after market trans cooler? - Page 3

Bulldog22 · 08-20-2009, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane06fl

Bulldog is your Th a bumper pull??? If it is just use the Armada to pull it.

I may try that. I am gonna get her a brake control and try it next trip. Now I will never hear the end of it. SHe will tell everyone her truck is tougher than mine. The sticker on both doesnt tell you the gearing for the rear end. Any idea how to find out which one she got?

Shane06fl · 08-20-2009, 10:37 AM

If the Armada has the tow package from Nissan then it will have the 3.36 towing gears.

You can swap over the brake controler from your truck to hers, it's just a simple plug under the left side of the dash. I have two trucks and one controler. I bought a second plug for the controler and have hooked up in my truck with a bracket. All I do is disco the controler from one truck and install in the other, takes 2 minutes.

Who cares if hers is tougher. Thats only 1/10 of what she tells her friends at how much better she is anyways

My wifes drives the CC Titan and I have done some nice upgrades for her while my truck is bone stock. You think I care, NOT!!!

Bulldog22 · 08-21-2009, 10:32 AM

[quote=Shane06fl;1814770]If the Armada has the tow package from Nissan then it will have the 3.36 towing gears.

Who cares if hers is tougher. Thats only 1/10 of what she tells her friends at how much better she is anyways

QUOTE]

AMEN!!!
I checked further, she doesnt have the big tow. I am gonna suck it up for another year. I dont leave the state now. We camp at camp claiborne in cenla now, it is only a 70 mile tow. They have 74 miles of atv/bike trails. That keeps us local. In a year or so, I may go bigger on the truck and toy hauler anyway.

kornegk · 08-21-2009, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loufish

Not trying to bust your chops...but a first time truck buyer might not know about tow packages and what they are along with the effect rear end gears have on towing and trans loading...

You never buy a truck without the tow package and/or the lower gear option...unless you know 110% that you're street queening it and never putting it to work...

All trucks stock have gears for milage, Fords run 3.23, and 3.55, Dodge run 3.42 and Chev 3.42....All these gears are too tall for heavy long haul towing...All those guys have lower gears for real work, running 3.73, 3.92, 4.10...

Us? Titan guys have a 2.94 stock, and our "low" gear is only 3.357....Our tow gear is taller then most others milage gear...That alone should tell you something.

Nissan gets away using much lower gears in the trans mission so first thru 3rd gear are much like other trucks with their lower tow gears....EXCEPT this trick runs out in 4th and 5th gear...When you're towing in direct gear(4th) you've got 2.94 gears, while the other trucks in their direct gear are as low as 4.10....This my friend is a HUGE difference in the towing world...and quite frankly, guys who have bought several trucks in their live time should have learned this already...

How much do you know about lock-up converters?

I have an 08,2wd, SE, BT, KC with CAI and MF cat back. I agree that the tranz trickery runs out in 4th gear since 1:1 is exactly that and we are towing with the rear end ratio and you pointed out the differences the competition versus the competition. If you are in 5th gear however, the Titan has about a .84 ratio if I recall correctly. I think the Big 3 are around .67 to .71 in their 4th gears (i am not sure about the 5 speeds). So my previous 5.4 F150 had a 3.55 (two pkg. at the time) which was a 2.41 overall 4th gear ratio. In the Titan the overall 5th ratio is 2.81. So if the old F150 had the same overall final gear ratio as the Titan it would have had to be equipped with a 4.13 rear rather than a 3.55 rear. That might e why Nissan says it is "like a 4.10 gear with a 4 speed"?) I know we are not supposed to two in 5th, but on flat land I have no problem towing a 5000 lb boat in 5th gear. The convertor stays locked up andt the trans temp guage is barely touching left side of the insignia near the center and does not really change if I use 4th or 5th. If I do this in hilly terrain the convertor sometimes comes out of lock up or on long grades it downshifts to 4th gear but the trans temp gauge does not rise. I have not tried this with my nearly 7000# enclosed trailer but even that one tows fine in 5th gear on flat land towing and the convertor stays locked up as well. I have tried towing in both 4th and 5th in hilly terrain with the boat and have not noticed a big difference except perhaps 11 vs 12 mpg if I used 4th instead of 5th. If I am in hilly terrain and the transmission downshifts to 4th on long grades I will often just shift to 4th and leave it there so it doesn't do it. Sometimes I shift to 4th up the hill and back to 5th down the next hill. I fully understand if the convertor's lock up clutches disengage the additional convertor slippage can create heat which is not good. Since I do not see the rpm increase and seldom feel it come out of lock up, and the tranz temp gauge remains stable does that suggest I am Ok towing in 5th on flat land? At least that is what I assumed?

kjstanger · 08-23-2009, 12:50 PM

Bulldog, however you want to look at it, you are towing on borrowed time. It isn't a matter of "if" your truck is going to fail or you "might" be having an issue with hunting but the real question is "when" is it going to fail and you "are" having problems with hunting. I have done a lot of research and have owned quite a few "non-towing" trucks and your arguments were the same as mine until I saw the light. You are not only working your truck very hard to do something that would be reletively easy with the tow package but you are putting yourself and others at risk when the inevitable happens. When that day comes the question will be will your truck be able to handle the situation, IMHO it will not and someone will get hurt. These are somewhat harsh words but like I said, I have been down that road and from that day on I will never overload my truck. Having said all that, I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

Smoke05 · 08-23-2009, 09:31 PM

For a guy who says he knows about trucks, his posting reads otherwise. I mean come on, he doesn't even know what gearing he has or that the Armada has an IRS vs the Titans solid axle.

