Using 5th while towing?

80-90kmh in 4th......... 5th gear is a very damagable thing when abused..... Some cars worse than others............

I rarely tow in 5th gear. Sometimes when the road is flat and no wind, but really there is no advantage in fuel saving by doing that as my Patrol just guzzles the petrol when towing - so a saving of a couple of mls of fuel is hardly noticeable.

Having said that my 5th gear went on my 2000 GU at around 85K - even though I hardly used it when towing. The 5th gear problem is due to a short machined 5th gear spline and eventually will go as the gear wears whether you tow or not. That is for 2000 build vehicles. What year is your Patrol?

Peter

We've got a 4.5L ST GU Patrol and quite often use 5th when towing our campertrailer out on the open highway. We reckon fully loaded the trailer's about 1.2t and once we get up to speed on a good road, the GU hardly seems to know the trailers there. Of course, this only applies to nice flat stretches. Throw a few hills in and we have to drop back to 4th.

:o) MelissaPetrol 4.5L GU Patrol &
Camprite TL8 offroad camper

I tow heavy loads every time I go away which is about 4 to 6 times a year. I use fifth regularly but only in little or no load situations. In other words the car is cruisin with my foot barely touching the gas. If your not sure if your got load or not (some people can detect engine & driveline load easier than others) then a good investment would be a boost guage. They are an easy install.

Hi Russel & All ,

I have a Toyota Surf 2.4 litre Diesel with manual box, towing a 16 ft Jayco Freedom poptop, and I use 5th gear as much as possible, changing down when ever the road conditions warrant it. I travel at 80 to 90 kmh which keeps my revs between 2200 & 2500.

I have a friend who has an Explorer with an auto box and he locks it in 4th as the box is continually changing up & down when he selects full auto.

Gordon

I believe it was ALL series 1 and 2 Patrols that had the short spline 5th.

josh.

I had to get a replacement 5th gear as well as a bearing kit in my SD33T-powered MK because the guy I bought it from used it to tow horse-floats. The rest of the 'box was fine, but 5th was, how you say, Wallaby Bob's brother. $2700 later and all is good ;-). This is not a new problem.

Do Land Cruisers suffer the same problem as Patrols in using 5th gear for towing caravans or heavy trailers.

This subject comes up regularly every 3 months or so.Have a look through the forum archives.

It is advisable not to let the gearbox of your vehicle labour in 5th gear as 5th is an overdrive gear. Your 4x4 might not sound like it is labouring under the strain and some vehicles may drive further whilst towing in 5th but ultimately there is damage occurring all the time and and sooner or later it will fail...just when you least expect it to.

Why try to damage your vehicle by overstressing its components? There is no logic to it.

Willem

Always going somewhere

Partly urban myth, part true.
I have a 13 yr old GQ TD42 (turbo) and have been using 5th for towing at appropriate speeds since day 1. (I don't however let it labour in 5th). I tow various trailers right up to the legal limit. Gearbox is as good as new.

It's a darn shame that Nissan got it wrong for a while with some GU's (problem now fixed) as the GQ 4.2litre gearbox has a perfect clean bill of health and the gearbox is by far the most rugged in the industry. The history on the GU gearbox 5th gear splines failing is well documented- do a search and you should be able to find pretty close to exact dates affected.
As long as yours is not built in the affected dates go for it! Why rev the guts out on your engine rather than use the gearbox as intended. (I'm talking highway speeds- 80kph and more, as it would not make sense to use it towing at lower speeds as you'd be right out of your good torque band.)
My cousin has just taken delivery of his 5th 4.2 diesel Patrol - he trades them in approaching 400,000 kays and has never had ANY mechanical problem. The earlier non-turbo ones were after-market turboed from near new. He even had a GU with supposedly suspect 5th gear but got rid of it with 375,000 on the clock and no problems with the gearbox or anything else! BTW, he drives them hard!

I have been towing camper trailers for many years behind a 94 v 6 Jackeroo and now a GU 98 2.8 diesel Patrol. Both vehicles completed over 170,000 ks and have always used 5th gear, but only when travelling over 80 kls per hour on flat or down hill roads. Any strain and decrease in revs then its down to 4th gear.
The 2.8 patrol pulls and accelerates surprisingly well in 5th but keep an eye on the tacho and keep the revs up over 2000 rph.
You should have no probs.

I always thought laboring damaged the engine?
How does an engine laboring affect the gear box???

Wow! am I cute
If yer ain't fishing, Yer ain't livin
Richard