It's going to be spring soon and I want to do some mods to the L. I already have a tune and a K&N intake. I would like to get a #4 pulley, FTVB/4x4 pan, ported plenum, accufab TB, and trac bars. I would like to do some drag racing this summer but I also pull a boat to the lake, so I would like to keep my towing abilities, and run in the 12's at the track. What kind of risk would I be taking by doing these mods and towing with them? What mods do you guys have and still tow with? BTW the boat is a 18' Baja.

 

Your setup seems to sound exactly like mine. I have about the same mods and am about to begin pulling my 83 18' baja bass boat. (115 merq.) about 2500 pounds all together. You really don't run too much of a risk with those mods. Just keep it out of overdrive unless you are on a long stretch of flat interstate. Also don't get into the boost too much. You should also try to hook up the trailer brake if your boat is equipped with it. What kind of baja do you have?

 

It's a '97 Islander with a 350 Merc. Don't know the weight though.

 

I def would not be hooking up anything to my L. Thats abuse in my eyes.

 

May I ask why you think that?

The way I see it, the L has the most stout 1/2ton Ford driveline for its model year. Its like having a 7700 truck minus the suspension but plus a blower. With the proper tune to eliminate the possibility of detonation, the engine would be a workhorse with its roots style blower. The 4r100 transmission is extremely stout for stock short box standard cab truck. The only real problem area (and most of the reason for the lower towing rating) is the fact that the suspension isn't setup for towing.

I guess if I owned one it'd be a truck first and hotrod second. They are phenominally fast (for a truck) and handle awsome (for a truck). I can understand not using it for towing out of principle, but in reality you aren't going to hurt it any!

Josh

 

I've towed a few thousand miles with my unmodded 04.
I pull a 5k toybox to the sand dunes. I burned the tips on my Bassani cat back and didn't think I was staying in the boost that often for that long.

If I was to do mods or continue towing with it. I would put in a Pyrometer to moniter the exhaust temp.

The truck pulls it great. Engine and tranny temps stayed down. I run with the overdrive off and RPM between 2.5 and 3k.

I did install a tranny temp gauge and only saw it hit 200 a couple times on some long mountain passes.

It's a sweet puller with the stock wheels and F1's it tracks real straight without wagging. One winter pull I put on my 235 70 16 winter all seasons. It would wag a bit when the big rigs passed but did all right.

MPG dropped to 10.

The trailer brakes were a peace of cake plug and play pigtail and that little hole in the dash took my techonsha without cutting.

Hope this helps. I say go for it but don't get crazy showing off on the hills. It's fun to leave the deseils on them big hills.

 

Nothing looks better than a nice boat being pulled by a lightning.

 

I pull boats with mine all the time. That's a big part of why I bought it. I have to able to tow with whatever vehicle I own and I didn't want a regular truck.

I don't pull with a 6lb pulley, and I have a low timing tune specifically for towing/cold weather. I use the 4lb pulley and have many other mods and it does great. As mentioned before, don't get into the boost, and you'll be fine. You can tow with overdrive, just wait till you're at highway speeds and not going up steep hills.

 

Thanks, those were the answers I was hoping to get. I will probably have a tune made up for towing just for some extra insurance. I do love pulling a boat and still beating a civic with a fart can when the light turns green.

ditto

Whaler,
What other mods are you running with the #4 pulley?

 

Upgraded to JDM heat exchanger, e-fan, 170 Thermostat, C&L plenum and elbow, JDM cold air, Accufab throttle body, 58" long bars, JDM line mod valve in trans,SCT 2400 mass air, 60lb injectors and AVT Performance tunes on a XCal 2.

I don't step in the throttle hard when I'm towing, but the transmission is strong in the these trucks. Good luck, FDuce.