Can I tow anything?

[clarkkent]

but then again, i have a 3,000 horsepower turbo jet ford racing motor with a 16-speed paddle shifter in my mountaineer...


...i wouldnt try it with a stock explorer. get a class III.

 

[daffy]

Yeah, I did the same thing, except up hill....both ways

Class III hidden hitch all the way.

 

[xFatcatx]

CDW...I do have 16' wheels. Its the only thing on my ex that isnt stock. I think 285x75x16.....Should I get the square tube then? And this is all something I can bolt on myself right, no welding? And I would rather buy it from a sponsor if there is one here anyone know?

 

[CDW6212R]

Well, a 285/75/16 is a tall tire, about 2.5" more than a stock 255/70/16. That will be a problem to mount with any hitch. That may be your biggest concern then.

Ask or search around to see what other tires members have been able to mount, many have bent the front spare shield forward to make room. That is a good steel, so I didn't think of that when I worked on mine two years ago.

If others suggest that you can get a 32.5" tire mounted underneath, then you may be good to go with a hitch. I mentioned the round/square thing because Hidden Hitch notes it in their models. Obviously some mount more rearward than others.

 

[JDraper]

One solution to the big tire problem with a hitch is to let most of the air out of the spare to fit it in, and just carry a small compressor with you to inflate it when necessary.

 

[mawrazen]

Add a Hi-Performance Trans cooler in-line after the radiator!

Back to business,

I just towed a 19' Ski boat from Atlanta to the mountains of PA. I used the bumper hitch, but do recommend a class III after market hitch if possible based on your estimated gross weight. The handling was never better, very stable.

The biggest problem is overheating the transmission fluid. I was smoking going up hill or passing, and found fluid residue on the back of the truck and on the boat. The tranny has to work extra hard, and it causes the fluid to get hot and swell. It then is discharged out of the overfill vent and onto the exhaust, Cats and muffler.

I would also add a pint of transmission fluid coolant. I found some at Advance Auto. I forgot the name, but it states to reduce the fluid temp by "about" 50 degrees.

Hope this helps. You Can Do It!

 

[JDraper]

If you're going to tow anything on a regular basis (or long distance) with an automatic equipped Explorer, ADD AN AUXILIARY TRANSMISSION COOLER! The Explorer transmissions aren't exactly known for their stout transmissions, and the factory added cooler in the front doesn't cool enough. You can get one starting at about $25 from Summit Racing, Jegs, JC Whitney etc. They are relatively easy to install and worth every penny for insurance. Summit has a good cooler/filter combo kit for $89.

 

[xFatcatx]

Sorry for the laziness, the tire i size is 255/70/16. I live in a 2nd level aprtment with a big parking lot so its just to much work to head down there sometimes.......Im gonna start looking around at hitches and I will definately put in a tranny cooler, i have seen lots of threads on here about them so it shouldnt be a problem. Thanks for all the help and i will update.

 

[CDW6212R]

Good, that OEM 16" size should fit with little trouble.

 

[uchi]

this is all great info guys, ive got 2 atvs that im gonna be towing with my 01 sport and this is just what i was looking for.

also a tranny cooler is a fantastic idea, i had a 1990 gmc z71 before this thing and it had 311 000 km on it when i wrote it off, 700r4 transmission that had never been opened, just maintained and had a tranny cooler the size of a fridge, lol. the guy before me towed for 11 years with this truck up north to his cottage, boat, snowmobile, you name it he did it, he even plowed with it and the day i wrote it off it was still shifting hard

 

[manaen]

the 5r55e in your truck is not nearly as strong as that 700r4, but there are things you can do to make it much better.
1) external cooler
2) Ford valve body updates
3) shift kit setup for towing
4) replace your EPC valve if old
5) keep your bands adjusted
6)temperature gauge just to see how things are working.
7) full synthetic ATF
8) external filter kit

with those updates it will give you great service, as long as you monitor your fluid status and keep up with mantenence everything I've read says that the 55e will last a long time.

I have the same year, and with those updates I can't believe how much better the truck drives and tows. I have climbed some serious mountains (well as serious as they get on the east side over here) with full loads, and I have never seen temps climb above 190 on 90 degree days. The shift improvement is huge no more sloppy soccer mom shifts.

