Is cooling essential

[Gary_374358511]

Good afternoon all,

As you may have seen from my previous posts I am looking for a new tow car to replace my Mondeo 53 2.0 TDCI(115).

I have been looking at the Mondeo estate 2.5 Diesel V6 which would be right up my street but everyone I've looked at so far has been an automatic. I have no problem with this myself but I've read many time on this forum that gearbox cooling is recommended on auto boxes.

My question is, is this essential and would this car require it. If so, how/who do you go to to get this done. What do they do exactly and what sort of costs are we talking about.

Many thanks for all your help.

Regards

Gary

 

[Angus1]

Err... Ford don`t do a V6 2.5 litre diesel, Gary.

How come you`ve found so many?

 

[Parksy]

I once towed with a Ford Sierra 2.0 litre with an automatic gearbox and I had an oil cooler fitted.

It consisted of a small secondary radiator which was plumbed in to a pipe carrying auto transmission fluid which was kept cool by the secondary radiator.

This was before I had access to the internet and a small garage was advertising the fitting service in the free ads paper.

The job cost about

 

[Gary_374358511]

I think I'm loosing my marbles you know. I spent an hour today in my lunch break looking at these cars on auto trader.

When I saw your post Angus I thought, OK, I'll go back onto autotraider and post a link to all these cars I've been looking at. Needless to say, I can't find any. Even the 2.0 estates have a massive selection of manual as well as automatic.

I think I've looked at so many cars these past few weeks I need to give it a rest.

I know I'm not that mad though and I was definately looking at... errmm... something with a 2.5 V6 Automatic spec. Obviously not a ford though.

OK.. If I went for an automatic, what are the rules as with cooling the gearbox.

Thanks again folks. I need a week away in my caravan.

Regards

Gary

 

[Lutz]

Most cars with automatic transmission are able to tow without the need for an additional oil cooler. Your dealer or the car manufacurer should be able to advise you on a case-by-case basis.

 

[Angus1]

If you do fancy a 2.5 lire V6 diesel, Gary, have you considered a Skoda Superb?

Damn fine car and a lot of it for the money, but I`d probably settle for the lower bills of the 1.9TDI (130) which should pull your van O.K.

 

[GrahamSouthBrum]

The torque converter will overheat going up hills searching for the right gear.

We are trained to drive autos as a manual & to lock down a gear when the gear box starts searching up & down for the correct gear.

I have towed hundreds of miles with an auto box without an oil cooler

 

[Gary_374358511]

Ahhh. I knew I wasn't going mad. Check this out on Cuddles :- http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/ford.htm#mondeo00 There is a 2.5 V6 Mondeo listed here. This is where I was getting mixed up. Still can't find one on auto trader though.

Thanks Angus, I'd never considered the Skoda up until now. Max tow weight is less than my mondeo but the Kerb is higher. I'm having second thoughts though about a 4X4 because of the Tax rumers.

Do I really need to change my car? It's a 53 plate 2.0 TDCI(115) and my van specs are :- Mass running order 1224kg and Max Total Permitted Laden Mass 1442 Kg.

What do you think guys. Is my car man enough for this.

Thanks for all your posts so far.

Regards

Gary

 

[Glenn_5132962]

You can get both 2.5 and 3.0 V6 Mondeo's but they are both Petrol.

 

[Angus1]

As Glenn says, the V6 Mondeos are all petrol.

Would your current one be up to the job? Well, it would be borderline and getting close to 100% match, but I would certainly give it a shot before swapping cars.

When I first started towing, the Caravan Club (I think) used to have a guideline of a 40 BHP per tonne of car & caravan, and this was in the days when virtually everyone had petrol cars, not the torquey diesels of today. You`re just about at this level, and I`d (personally) think it acceptable.

My wifes Passat (TDI 130 Sport) tows 1375kgs embarrassingly easily, and the 110 TDI we had before would have coped I`m sure.

If you know what you`re doing and load it right, and drive with a sensible head on, you shouldn`t have to spend money on something you may not need.

 

[Colinn]

I have used three auto cars for towing - never a problem, smooth as silk. Autos are so sophisticated these days, I wonder why anyone drives manual. Ah yes, the cost at purchase - shame we've let the manufacturers for rip-off Britain get away with charging a

 

[Gary_374358511]

Thanks again for you comments guys and thank you Angus for putting my mind at rest. I've been towing for over three years now with various vans so I do have some experience under my belt.

Although this is the heaviest van I've had, my Mondeo pulls it fine with any struggle on the straight. Obviously on inclines I need to drop from 5th to 4th but it does manage.

When I load the van I am almost obsessive with getting it right and I rarly go over 55 when traveling. The worst experience for me is when your driving up a steep incline at 45-50 and a lorry shoots past you at 60-70. You can REALLY feel the drag can't you.

To be honest I've had this car for 2.5 years and it's never let me down and it's a pleasure to drive so getting another car is something I don't really want to do and money is a bit tight for me (and the rest of Britain) at the moment so I would have to get something slightly older.

I'll keep looking but at least for now I'll hang on to my trust Mondeo.

Regards

Gary