So I'm FINALLY getting the exhaust redone and the hitch put on Thursday. Its taken over a month....seems the hitch was on backorder.....whatever. Anyways, my question was, I've been told that when you're towing something, you should turn the overdrive off. I can see how this would make a idfference I guess but was curious if you could damage the tranny if you didnt turn it off. I'm assuming it also has to do with the amount of weight you're towing.

 

I'm pretty sure the manual states to turn it off. I and many others have forgot a time or two or three. It pretty much keeps you in a higher torque range when towing so you can get out of your own way. That a simplistic way to look at it. There may be other risks if you pull a heavy load.

 

for towing unless its a really really light load you want OD off. we towed our 23' car trailer with out 4.0L explorer and you damn near need to turn it off to just get anywhere. now with our 4.6L explorer we dont have too, its more if the truck is bogging down to much or needs higher RPMS to pull the load it wont hurt anything

 

good info. thanks guys.

 

It will not damage your transmission to tow with the O/D enabled. However, the owner's manual does recommend towing with the O/D canceled (5th gear disabled).

Default operation is with the O/D enabled (1st through 5th gear available). If the driver cancels the O/D, two changes are made that can be beneficial when towing:

1) Automatic shifting is allowed in gears 1 through 4. By locking out 5th gear, it greatly reduces shift hunting at highway speeds.

2) when the O/D is canceled, the coast clutch is applied in 4th gear, making engine braking available. (The coast clutch is not applied in 4th or 5th in the default mode.)

 

if it's your towing close to half your max wieght, turn it off, or if it keeps downshifting or hunting for a gear, leave it off.
I can tow my camper just fine with it on, but it weighs 800Lbs

 

ive always turned mine off. not like you burn that much more gas anyway. and it has to be better on the truck as a whole.

 

Yea, you only need to shut it off if you need to shut it off. I can tow my FD's little 12ft boat in overdrive all I want. But if I try to tow a loaded U-Haul trailer, that is another story.