towing in 5th gear?!?!?!?!?

[the plough]

hi,
i have heard soem bad things about this, and even seen the apparant damage to a gearbox....but my hilux says nothing about...just wondering wats the thoughts/opinions of others??
cheers

[plowy]

what are you towing excactly ?

need more specifics what year mod hilux petty or diesel

is the car straining but mainly what are you towing

[-Scott-]

I think some vehicles do have problems with high loads in 5th gear, but I don't know which ones. I think it all boils down to the design/build of the gearbox.

I wouldn't rely on the owner's manual to make the decision - I think asking here is a good move.

Cheers,

Scott

[bunter]

i have a td hilux and was told by the guys from Agmesh that because of the torque of the motor that towwing in 5th wasnt such a good idea as the motor doesnt seem to be workin hard but in reallity 5th gear is under huge pressures even though the motor doesnt appear to be .
they advised that unless it was an very light load or the road ras relatively flat i would be beter of not to tow in 5th


cheers Bill

[TWISTY]

From what I've heard, on the Hilux/4Runner gearboxes, 5th gear is only supported on when side...so only runs on the 1 bearing....If you load it up all the time the shaft flexes causing bearings, syncros etc..to wear quicker than usaul....

I never use 5th when towing my zook behind the 4runner becuase of this.

(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.. )

[GRINCH]

from what ive heard all toyota boxes are the same, i wouldn't be using 5th

[cloughy]

From what I've heard, on the Hilux/4Runner gearboxes, 5th gear is only supported on when side...so only runs on the 1 bearing....If you load it up all the time the shaft flexes causing bearings, syncros etc..to wear quicker than usaul....

I never use 5th when towing my zook behind the 4runner becuase of this.

(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.. )

Pretty much correct 5th gear is not part of the main cluster as its an overdrive gear tacked on the arse of the gearbox and is inherantly weaker because of this. i don't tow anything of substantial weight nor use 5th gear in low range because of this. on any vehicle

[PK]

Not sure about later models, but have a mate who used to work at a Jap wreckers and when I had my mid 90's HiLux, he advised me to tow in 4th as they saw heaps of blown 5th gears with people towing in overdrive.

[MUD000]

I had a 96 SR5 hilux towed everyday in 5th my work trailer approx 2t no problems what so ever When the box blew it was 3rd gear that let go
My 79 series now still tow the same trailer in 5th no problems
Dan

[CRUSHU]

It's just because Toyota's are weak as piss

[beatle_bayly]

So whaddayadoo if you want to tow @ 100KPH ? 4th in my 60 sees a gazillion RPM !

[the plough]

its an 84 hilux.....2.8td.. I havnt done much towin yet just mainly with the bost to the boat ramp. I am planning trips to fraser and cape york with camper trailer and wondering how everything would hold up..

i would suppose if anyone towed in 4th you wouldnt sit on hundred kms..Has anyone done this type of thing???wat fuel economy do you get??
cheers

[Beastmavster]

Patrols have faced problems towing in 5th too. No gearbox is immune or bulletproof.

If you've got a heavy load and you're going uphill shif down FFS.

Of course if it's an empty 6 x 3 by all accounts go for it - even in a 2.8

[BowTieGQ]

The poblem is made worse when fitted with the 3.8 V6. The engine is more than happy to tow in 5th but it's the box that gets loaded up on torque, heats up the input shaft, snaps and siezes the input bearing. It doesn't matter if the engine can handle it, it's the box that cant. This happened when Holden first started fitting the T5. Everyone blamed the box as being weak.

[ludacris]

Pajeros have a huge problem with 5th gear as I found out twice. Dont use 5th in low range either.

LudaCris

[MQ080]

I blew a 79's gearbox towing a MQ on a car trailer up bells line of road. I wasn't using 5th at the time it went but I had been over the course of the trip. I too would advise against it...

[-Scott-]

Pajeros have a huge problem with 5th gear as I found out twice. Dont use 5th in low range either.

LudaCris

Cris

Can you tell me more about the problem you had? Early Pajeros had a problem with 5th gear, and I've heard the late model 5 speed autos can have a problem, but other than that I've only read one 1st hand account of a 5th gear problem in a manual Pajero (that was NL model.) It's certainly not a common problem in the Mitsubishi section here, or on the Pajero Club forum.

I'm wondering if it's one of these "urban legends" - a bit like Toyota being the best.

Scott

[ludacris]

It was the early 80's model Turbo diesel pajero and we blew two boxes. It is definatly not an urban mith. Other than that I had lots of fun wrecking the old girl.

LudaCris

[justinC]

MOST gearbags do not like 5th gear hard work and High torque loads because of the lack of support for the rear of the shaft after the gear set. (As already mentioned.)
The landrover R380 5 spd (Disco/ Defender 1994 onwards) copes well in 5th because the little Tdi doesn't put out enough destructive torque. I don't think doing this with the V8 is a good idea because of the output of the motor. The support for 5th gear at the end of the Lay shaft is very good, with its own roller bearing about 45mm away at the end of the shaft. I have only seen 1 destroyed 5th gear so far in these, it was in a fully laden Defender 130Tdi, towing low range in 5th(!) up and down dunes etc with a trailer etc etc etc. The support bearing failed at the rear of the cluster, Allowed the shafts to spread apart and then tore some teeth clean off. Got home from the simpson using everything but 5th, and 3 months later drove in here with a 'noise ' in 5th gear. I removed the transfer, the extension housing, the metal particles and the busted gears, fitted up new ones and all ok.

I mentioned this because not all transmissions are as bad as some say, and usually abuse/ neglect/ poor oil quality etc is what causes failures.

I have towed car trailers etc with 'Fenders in 5th gear on the highway (because they can), and not yet had adverse wear or noises from them.

I fully agree that 4th being the strongest gear in the gearbox should be used mostly, but as mentioned before, what do yoiu do when you are faced with an 8hr drive at 70km/hr in 4th???

There are no doubt SOME horror stories out there with these boxes, but I can only comment on what I've seen and done. I think they are an underated gearbox on the whole.

JC

[Bluefreak]

Spoke to Mitsu about this re my Triton a while back... Was advised to drive as normal if the actual GCM is equivilent to otr lower than the vehicle GVM. If GCM exceeds the GVM, tow in 4th.

[the plough]

[quote]I'm wondering if it's one of these "urban legends" [/quote]

no not urban legend...Have seen wat towing in fifth can do!

[quote]a bit like Toyota being the best[/quote]

no not urban legend either!!!!!

[HSV Rangie]

Use common sense

Nothing wrong with towing in o.drive.

urban myth.

if its labouring hard drop down a gear simple.

towed vans trailers around Aust no issues toys niss and rver.

Michael.

[CheesePony]

Yeah, I pulled my dads Rodeo on a bogey trailer (ShortyIQ heavy, over 2 ton) with my ute. I tried to sit her in 5th gear, but you can feel the strain.

Tow in 4th mate, it'll save some heartache.

[GRINCH]

you,ll probly find that towing in 4th instead of 5th will have little effect on fuel economy in most vehciles, espessily a 2.8 hilux, because the motor isn't labouring as much.