[carbonduc27]

SO the family and I finally got to go camping with the Titan. We previously had a VW touareg (V10 TDI) and I was curious how the titan would compare. Our trip was a 2.5 hr drive to Bodega Bay CA (where they filmed 'The Birds'). We go almost every year so I knew the route and it has very miner hills (mostly freeway) so I thought it was a great shakedown cruise since I had never towed with the Titan before.

The truck has 167k on it with No Fear package - so 6 inch lift with 17inch/35 wheels. I did change all fluids and when I flushed the transmission I also added another cooler up front. New bilstein shocks with airlift helper bags should keep the ride straight and I use a blue ox WDH for my 25ft trailer (trailer weight is under 6500lbs)

Here are my humble observations:

Even with a lift the titan was very stable at speed and around corners. The shorter wheelbase of the Touareg meant the it got pushed around by the trailer. I worried about the tall tires moving around but it was only bad when we had very high wind headed home - that would have been bad in any vehicle. It was relaxing to not have to grab steering wheel every time you go by a semi.

I got it nice and level with the helper bags at 58psi and my tongue weight at about 800lbs (measure with tongue scale). My trailer carries water in the back but i was filling up at the site so that helped keep weight on the tongue. I do not have the big tow package but added the mirrors, a bigger diff cover, addt'l trans cooler and trailer brake so everything but the lower gears. It had a little bounce to it but nothing unnerving.

Braking and Acceleration were adequate. I did miss the power of the v10 diesel though... But revving the titan up and I didn't have any issues with power (other issues explained later)

Gas mileage sucked.... I was getting 8-9mpg compared to the 13mpg from the Touareg. I am never one to nickel and dime with mpg and gas prices. I would drive whatever I want even if gas was $10 a gallon because I enjoy cars and driving. Still sucks but I expected it.

I loved having the Bully Dog tuner to monitor temps. It feels good to know what is going on as you drive.

I had the AC R134a flushed and refilled?! Wow, what a difference. Super ice cold AC- couldn't even run it past 3-4 clicks.


I LOVED having a truck bed for all the sandy stuff. Made packing and unloading waaaay nicer.


So now the bads.....


Anti-pinch windows suck.... Every time we roll them up it bounces down - drove my wife nuts. I do have those window blades in track so I guess they will have to come out. I wish there was wire to snip or something to kill that feature.

VERY LOUD!!!! I have an Airraid intake and apparently a flowmaster 40 series muffler (previous owner). Intake is fine since it stays quiet until you gas it. I loved the muffler around town but 2+ hours at 55mph.. UGH. That is being swapped out for a magnaflow immediately.



My biggest problem that i need help with is overheating (engine and transmission)

So I did a full fluid change and added the additional transmission cooler but I still had temps of 190+ just cruising at highway speed. Even hit 204 going up the big hills in 92 degree heat. WTF? I need to double check I have enough fluid but It seemed ok. Dip stick was hard to read when you add fluid - guess i need to wait 20 minutes after adding fluid since it was all over the stick.

Could overfilling it lead to high temps? It is hard to tell with the flush/drain method and adding additional coolers but I swear I added enough or too much.

The engine temp was around the same 190+ but hit 204 regularly and even 230 on the big hill. I have a 180 thermostat, new stock radiator and new coolant. Could the trans temp issue affect engine temp? I was tried every method of low rpms, high rpms, manual shifting, coasting. Problem was that low rpms helped cool the engine but raised trans temp and visa versa.

My only thought on this is my fan clutch is bad. It has resistance when spinning by hand cold but I never heard it really cranking up when hot. I would expect it to sound like a jet if engine temps are 230!!! Could this also affect my trans temp?


Sorry for the long post but I like to hear other experiences and was hoping fellow titaneers could share some insight into my issues. I am headed to Lake Tahoe in 5 weeks and that is will be a much bigger climb in high temps so I need to get this sorted before then.

 

[FishnAlaska]

Tow in 4th, even 3rd if needed to keep the temps down, flowmastrs suck, you will also get drone and CIS with the magnaflow, go with a Borla muffler.

 

[Indy]

Yeah, tow in 4th. I'm pulling over 8k and never saw my transmission temp climb over 170. Now I am in flat land, so that helps, but your gear selection matters. Hit the tow button while in park and then put it in 4th.

