Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Just to get this straight.

How much am I looking at spending to get a regular BA Falcon into safe, reliable towing condition? I'll need:

A heavy duty tow bar (how common are these on Falcons, can I find them easily or am I better finding a good BA and attaching one?)

Transmission cooler.

Rear springs.

Decent pads. ~$500

I'm guessing the first two are required, whereas the last two are more for safety and peace of mind. Any idea how much these items would cost?

Cheers.

Im sure you could get a PWR transmission cooler kit for around $165, maybe a bit more? plus fitting obviously.

A set of helper springs is no more than $180

HD tow bar is ~$6-700 (depending on hitch or tongue)

Load Leveling kit is anywhere up to $1000 (all depends on ball weight and specific kit etc)

  • 2 weeks later...

sway is mainly caused by insuffient ball weight versus total weight of the trailer. When towing with a normal car, they often have low ball weight limits. And if you load them up properly, the arse of the car is dragging on the ground. So you end up with people putting the car further back on the trailer to take weight off the tow car's rear axle. Inssuficient ball weight is the result and sway becomes a real risk on rough or uneven roads, crosswinds, passing trucks, sudden manouvers etc

anyone used a au falcon ute auto for towing a 33 gtst?

I use mine all day everyday to tow both car/trailer and all my work gear with no dramas. Pulls like a dream and better than my old VY that I used to use and being t-bar auto have room for 3 which is handy.

I've got upgraded suspension & brakes, aftermarket headers and exhaust, cam and CAI all thanks to Jim Mock which doesn't hurt either :D

  • 2 months later...

Not much chop for anything more than a box trailer.

I just picked up my new tow vehicle the other day - got a Ti Pathfinder (not the 550 though - that would cost me nearly $20k more than I paid for this one). Haven't towed with it yet, but at least the kids are kept happy with the rear DVD player now. I don't like that they've deleted the telescopic steering adjustment. I feel like I need monkey arms to drive this thing

anyone want to buy a '07 Pathfinder ST-L? Will be selling the old one in about 3 months time.

anyone towed with a 4cyl 2.6l manual holden rodeo ute?

i have one but not sure if i should fit a tow bar to it and tow or just get something better.

cheers

I have previously towed a car with one of those 4cyl rodeos. was using a hire trailer so it was pretty heavy, but car was only 1200kg but either way it sucked big time. 5th gear was practically useless unless going down hill. on a flat road you had to rev the nuts off it in 4th before going into 5th as if you changed early you'd loose pace in 5th. I would personally go with something else.

I've been using a Nissan Navara STX for the last couple of years, fantastic tow car. Had all the suspension upgraded to Pedders heavy duty suspension front and rear with airbags on the rear suspension. Went to town on the options and also fitted up some electric R35 GTR seats to it. Time has come to move it on..... Replacing it with something a little more German...

Link to details re Navara for sale

Looking at all reasonable offers. Not sure if I am allowed to link to the for sale section, if it offends anyone mods can take it down.

Seb.

  • 4 weeks later...

thread bump

anyway decided to sell the prado

she has done a good job over the last 2 years

(i am old now and f*ken posh and shit)

so anyway was looking at q7', x5's and towrags as a good tow vehicle(td).

x5 is out cause of ghayness

anyway after looking around i have stumbled apon cayenne and cayenne turboz for the same money(03-07 models with 100k and full service history)

someone talk me out of it, cause f**k me they go like stink.

ps i dont care about the fuel bill if i can get to 100km/h in 6 seconds with a trailer on

thread bump

anyway decided to sell the prado

she has done a good job over the last 2 years

(i am old now and f*ken posh and shit)

so anyway was looking at q7', x5's and towrags as a good tow vehicle(td).

x5 is out cause of ghayness

anyway after looking around i have stumbled apon cayenne and cayenne turboz for the same money(03-07 models with 100k and full service history)

someone talk me out of it, cause f**k me they go like stink.

ps i dont care about the fuel bill if i can get to 100km/h in 6 seconds with a trailer on

Can't go past a towrag, got two (TD) in my garage and both are just brilliant for towing.