Smoke05 · 08-23-2009, 09:37 PM

For a guy who says he knows about trucks, his posting reads otherwise. I mean come on, he doesn't even know what gearing he has or that the Armada has an IRS vs the Titans solid axle.

Bulldog22 · 08-24-2009, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjstanger

Bulldog, however you want to look at it, you are towing on borrowed time. It isn't a matter of "if" your truck is going to fail or you "might" be having an issue with hunting but the real question is "when" is it going to fail and you "are" having problems with hunting. I have done a lot of research and have owned quite a few "non-towing" trucks and your arguments were the same as mine until I saw the light. You are not only working your truck very hard to do something that would be reletively easy with the tow package but you are putting yourself and others at risk when the inevitable happens. When that day comes the question will be will your truck be able to handle the situation, IMHO it will not and someone will get hurt. These are somewhat harsh words but like I said, I have been down that road and from that day on I will never overload my truck. Having said all that, I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

I understand that I am working my rearend harder than it was designed. But, there is no difference in the safety of my truck towing than yours. If I blow up my tranny it is a financial issue not a safety issue. My suspension is no different than yours. My tires are probably better than yours. The tires I run are far better than the junk they put on stock. The only difference in my truck and yours stock is the rear end gearing. I have the same power, suspension, trans, and cooler. I also have a Blue Ox wt. dist. hitch. I have been towing heavy loads for longer than some of you have been alive. I started on a 1979, 9 speed pete with a 53' drop deck landall trailer. I appreciate the input of the majority of the people on this site, but suggesting that my rearend gearing is a safety issue is bogus.

**loufish** · 08-24-2009, 06:45 AM

Quote:

suggesting that my rearend gearing is a safety issue is bogus.

I agree 100%......The only thing you're killing is your own truck....

Bulldog22 · 08-24-2009, 06:54 AM

I am not hurting it too bad. I stay in South and Central Louisiana. The only hills I climb are overpasses. I had too weigh the expenses. New truck, 35,000 plus or take it easy on mine for a year then trade. I put alot of miles on my truck for work, Lease Broker, and I usually wear one out in about two years. I am looking at a diesel next time, maybe I can keep it a little longer than a gas. I like the titans but they need an answer to the big fords, etc.
Thanks

kjstanger · 08-24-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulldog22

I understand that I am working my rearend harder than it was designed. But, there is no difference in the safety of my truck towing than yours. If I blow up my tranny it is a financial issue not a safety issue. My suspension is no different than yours. My tires are probably better than yours. The tires I run are far better than the junk they put on stock. The only difference in my truck and yours stock is the rear end gearing. I have the same power, suspension, trans, and cooler. I also have a Blue Ox wt. dist. hitch. I have been towing heavy loads for longer than some of you have been alive. I started on a 1979, 9 speed pete with a 53' drop deck landall trailer. I appreciate the input of the majority of the people on this site, but suggesting that my rearend gearing is a safety issue is bogus.

Didn't mean to upset you, you definatley have more experience than me on towing. Just wanted to make sure you don't damage your truck with the amount of weight you are towing but living where you live you probably won't have an issue. I live in Ga. and tow in the Ga. mountains which is why I needed the tow pkg.

Bulldog22 · 08-24-2009, 10:10 AM

I really do wish I had the tow package. I am a landman and drive ALOT. I got the truck prior to the camper as a road truck for my job. The camper came after. I go through trucks pretty fast, so I am hoping to get a diesel soon. Maybe next year. I keep my fluids clean and stay slower on the speed to avoid killing my gears and rearend. My camper is only 5900 lbs empty. It just gets that heavy when I add my atvs and fill up my water tank. AND ADD BEER to the cooler.

I have thought about letting my son or wife pull the util trailer with the atvs to keep me lighter. I am gonna try that on Labor Day. I havent been to the woods camping in three weeks, starting to get withdrawls.

silverstar · 08-27-2009, 04:50 AM

With lots of miles and heavy towing you'd be alot better off with a diesel. You'll get alot better mileage both loaded and unloaded and it'll laugh at 9,200lbs and ask for more. Plus as long as you don't start throwing on programmers at max setting you'll get many, many reliable miles out of a diesel. I used to love to drive my dads old pete with a cummins 440xt and 13 speed. I only ever bob utailed it around our area though because I didn't have a cdl so I wasn't "official" but it was alot of fun. I'm lucky to throw a couple thousand pound trailer on mine so I didn't bother with the tow package.