I had a Touareg too, loved it when it was right. Was an amazingly capable vehicle for it's size, but mine was also a never ending headache of problems and the dealership could never figure out what was wrong so it was far cheaper for me to through parts at it than them. I'd get it going good but seemed like it would only stay that way for a couple months and then something else. Finally dumped it, that was replaced with a MDX which is more than sufficient for pulling my boat, when I think the fly wheel speed sensor went out. There's two on those, and of course it wasn't the easy one to get to that went out. So I just dumped the POS. I think the previous owner was not kind to that thing.

 

[thumperpaul]

I was towing my Wildwood up Stevens Pass a few years back, and I had to drop down to second at one point to keep the trans temp down. It was a slow crawl at 35 kph for awhile, but it did fine.

 

[Indy]

And if you got your transmission fluid that hot, you need change it.

Also you can go with a deeper transmission pan to help with cooling some.

https://www.yourcovers.com/transpan_11037.php

While I haven't experienced any issues with tranny temp, I'm probably going to do one just because I want as reliable tow rig as I can get.

 

[AZPRO4X]

Be Proactive with the trasmission, not Reactive. 4th is the highest gear you should ever be in with a decent sized trailer. 3500-4000 RPM'S where the motor & transmission work the best ( especially on hills ). Until the trans temp is a sustained 220° your not hurting anything. Turn your A/c off when climbing grades.

 

[Blevinger]

Good advice so far, regarding your "fan clutch" let's break down two different pieces since this is important to keep your temps down, but you're right that's how most of us describe the part you're referencing.

Clutch Fan
- this is the part inside the engine-mounted fan blades, just behind the radiator
- maybe this is bad, many times you'd smell it
- its job is to pull air through the radiator

Auxiliary Fan
- this is the fan in front of the radiator, just inside the bumper
- this is the fan not doing the roaring as you described
- not roaring is a good indicator it may be bad
- its job is to push air through the radiator

For the Aux fan, you can test to see if it's getting voltage, probably with out even taking off the bumper. Just park in your driveway and let the truck idle for a bit, see if it kicks on.

If you can't get it to kick on:
- fan could be bad, and there was a TSB on some of the early year Titans where water got in the motor housing, shorting it out, also
- the fuse could be bad

FWIW I have replaced both the aux fan, the fuse, and my clutch fan (which is mechanical).

Regarding the aux fan fuse, it's green and shaped like an L. Big fuse. Big as your thumb is wide and long. Assuming here you've made yourself familiar with the fuse boxes behind the battery on the passenger side. Takes some patience to get the fuse box covers off under the cowl, but there you go.

IIRC correctly, I got the Aux Fan on Amazon for $80 and the fuse at the dealership (I needed it that day) for $90. (Clutch fan was $65 maybe off Amazon.)

Welcome to the board and thanks for sharing your story.

 

[carbonduc27]

Thanks for the response, love this forum!


Great info. Does tow mode keep you out of 5th gear? I honestly didn't notice much difference in or out of tow mode. I tried to stay in manual mode stay in 4th or 3rd but honestly, I probably should have gone into 3rd more than i did. Partially because I felt like a fool crawling up a hill at 40mph in a bad *** truck! But also the flowmasters got REALLY loud revving it up in 3rd.

I did check my aux e fan. wired it directly to the battery and it worked. then I even checked it at full temp and max ac and both times it was humming along (clutch fan however was not spinning quickly at all)

170 for transmission on flat is what i thought i would see. I thought about the larger pan but $$$ and ground clearance stopped me. If i end up having to add it I will be I don't was to just mask a potential problem.

I'm going to get the new clutch in this weekend and see how it sounds. The only other things I can think of is air in the coolant system (I did run and burb it multiple times from the cap but maybe it has a bubble somewhere else). What about my water pump? Is there any way to check that or symptoms I should know about?

 

[FishnAlaska]

Tow mode just keeps you in gears a bit longer get, should keep the truck from searching for the right gear. Honestly, really doesn't help much.

 

[AZPRO4X]

Good advice so far, regarding your "fan clutch" let's break down two different pieces since this is important to keep your temps down, but you're right that's how most of us describe the part you're referencing.

