5th gear towing

G'Day Doug, I can't comment on the exact year where the change came in but with my old 89 troopy 5th gear was on a seperate shaft hence where the danger comes in as the bearings are not probably as extensive, with our new troopy [RV 4.5 petrol 1995] has the large alloy case gearbox and 5th gear is apparently on the main shaft hence being able to take the load better. Cheers troopytrek

Hi Doug,

Some owners seem to get away with towing in 5th but some of us didn't. My 100 series diesel had it's box rebuilt twice in the 18mths and 130000km I owned it for. It was sold when I heard similar noises which necessitated the previous rebuilds.

Your roadranger story is hardly a valid argument when comparing it to these toy boxes.

These days I just don't risk it. My GU will drag the 3 tonne anchor, I own, at 100km/hr revving at about 2800. Considering the way I have mine set, with max hp still way above this, it leaves heaps on tap when overtaking is required.

Cheers
Trevor.

Doug

Spoke to a mechanic who is an agent for AANT. He gets a lot of work recovering Landcruisers that have been towing using fifth gear. The main reason for the problem however is people putting it in fifth gear at too low a speed.

He told me the reason but I am not a mechanic and it was beyond my level of comprehension. There may be someone on the forum who has the knowledge to enlighten us.

Tjilpi

Its crazy that we have to get a sweat up about towing in 5th gear anyway!

You would think that the main players building 4wds would realize that the thing is most likely to be towing something at some stage & build a gearbox to suit!!,

Axle.

Hi Guys,

I have never heard of the 5th gear problem before. I have an 80 series 95 model 24 valve 4.2 factory TD with a 151 gearbox. Is this a model that is prone to problems. We have just bought the wagon and envisage towing in the future when we can afford a camper.

Thanks for your feedback.

Happy Travellin',

Dan.

50 k a year with 60 - 70% towing and us 5th as much as i can with 89 cruiser diesel, which has not had any problems.

Cheers Pesty

5th gear (and in an auto overdrive) are not really towing gears. Some people get away with it, but gear box rebuilds can be costly - even more so if you need to get towed in from the wilderness. Unless your trailer is light, why risk it?

Hi All

We towed alot with our toyota up to 2.5 ton, I asked the toyota rep which gear
is good for towing, he said fourth gear is recommended , in the toyota manual,
re extra power, and brakeing.
If you have a toyota manual check it. we now do the same with the nissan.

Cheers
Daza

Our CT is only 1500 KG, but after meeting a couple of people who have stuffed gearboxes towing in 5th, we now stick to 4th most of the time. Slip it into 5th on long downhills and sometimes on long flat areas when we can maintain good speed.

At 90 KPH, 4th is comfortable for the Hilux. Any faster it revs a bit high and fuel consumptioin goes up.

Gday Doug
I towed a 16 footer all around 0z with a 60 series and did as you have done...at first, i used 4th...now with the old 2h, thats slow, and thats fast for the motor 2600 is almost redline....having said that, you will never wear a diesel out by revving it...i then started using 5th on the straights and down hill. The box never fell out, and these were prone to doing that, because it was essentially a 4 speed with an extension on the back where 5th lived....
Looking at this from a different angle, when in 5th, as opposed to 4th, the drive has to go through a few sets of gears and bearings...all the load is going to increase friction, which produces heat and wear...how much will depend on the load and lubrication.
So, if you run good oil, and change it regular, and dont load the drivetrain up, you may not suffer as much as thesame driver with lesser oil or lesser maintanance, or lesser idea...with 4th gear, the drive goes in one end and out the other, no bearings take any load, no wear, no heat, no problems...
At the other end of the stick is the person who tries to tow in 5th at 120 km/hr all day in the heat....his 5th gear will melt.
Thesame is a problem with overdrive autos...the new electronic ones have a power mode, as soon as you put the foot down more than coast, they come out of 4th, only over 100 kms/hr will they go in 4th..so the computer has engineered us out of a problem. Thesame auto but driven in economy mode will prematurely fail pulling a van up a hill in overdrive...but to some, common sense to read the destruction manual b4 commensing is not part of their makeup.

I have a 02 Hilux and regularly tow a 4.5 metre fibreglass boat. I always intended to only use 4th gear, but found that at 100kmh on flats and downhills it did it very easily in 5th. I have since used 5th whenever possible, but at the first sign of hills or a head wind, I am back to 4th. I have noticed that after the first few trips, 5th gear does wine a bit more, but to date there has been no issues.

My mechanic also recommended changing the gearbox oil and using a good quality oil too.

G'day Doug,

I own a '93 Holden Rodeo Spacecab TD and tow a 16 foot Windsor Escape Offroad caravan (around 1600 - 1700 Kgs fully loaded), and have towed it all around Aust. in the last 9 years, many Klms offroad, including Gibb River road, Great Central road, Oodnadatta track and Darling River run (Bourke to Wentworth).
For the last 8 years I have always towed in 4th. gear after being told by a friend that I would have trouble if I continued to tow in 5th. I did a test on the Eyre Hwy on a trip back home one time. I measured distance on a tank full towing in 5th. and measured distance on a tank full towing in 4th. whilst maintaining the same speed where possible. The distance travelled was practically the same in both cases. I figured that there was less strain on the engine (and gearbox) towing in 4th. that gave me the economy. I usually travel at 85 - 90 Kph with the RPM at 29 - 30 thousand.
When I use to tow in 5th. I always had to change down to 4th. when I came to hills so being lazy, like I am, I now leave it in 4th.

Peter