Read through the posts on those various topics and you will see what i mean. This place is a wealth of info, and should be supported to keep it going!!!
No they didn't pay me to say that

 

[uchi]

thats some great info thanks alot bud. if this tranny is weaker than the 700r4 and the 700r4 is a paper strong tranny then im in trouble, lol. i do find this one shifts nice though, not nearly sloppy as i expected it to be. very firm. also whats up withthe gearing in these things, its so close, the first time i drove the truck i thought it was sitting in one gear, and when i get on her its only about a 1000 rpm it drops on shifts up high. im not complaining jsut cant believe the gear ratios ford used in this thing. cruising on the hiway it drops down nice and low and even gets decent milage, 21 mpg hiway and 17 mpg mixed city and hiway.

those upgrades your talkign about, what can i expect to spend to get them done?

oh one more thing since were on the topic. a buddy of mine was talking about these trucks the other nite and that some came with a tow package. mine doesnt have a hitch on it but it has a factory plug for the trailer lights, havent checked for a tranny cooler yet, but did all of these trucks come with the trailor plug or did mine have the package and just have its hitch taken off?

 

[CDW6212R]

They all have the plugs, but only those with the trailer package will have the proper wires in them.

The trans parts are not too bad, the $110 EPC solenoid is the worst expense, and necessary. Valve body kits are under $40, the Mercon V(or synthetic) will be the second highest cost. Find someone who has done valve body kits before, who you trust to do work for you. Good luck,

 

[Mkrucejr]

When I bought my X, it had a wire in the "trunk", back, hatch, whatever.lol....

Trailer wire, i guess....with the flat plug on it??? where would this plug into, if I want to tow (then again, I need a hitch 1st)

 

[CDW6212R]

The 95-01's have the connectors in the pocket under each tail light, look under the bumper there.

 

[uchi]

thanks for the info.

ive got a tranny guy who builds race car trannys for a very sweet deal, might have him do the work to this one aswell, get her bomb proof

 

[CDW6212R]

These 5R55E transmissions are not buildable to any magic level one could call bulletproof. The V6 Explorer transmissions are simply not good towing units, they are just acceptable as a normal uasage trans, when taken care of.

If you do everything mentioned here, you still need to be careful about how much you tow, and about the road conditions, etc. The valve body kit is the best thing to help it internally, far better than a complete rebuild.

Ford makes various TSB or repair upgrade kits, they are amateurs compared to what TransGo has done since it copyrighted the term "shift kit." TransGo has made correction($35ish) kits for all common transmissions for decades. Their goal is to improve on factory functioning, correcting factory faults/symptoms.

If you buy and install the one TransGo kit(not a shift kit), it applies to all 5R55E's, every year made. The Ford stuff is different for each year, very easy to accidently end up with one wrong part from the dealer. They do make performance($100ish) "shift kits" for a few popular transmisions, but not the 5R55E. No one makes any high performance parts for it, the basic VB correction kits are all that is available. Good luck,

 

[manaen]

Transgo is the kit I put in mine, along with all the other things, I put the heavy duty towing springs(that came int the kit) in, which feel really good on shift, not too harsh at all. the only thing you need to get used to is the 2 to 1 downshift which sounds a little clunky with the transgo kit, however as stated by transgo that is a normal side effect of the kit. I can over look that very tiny annoyance for the performance it added!!

 

[manaen]

those upgrades your talkign about, what can i expect to spend to get them done?

well as CDW stated the shift kit is only ~$35

the new EPC (if needed) is about $110.00 to $150.00(local dealer)

Aux Cooler ~$25 to $70 (get a good stacked plate style)

Aux Filter Kit ~ $12 to $50 (I got a large hydraulic filter from northern tool for $12 it works great)

Ford updates I think the total was ~$40

Band Adjustment ~FREE :

Temp Gauge ~$30 to $70 (I used a mechanical setup that came with a pressure gauge that I have hooked up to my filter assembly, I can see what is going through my cooler that way)

Synthetic ATF ~$3 to $5 per quart it takes 12

 

[CDW6212R]

...
Ford updates I think the total was ~$40...

Did you install any Ford updates? The TransGo kit is all that is needed for the 5R55E, the Ford parts are not necessary with it. I spoke with TransGo before installing my valve body kit, I had the Ford parts by then. They told me that they could all be used, but the Ford parts were superfluous. I took the Ford parts back, they were not needed.

The TransGo kit has not resulted in any odd symptoms or quirks in my 99 5R55E, plus their band adjustments are better than OEM manuals. Regards,