Clutch Fan
- this is the part inside the engine-mounted fan blades, just behind the radiator
- maybe this is bad, many times you'd smell it
- its job is to pull air through the radiator

Auxiliary Fan
- this is the fan in front of the radiator, just inside the bumper
- this is the fan not doing the roaring as you described
- not roaring is a good indicator it may be bad
- its job is to push air through the radiator

For the Aux fan, you can test to see if it's getting voltage, probably with out even taking off the bumper. Just park in your driveway and let the truck idle for a bit, see if it kicks on.

If you can't get it to kick on:
- fan could be bad, and there was a TSB on some of the early year Titans where water got in the motor housing, shorting it out, also
- the fuse could be bad

FWIW I have replaced both the aux fan, the fuse, and my clutch fan (which is mechanical).

Regarding the aux fan fuse, it's green and shaped like an L. Big fuse. Big as your thumb is wide and long. Assuming here you've made yourself familiar with the fuse boxes behind the battery on the passenger side. Takes some patience to get the fuse box covers off under the cowl, but there you go.

IIRC correctly, I got the Aux Fan on Amazon for $80 and the fuse at the dealership (I needed it that day) for $90. (Clutch fan was $65 maybe off Amazon.)

Welcome to the board and thanks for sharing your story.

The Aux fan is for the A/c, not engine cooling. They stopped putting them on the trucks in 09/10.

 

[AZPRO4X]

T/H mode just holds the 1-3 shift points a little longer, that's it.

 

[dubyam]

Good advice so far. I can't add much to what was said in terms of keeping temps down.

What I can tell you is my engine fan definitely has the whooshing roar you're listening for. I know it's the engine fan because I don't have the AC fan on my 2010. So if you're not hearing the roar, it could be the fan cluthch. It could also be masked by the noise of your exhaust. Flowmaster sound like cap to me on these trucks. Best tones I've heard are the JBA and Borla, but I've only heard a few in general. All the Flowmaster (and there are a lot of them around northern Alabama) sound like crap. I've heard machine guns sound smoother.

One option you have for cooling is to increase your fan size up front, just to add airflow. You could also add a roof-mounted air deflector to improve your aerodynamics, but I'm not sure how much either would help.

Best advice is to approach steep, long grades with patience and dropping down to 3 early. The good news is, the 5.6 will hum along at 4k all day long.

 

[Blevinger]

The Aux fan is for the A/c, not engine cooling. They stopped putting them on the trucks in 09/10.

Woah woah woah some of us don't have the big bucks for Post '08 trucks. I know from way up there in your mansion that the Titan aux fan is just some vestigial appendage, but for us lowly types, the aux fan is a way of living*.


*Meaning...yeah they took it off, but for sure bet my trucks (and I assumed all early trucks?) have needed them for more than just AC.

 

[AZPRO4X]

Rd

The Aux fan is for the A/c, not engine cooling. They stopped putting them on the trucks in 09/10.

Woah woah woah some of us don't have the big bucks for Post '08 trucks. I know from way up there in your mansion that the Titan aux fan is just some vestigial appendage, but for us lowly types, the aux fan is a way of living*.


*Meaning...yeah they took it off, but for sure bet my trucks (and I assumed all early trucks?) have needed them for more than just AC.

Nissan didn't change a single thing with the cooling or A/c systems after they removed that fan but I can tell you that on my dad's 2015 Titan the A/c doesn't blow as cold as my 08's, especially at stop lights. His truck's operating temperature is the same, though.
Basically, Nissan got cheap & figured out they could sacrifice some comfort to save some $$

 

[HRTKD]

The Aux fan is for the A/c, not engine cooling. They stopped putting them on the trucks in 09/10.

Not necessarily true. The aux fan WILL come on when the engine coolant temperature hits 212° F. I verified this myself on my Titan.

My Titan doesn't like to tow in the mountains. I have an aftermarket cooler as well as the OEM cooler. The radiator is not bypassed. What I have found is that if I keep it in 3rd gear and just under 45 MPH I can go all day uphill. Sometimes, you just need to slow down. But not too slow. The engine does better when there is a natural flow of air. I do have e-fans and I don't think they pull as much air as the OEM clutch fan does when the engine is turning higher RPMs.

