[Akkiwi]

Hi folks,
Im looking to buy a Titan second hand. Im not much of a truck guy having owned Subarus most of the time, however I'm going to be doing more towing hence the need. My preference is a Honda Ridgeline but doesn't have the tow capacity I need and Im not a fan of American design, so... If anyone has any advice on what to look for in buying a second hand titan I would love to hear. I have read that there have been rear axle problems... Is looking for leaks on the axle a good indication of problems? I live in Alaska and will be looking to buy in the Washington state area.
Do all LE's have tow packages??
What does a tow package consist of...does it included extra trany cooling?
Any help will be received with thanks.
cheers
Phil Price
Valdez Ak,

 

[FishnAlaska]

FIrst of all never mention Honda Ridgeline and truck in the same paragraph...2nd go with an 08+, most of the bugs have been worked out. Cracked manifolds and leaking rear ends are the most common issues. If it says it has tow package, it really means nothing, al the tow package consists of is 7 pin connector, hitch and trailer brake wiring. To get the most towing capacity (9300#'s) it has to have the 3.36 gears, don't let a dealership tell you anything different, the 2.94 gears are only rated for 7300#'s. Easiest way to tell if it has 3.36 gears is to hit the highway, at 70 moh you will be hitting about 2100 rpm, 2.94's will run about 1700 rpms. A good indicator for the bigger gears is a Titan with bigger towing mirrors.

 

[Akkiwi]

:big_grin: Thanks for the reply. I will keep all you said in mind when shopping. Also will never say the "R"word again in this forum :big_grin: Hey anyone got any thought on dealing with dealers??? is Cash a good incentive to the seller??

 

[jdmartin]

The Ridgeline is actually a pretty cool "truck", in the way that an El Camino is a "truck". Good for light-duty homeowner stuff but that's about the extent of it.

Not all LEs have tow packages to my knowledge. The biggest giveaway if it has the tow package is if you have the transmission fluid temp gauge on the dashboard. Tow package has big tow mirrors, 3.36 rear, temp gauge, hitch, bigger battery, and wiring. My first Titan had the tow package and I don't remember seeing any additional cooler than what's already on my Titan, which doesn't have the tow package.

Personally, if I were buying one from scratch, I'd rather have the tow package just for the temp gauge and the rear gearing. My first Titan was faster than my current Titan. The difference in gas mileage maybe was 1/2 MPG. I'd trade that for better off-the-line performance and knowing the temp of the tranny right on the gauge.

 

[Mattcowsmasher]

Go with 08+ if you can find one get the pro4x with e-locker an the big tow always have the big dumbo ear looking mirrors. Save for Cajun stage 1 package an bilstein shocks an you'll have a sweet ride.

 

[FishnAlaska]

The biggest giveaway if it has the tow package is if you have the transmission fluid temp gauge on the dashboard. Tow package has big tow mirrors, 3.36 rear, temp gauge, hitch, bigger battery, and wiring. My first Titan had the tow package and I don't remember seeing any additional cooler than what's already on my Titan, which doesn't have the tow package.

Absolutely wrong. I have a 2010 SE, I have the Tow package, but I do not have 3.36 gears. I do have the transmission temp gauge which is standard on all newer Titans. There is a HUGE amount of misinformation about the tow package. The tow package (08+) only consists of 7 pin connector, trailer brake wiring harness and a hitch, THAT IS IT! The max or supreme utility packages are the packages that have the Towing mirrors and 3.36 gears.

 

[jdmartin]

Absolutely wrong. I have a 2010 SE, I have the Tow package, but I do not have 3.36 gears. I do have the transmission temp gauge which is standard on all newer Titans. There is a HUGE amount of misinformation about the tow package. The tow package (08+) only consists of 7 pin connector, trailer brake wiring harness and a hitch, THAT IS IT! The max or supreme utility packages are the packages that have the Towing mirrors and 3.36 gears.

I should have specified I was referring to pre-2008 trucks. I'm not very familiar with the changes in the later years.

 

[Akkiwi]

Re: buying 05-10 titan first time owner. job done!

:smile: Well i jumped and bought my first Titan. After 3 days of looking in the seattle area final found one about 5 miles from where Im staying. 2005 LE endurance with shell on it. All the bells a whistles and only 98000 miles.
It has newer exhaust and re built rear axle with a beefed up locker in it. So no problems there I hope.
Also came with a Superchip engine programmer. Has anyone got any comments on messing with the engine tuning??
I will be towing 7000lbs up to alaska soon so am thinking of tuning to heavy tow mode. Any thoughts??
One other question which ill post elsewhere too...... do these trucks do daytime running lights?? The auto lights dont seem to come on until dark....i found the settings for them and put it to max sensitivity.

Thanks for the cery helpful info for buying these trucks....it came in handy!!
Cheers!

 

[Akkiwi]

Oops forgot to mention....upgraded shocks and upgraded air intake system on the engine.

 

[LaxDfns15]

Unless it's Canadian it will not have daytime run lights. The auto light feature will only turn the lights on when the sensor at the front center of the dash perceives that it's dark.

As far as Superchips, I'm fairly sure it's a canned programmer so not much you can do with it to customize.