Landcruiser auto for towing ??
Submitted: Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 16:39
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DEANO WA
I currently own a 03 auto Patrol (3l td) and are looking to upgrade to 2001-2005 100 series. I tow a 2 ton boat (the reason im moving to a cruiser) and live in the
Pilbara so can tow 200-300kms at times and have serious issues with the Patrol auto box continually "hunting" gears esspecially when you engage cruise control. sometimes it will attempt to drop back into 2nd while already doing 100kmh uphill and i have to quickly disengege cruise before the engine explodes. if i understand what ive been told from others, you can 'lock' in a gear in the landcruiser auto gearbox therefore not allowing the auto to hunt gears ?? and does this apply in cruise control. Also is there anything to be wary of between the ages of cruisers mentioned above ??
Regards Deano
Reply By: Motherhen - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 16:57
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 16:57
Hi Deano
Can't help you with your question about the Cruiser but will add the following about Patrol.
We towed our caravan (2.22 t tare plus load) with our Auto Patrol, but did not tow in overdrive, and had no trouble with it hunting through the gears, except when once when we forgot to set 'overdrive off' after a day touring without the van. It doesn't have cruise control (which i hate but my husband loves). It does have some flexibility with the auto gear box, but i never got into all that (boy stuff). The cruise control on the F250 jumps down two gears and really revs on hills which really annoys me, and i consider the cruise control not suitable for towing unless on a flat road.
Motherhen
AnswerID:
333627
Reply By: Member - T N (Qld) - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 16:57
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 16:57
Deano,
2005T/D 100 series has the 5 speed auto is the model you are looking for,but if you are going up a steep
hill it will still hunt for a lower gear,
this should get the ball rolling for you.
Regards
AnswerID:
333628
Follow Up By: cheetah - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:24
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:24
Tom, The 5speed came out in october 2002. I missed out by 3 months,
mine is a june 02 build 4 speed. The 4 speed is still a very good box. I tow a 3 tonne van problem free. You can get the 2002 pre updates in the mid 30k now.
FollowupID:
601433
Reply By: Dunco (NSW) - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 17:39
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 17:39
I have an LC100 2007 Auto and tow a van. Yes, it does "hunt" gears in O/D but was advised, in writing, by Toyota that I should tow in D-4, unless on steep climbs.
It works fine in Cruise control in D-4 and the "hunting" of gears is just torque converter...you can see it pick up about 200 revs every now and then as you drive along in O/D.
However, I do use O/D dependent on where I am driving and I have learnt to drive the car, not let the car drive me.
AnswerID:
333632
Reply By: DEANO WA - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:04
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:04
as i read in another post, does anyone no if you can install a switch for locking the torque converter up as you can in the Patrol and if so where ??
AnswerID:
333637
Follow Up By: Member - Corio - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:28
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:28
Deano,
I have an 04 td 100 auto.Tow a 2.5 tonne caravan in fourth gear as reccomended in the owners manual.It does not hunt for gears unless you have it in overdrive.
There are people towing a lot heavier vans than
mine that visit this
forum.The vehicle will have no problem towing your boat apart from you managing to keep it from going over the speed limit.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
FollowupID:
601434
Reply By: Member - Corio - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:36
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:36
Deano,
Sorry obviously
mine is a 5 speed auto and if you want to you can always go down a gear manually.ie.4th down to 3rd on really steep
hill.
Cheers
AnswerID:
333645
Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:47
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:47
I have a 2005 TD auto and a van which weighs over 2.6 tonne. When in a hurry last year had it up to 120 and still some left.
If going up a
hill I just knock it into 4th if it hasnt already done so.
Dont like travalling in cruise control here on the east coast but will see what WA is like in about 6 months.
Have chipped it and put a 3"exhaust on it and it goes like stink now on its own so will see how much better it is with the van on.
Got 6kpl on the trip I was in a hurry on. That was overall for the whole week long trip.
If you are using a 3.0 l auto its limited to 2.5tonne total so the cruiser is much better.
FollowupID:
601436
Reply By: Max - Sydney - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:51
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 19:51
Deano
Just about every car manual, and certainly Landcruiser, says never to tow in overdrive.
The load is far too much on tiny little gears which are only designed for running along in smooth conditions - not dragging a couple of tonnes.
Before you
fork out for the superior car, try doing a run with the Patrol Auto Box in "Overdrive off" and see how it goes. If you do buy a 200 series, run it with overdrive off when ever towing anyway.
There will be people who say that they always tow in overdrive - they go silent after they blow up their box and spend a couple of grand getting it fixed.
Give it a go
Max
AnswerID:
333647
Follow Up By: Motherhen - Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 23:49
Tuesday, Nov 04, 2008 at 23:49
Totally agree Max; overdrive (and the 5th gear equivalent in manual) are not towing gears. You don't save much fuel by trying. One caravanner even did test runs and actually used less fuel towing by staying in 4th.
When we overlooked the fact that we were inadvertently towing with overdrive on, the Patrol was switching between gears like crazy, and the boost gauge went wild - scary. Over drive off solved all the problems that day. Safer on all counts not to tow in overdrive on Cruisers and Patrols.
Costs rather more than a couple of grand (not including recovery costs) if you do in a gear box on most 4wds.
Motherhen
FollowupID:
601488
Reply By: DEANO WA - Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008 at 09:43
Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008 at 09:43
Cheers all for you inputs. i have concluded i will try the Patrol in o/d off untill i sell it as i definately need more grunt and go to the dark side and buy a cruiser (might as
well barrick for holden and the west coast eagles now!!!!) and tow in 4th. I'll start scrubbing the old girl for sale.
Cheers all Dean
AnswerID:
333725
Follow Up By: Mike - Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008 at 14:37
Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008 at 14:37
I have a LC100 series V8 2004 model, pull a 2ton van,I mainly stay in 4th haven't found much difference in fuel comsumption from (5th gear OD) usually sit on 90/95kms and getting around 18ltrs/100kms
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