Do you tow with OD off?

[JonS]

My 95 Jeep GC 4.0 has a transmission cooler and doesn't say anything about towing with the OD off in the manual. I DO turn it off when towing my 3500# total weight of boat and trailer. But at 65 mph on the freeway, it revs at 3000 rpm's and it sounds like it will blow up. I have guys at work that tow the same weight with 15 year old mini vans that tow for hours in OD. They say if it needs to downshift it will. Who is right here?

 

[tmorris1]

It depends on the vehicle. If you are constantly downshifting, then you need to take it out of overdrive. If it seems to pull fine while only downshifting on big inclines then you are probably fine. If you have doubts take it out of overdrive. 3000 RPMs won't hurt your engine and will be much less strain and heat on the transmission. With my F-150 I can pull a boat or my 4-wheelers in overdrive with no problem, but would not even think about overdrive with my van. It also depends on if you have a transmission cooler or not.

 

[JonS]

Yeah, i do have a transmission cooler. I did once pull the boat from St. Cloud to the Twin Cities on I94 at 70-75 mph in Od with the air on in 100f heat a few years ago, and it never downshifted once. So if it hold can the OD gear while criusing, i am ok is whatyou are saying - right?

 

[VaderSS]

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