auto towing

[jbell]

Whats the best mod for a ZF auto for towing without a full rebuild ? Its done about 210k's

I've put on a bigger cooler & thinking about running full synthetic fluid & the filter will be changed.

I'm towing my buggy to TT from here in the south west W.A. & the auto is the only thing that bothers me.

cheers Jeff

[dck7aok]

Hi. the weak link is the torqe converter. If you drive with the clutch locked in the converter (ie above 75 kph) then you will have no problems. BUT when you need to climb a hill and it unlocks, it will dump more heat into the gearbox than the sun does onto earth. Best mod i did was fit a temp guage to the sump of the gearbox so i know what temps it's running and drive to acceptable level. My trans cooler is 550 * 300 * 40 mm and it's fan assisted and not big enough to cope with a stupid right foot. My gearbox lasted to 270 k klms before clutch pack failure. The $4000 rebuild has not resulted in a better gearbox. Heat is the enemy of all automatic gearbox's. Synthetic fluids will cope with higher temps but factory clutches won't.
I tow my POS's around at about 3400 kgs for reference and would happily tow to Perth from Qld. See you at TT 2011.... Dan

[jbell]

Thanks Dan, thats a big cooler your running. Got a temp gauge to put in 80 to 300 degrees .
At what temp do you pull over for cool down ?


Jeff

[def90]

kinda off topic but any pics of your truck jeff? she ready to roll?

[dck7aok]

I don't like to pull over, even though it's got fans it cools quicker if you can get the converter clutch locked up. If it's a big mountain range and you know that it will overtemp, I put it in low range and keep it locked that way. Everyone has a different idea of max temp. I like to keep under 140 ^C but remember I measure the sump oil temp. The gearbox is seeing much higher than that. Dan

[jbell]

Thanks Dan, my gauge is 80 to 200 not 300 so if it goes over half I better take it easy !
def90 its getting some paint next week, will try to post then.. posted a couple on aulro in members rides - TT disco


Jeff