Not overly expensive for servicing etc either although I haven't had to replace much as yet...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Surely somebody has one in VIC. Have you asked at any shops?  Is this the yearly inspection or did you get a canary?
    • This is where I share pain with you, @Duncan. The move to change so many cooling system pieces to plastic is a killer! Plastic end tanks and a few plastic hose flanges on my car's fail after so little time.  Curious about the need for a bigger rad, is that just for long sessions in the summer or because the car generally needs more cooling?
    • So, that is it! It is a pretty expensive process with the ATF costing 50-100 per 5 litres, and a mechanic will probably charge plenty because they don't want to do it. Still, considering how dirty my fluid was at 120,000klm I think it would be worth doing more like every 80,000 to keep the trans happy, they are very expensive to replace. The job is not that hard if you have the specialist tools so you can save a bit of money and do it yourself!
    • OK, onto filling. So I don't really have any pics, but will describe the process as best I can. The USDM workshop manual also covers it from TM-285 onwards. First, make sure the drain plug (17mm) is snug. Not too tight yet because it is coming off again. Note it does have a copper washer that you could replace or anneal (heat up with a blow torch) to seal nicely. Remove the fill plug, which has an inhex (I think it was 6mm but didn't check). Then, screw in the fill fitting, making sure it has a suitable o-ring (mine came without but I think it is meant to be supplied). It is important that you only screw it in hand tight. I didn't get a good pic of it, but the fill plug leads to a tube about 70mm long inside the transmission. This sets the factory level for fluid in the trans (above the join line for the pan!) and will take about 3l to fill. You then need to connect your fluid pump to the fitting via a hose, and pump in whatever amount of fluid you removed (maybe 3 litres, in my case 7 litres). If you put in more than 3l, it will spill out when you remove the fitting, so do quickly and with a drain pan underneath. Once you have pumped in the required amount of clean ATF, you start the engine and run it for 3 minutes to let the fluid circulate. Don't run it longer and if possible check the fluid temp is under 40oC (Ecutek shows Auto Trans Fluid temp now, or you could use an infrared temp gun on the bottom of the pan). The manual stresses the bit about fluid temperature because it expands when hot an might result in an underfil. So from here, the factory manual says to do the "spill and fill" again, and I did. That is, put an oil pan under the drain plug and undo it with a 17mm spanner, then watch your expensive fluid fall back out again, you should get about 3 litres.  Then, put the drain plug back in, pump 3 litres back in through the fill plug with the fitting and pump, disconnect the fill fitting and replace the fill plug, start the car and run for another 3 minutes (making sure the temp is still under 40oC). The manual then asks for a 3rd "spill and fill" just like above. I also did that and so had put 13l in by now.  This time they want you to keep the engine running and run the transmission through R and D (I hope the wheels are still off the ground!) for a while, and allow the trans temp to get to 40oC, then engine off. Finally, back under the car and undo the fill plug to let the overfill drain out; it will stop running when fluid is at the top of the levelling tube. According to the factory, that is job done! Post that, I reconnected the fill fitting and pumped in an extra 0.5l. AMS says 1.5l overfill is safe, but I started with less to see how it goes, I will add another 1.0 litres later if I'm still not happy with the hot shifts.
    • OK, so regardless of whether you did Step 1 - Spill Step 2 - Trans pan removal Step 3 - TCM removal we are on to the clean and refill. First, have a good look at the oil pan. While you might see dirty oil and some carbony build up (I did), what you don't want to see is any metal particles on the magnets, or sparkles in the oil (thankfully not). Give it all a good clean, particularly the magnets, and put the new gasket on if you have one (or, just cross your fingers) Replacement of the Valve body (if you removed it) is the "reverse of assembly". Thread the electrical socket back up through the trans case, hold the valve body up and put in the bolts you removed, with the correct lengths in the correct locations Torque for the bolts in 8Nm only so I hope you have that torque wrench handy (it feels really loose). Plug the output speed sensor back in and clip the wiring into the 2 clips, replace the spring clip on the TCM socket and plug it back into the car loom. For the pan, the workshop manual states the following order: Again, the torque is 8Nm only.
×
×
  • Create New...