an external filter on as well as the cooler, you will get a little more cooling as well as a whole lot more filtering. On some models, the filter mounting bracket will also have a place to mount the tranny temp gauge. It's really no problem to tee it into the line if it doesn't.

 

As far as which way to mount the aux cooler, before input to radiator or after output, I have heard that in winter, especially in colder climes that the after output may mean the trannie will be run too cool. Personally I have used the before input to the radiator with no problems. That was done for towing a 2000lbs boat + trailer. That was done with 3.08 gears, but with a 5.8L v8. No problem towing, but I wasn't going up and down mountains with it.

 

All good info. I'm going to order an external cooler either today or tomorrow so I might have it to put on the truck when I get home on Friday. Is there one brand thats better than another?

 

Real silly simple to just go to a junkyard to get a tach cluster from a 94-96 Fseries or a '93-95 Bronco for your '95.

Swap your PSOM to keep your mileage, and plug and play with the tach cluster.



More pictures here...

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/22140/75545

Adrianspeeder

 

I've been seriously considering doing that but I know my luck that I would eff it up and then be stuck without my truck till I fix it. This is going to sound stupid but when you say psom do you mean keep the speedo section in the middle from my truck?

 

Yes, its proper name is Programmable Speedometer Odometer Module

 

I guess its time to hit the junkyards. I'm sure I will have questions once I start the swap. Thanks!!

 

When you go to a junkyard you want a 94 or 95 cluster. The 92-93 are slightly different on the wiring and can be made to work but its not "plug and play". The difference is that the 94 and 95 models had driver side air bags. IIRC the alternator won't charge.
I changed my 95 with my old 94 to get the tach and didn't bother with the PSOM since the miles were almost the same. I also change out most of the illuminating bulbs while I had it out.
On my towing rigs I added the biggest cooler that would fit and plumbed it in series into the radiator unit. I also installed a drain plug on the transmission pan so I could change the fluid easily. Temp gauge is a great tool and easy to install on the return lines.

YMMV
rikard