question about overdrive

[01stroud]

I have just a quick question about when to turn off overdrive. Say i want to tow something light, such as a waverunner, would i still want to turn it off or do i not need to worry about it. id ballpark the weight to be 1000lbs. sorry for the noob question just wanted to clear it up. if it matters the truck is 98 4.6l 4x4 thanks in advance

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[StrangeRanger]

If the tranny doesn't overheat and it doesn't constantly hunt for gears, you don't need to switch the OD off. If you don't have a tranny temp gage or if the tranny is constantly switching between 3rd and OD, turn the OD off.

Heat is the enemy. Anything you can do to reduce heat prolongs tranny life. On my 96 E4OD with a B&M deep sump aluminum tranny pan, an aftermarket tranny cooler and an external filter I have the temp sender mounted on the hot side of the filter in front of the tranny cooler, I never, ever see temps in excess of 180°F on the road when towing my Formula Ford (1000# give or take on a 1200# trailer with 500# additional in tools parts and equipment in the bed.) It hit 200°F once crawling through the paddock at Mid-Ohio in 1st and 2nd due to just not enough airflow through the cooler. With the Mustang on the trailer, it runs maybe 10° warmer but still stays at or below 200F. At that temperature I expect it to live forever. Towing either of them I switch OD off in hilly country if it starts to hunt for gears.