With regard to transmission fluid temperatures, while 170° F may be a "normal" temp I don't think 210° F is out of bounds. My hunting partner pulls a heavy travel trailer through the Rocky Mountains with his '07 Armada. He is regularly seeing the gauge go just under the "H" line when climbing passes. The Ford Superduty trucks are seeing higher transmission temperatures with similar fluid. A high temp of 230° F isn't unusual.

Seeing that transmission temperature gauge start to climb can make you freak out. I do my best to keep it from climbing at all, but as long as it isn't above the "H" line it isn't a critical problem.

 

[AZPRO4X]

Not necessarily true. The aux fan WILL come on when the engine coolant temperature hits 212° F. I verified this myself on my Titan.

My Titan doesn't like to tow in the mountains. I have an aftermarket cooler as well as the OEM cooler. The radiator is not bypassed. What I have found is that if I keep it in 3rd gear and just under 45 MPH I can go all day uphill. Sometimes, you just need to slow down. But not too slow. The engine does better when there is a natural flow of air. I do have e-fans and I don't think they pull as much air as the OEM clutch fan does when the engine is turning higher RPMs.

With regard to transmission fluid temperatures, while 170° F may be a "normal" temp I don't think 210° F is out of bounds. My hunting partner pulls a heavy travel trailer through the Rocky Mountains with his '07 Armada. He is regularly seeing the gauge go just under the "H" line when climbing passes. The Ford Superduty trucks are seeing higher transmission temperatures with similar fluid. A high temp of 230° F isn't unusual.

Seeing that transmission temperature gauge start to climb can make you freak out. I do my best to keep it from climbing at all, but as long as it isn't above the "H" line it isn't a critical problem.

Interesting, I never once heard my fan kick on without the A/c & I live in one of the hottest states.
But like you know, they completely removed the fan after 08 so the engineers must of not felt it was essential for either of the cooling systems. Idk
You're right, the motor needs to be wound up to keep the temps down.

 

[carbonduc27]

Thanks HRTKD,

I saw you posts on efans as I thought about doing it instead of the clutch fan but I am trying not to add more variables. figured i can just get the $60 clutch and give it a go.

I can also confirm the e fan comes on with AC (212 sounds about right). But while towing I can tell you I did not see a difference in temps on my BDGT. It moved past 212 and on to 230 while coming up the big hill pretty quickly.

I am all for taking it easy and getting there without destroying the truck. But I have towed this trailer with my touareg, a 2001 tahoe and even a 1996 suburban so to have this much trouble with the titan seems odd since none of those vehicles had issues (although the chevy 4 speed auto sucks for hill climbing and gears are way too long). I am sure my experience is due to a problem but with all your help I think I can fix it.

I'll keep you posted once I get my fan clutch in.

 

[HRTKD]

Are you sure that all air in the coolant has been purged? Another thing to check: Are the fins on the A/C condenser and transmission cooler clean? Clogged fins will prevent adequate airflow.

 

[Blevinger]

HTRKD, you're making me think I don't have an engine overheating problem (at stoplights), because my transmission temp gauge doesn't move. Maybe it's just a sensor (wishful thinking).

To Carbonduc: overheating problems are not normal with these trucks, my issue is hard to pin down. Keep this thread updated, we'll keep checking off variables.

 

[carbonduc27]

Alright gang, I think I have it solved.

Just got done with the clutch fan. Easiest job ever. Didn't even remove my airraid intake. Undid the little 10mm nuts off the engine and slipped the whole unit out the bottom. Initially I was concerned since both the new and the old unit had about the same resistance.

Switched the blades to the new one and bolted it back in with loctite.

Took it for a few hard runs and ran the air full blast. Sure enough that fan was roaring when I revved it in park. With the hood up the fan noise overpowered my exhaust! Definitely didn't do that before.

Also checked my transmission fluid and I was about 1/2 a quart low. It was at the bottom of the cold mark when slightly warmed up. Not sure if that made a huge difference but certainly didn't help.

Tomorrow I am taking the trailer back to storage so I will see what the Temps do.



Thanks for all the help.