Towing: Is my 1500 gonna handle it?
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 16
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RE: Towing: Is my 1500 gonna handle it?
You have adequate HP and torque to tow that much weight. Most of the responses are pretty accurate and I agree that tranny and rear end are the weak spots...changing their fluidswill help..
- a tranny temp guage is a good idea as heat kills automatic transmissions faster than anything else. Until you get a temp guage keep an eye on your engine temp...if it rises, so will your tranny temp as the first tranny cooler is acutally in the waterradiator...also, this is what I do...at the top of a long steep hill after a hard pull, stop at the top and pull the tranny fluid stick andtap your finger onthe fluid....you can tell if its hotter than boiling water (not good) or hot to the touch but not scalding ( right on at about 170 deg )..do this a few times and you will know how well your tranny cooler is doing its job; if the tranny is hot, then idle in park for five minutes to circulate the fluid...As for getting an additional cooler or a bigger one...dont do it....one is enough and actually cooling the tranny fluid too much is detrimental tothe tranny operation.....lastly, use the tow/haul buttonto take the overdrive offline....remember that heat is your tranny's enemy and too muchshifting causes heat fast!!!
- a tranny temp guage is a good idea as heat kills automatic transmissions faster than anything else. Until you get a temp guage keep an eye on your engine temp...if it rises, so will your tranny temp as the first tranny cooler is acutally in the waterradiator...also, this is what I do...at the top of a long steep hill after a hard pull, stop at the top and pull the tranny fluid stick andtap your finger onthe fluid....you can tell if its hotter than boiling water (not good) or hot to the touch but not scalding ( right on at about 170 deg )..do this a few times and you will know how well your tranny cooler is doing its job; if the tranny is hot, then idle in park for five minutes to circulate the fluid...As for getting an additional cooler or a bigger one...dont do it....one is enough and actually cooling the tranny fluid too much is detrimental tothe tranny operation.....lastly, use the tow/haul buttonto take the overdrive offline....remember that heat is your tranny's enemy and too muchshifting causes heat fast!!!
Record Breaker
Joined: Aug 2006
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RE: Towing: Is my 1500 gonna handle it?
ORIGINAL: yougottit
You have adequate HP and torque to tow that much weight. Most of the responses are pretty accurate and I agree that tranny and rear end are the weak spots...changing their fluids will help..
- a tranny temp guage is a good idea as heat kills automatic transmissions faster than anything else. Until you get a temp guage keep an eye on your engine temp...if it rises, so will your tranny temp as the first tranny cooler is acutally in the water radiator...also, this is what I do...at the top of a long steep hill after a hard pull, stop at the top and pull the tranny fluid stick and tap your finger on the fluid....you can tell if its hotter than boiling water (not good) or hot to the touch but not scalding ( right on at about 170 deg )..do this a few times and you will know how well your tranny cooler is doing its job; if the tranny is hot, then idle in park for five minutes to circulate the fluid...As for getting an additional cooler or a bigger one...dont do it....one is enough and actually cooling the tranny fluid too much is detrimental to the tranny operation.....lastly, use the tow/haul button to take the overdrive offline....remember that heat is your tranny's enemy and too much shifting causes heat fast!!!
You have adequate HP and torque to tow that much weight. Most of the responses are pretty accurate and I agree that tranny and rear end are the weak spots...changing their fluids will help..
- a tranny temp guage is a good idea as heat kills automatic transmissions faster than anything else. Until you get a temp guage keep an eye on your engine temp...if it rises, so will your tranny temp as the first tranny cooler is acutally in the water radiator...also, this is what I do...at the top of a long steep hill after a hard pull, stop at the top and pull the tranny fluid stick and tap your finger on the fluid....you can tell if its hotter than boiling water (not good) or hot to the touch but not scalding ( right on at about 170 deg )..do this a few times and you will know how well your tranny cooler is doing its job; if the tranny is hot, then idle in park for five minutes to circulate the fluid...As for getting an additional cooler or a bigger one...dont do it....one is enough and actually cooling the tranny fluid too much is detrimental to the tranny operation.....lastly, use the tow/haul button to take the overdrive offline....remember that heat is your tranny's enemy and too much shifting causes heat fast!!!