Towing package on 3.7 6-speed

TheJawsOfDeath · **Joined:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:56 am **Posts:** 305

I just installed the towing hitch that comes standard with the towing package, got the wiring all hooked up. Feeling pretty pleased with myself for the painless DIY job. What I need to know is if the 6speed in my 06 has a transmission cooler setup like an automatic, and if all I need to do to complete the "towing package" install is to get that auxiliary fan? I'm not going to be towing anything like 5000lbs in the near future, so I'm feeling ok going without it for now. So far all I've pulled is my ice fishing house which weighs about 200lbs, plus the weight of an 8X12 uhaul trailer. I remember reading a thread about the sites with the best prices on the fan, but searched and couldnt find it. Theres nothing left to do other than the aux. cooling to do to equip my jeep to tow properly?

jason thompson · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 4:56 pm

TheJawsOfDeath wrote:

I just installed the towing hitch that comes standard with the towing package, got the wiring all hooked up. Feeling pretty pleased with myself for the painless DIY job. What I need to know is if the 6speed in my 06 has a transmission cooler setup like an automatic, and if all I need to do to complete the "towing package" install is to get that auxiliary fan? I'm not going to be towing anything like 5000lbs in the near future, so I'm feeling ok going without it for now. So far all I've pulled is my ice fishing house which weighs about 200lbs, plus the weight of an 8X12 uhaul trailer. I remember reading a thread about the sites with the best prices on the fan, but searched and couldnt find it. Theres nothing left to do other than the aux. cooling to do to equip my jeep to tow properly?

I belive that you rig has a electric fan on it now wich is 10X better than the engine fan so I would not worry about another fan
and a manual trans does not have a pump to move the fluid so a cooler would be pointless
all you need to tow is a hich

TheJawsOfDeath · **Joined:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:56 am **Posts:** 305

well thats good news then. thanks!

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:02 pm

I believe the max towing capacity of the manual trannies is 3500 lb isn't it?
Clutches seem to be the weak point.

TheJawsOfDeath · **Joined:** Sun Nov 05, 2006 3:56 am **Posts:** 305

I just checked my owners manual, youre right its only 3500lbs. That kinda sucks...well not really because its not going to affect how I use my Jeep, but more of in terms of bragging rights. I'll gladly trade that extra 1500lbs for shifting my own gears.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:34 pm

spoonplugger1 wrote:

I believe the max towing capacity of the manual trannies is 3500 lb isn't it?
Clutches seem to be the weak point.

not that the cluch is week but rather a problem with the driver
the MFG knows that 90% of the drivers will hit cluch and break when stoping wich will force all the breaking on the breaks and none on the drive train
also it has been my experance that most people dont know how to take off with a manual and tend to ride the cluch more than needed
none of this matters when you are not towing or towing a light load but a heavy load it does

if the autos realy were better at towing then over the road trucks ,18 wheelers, would all have them insted 99% have manuals
and they haul 80,000#+ all day every day and there cluch surfce is not 10X bigger than the one in a KJ

good example is when I had my ford ranger ,4.0 V6 5 speed 3.73's on 30" mudders, my buddy and his wife had the same model year explorer but with ever thing the same only differance was that they had an auto it was rated to tow 5,000# and my truck only 4,000# on the way to pensicola FL in july towing a good size boat ,18' I think, they could not run with the AC or the truck would over heat
I told them that I would tow it and see what happens 200+ miles on the same tank of fuel and running at 70mph+ and the temp guage never moved
I did use extreme care after the first time I had to stop and I did not want to but other wise no biggie

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 9:28 pm

The truck would overheat of the tranny would? Sounds like thats a problem with their cooling system and not the fact that it was an auto.

I really cannot think of a why it would make a difference.

I dont want to offend you by saying you wrong, Im just wondering. :wink:

jason thompson · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:44 pm

Jeepjeepster wrote:

The truck would overheat of the tranny would? Sounds like thats a problem with their cooling system and not the fact that it was an auto.

I really cannot think of a why it would make a difference.

I dont want to offend you by saying you wrong, Im just wondering. :wink:

autos are cooled by the same cooling system as the rest of the truck
add the weight of the boat 4 people and there stuff for a week and the AC there is the heat build up

manuals are cooled by them selves and have no parts that are always sliping so they dont get nearly as hot
I told them to put there junk in my truck befor we left I think that that is all it took but the guy is/was sturborn and said they would be fine he did not even put there icechest in my truck 100qt full of ice and beer

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:04 am

Jeep Libertys with the 42RLE transmission have an auxiliary transmission cooler that is bolted in front of the engine radiator.

wendell · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:41 am

Yeah, manual trannies don't need a cooler, but a good synthetic fluid like royal purple wouldn't hurt, I run synthetic's in my whole drivetrain on the ranger, haven't done it ti the kj or focus yet, but hope to soon at first oil change. On the ranger, not only did it shift smoother when it was cold out, it helped the mpg a little. Manual trannies are rated to pull less from the factory for warrenty purposes, they will pull just as much as an auto, but the factory is covering thier butts for none operaters eating clutches. The ranger with a manual is only rated for 3500 pounds as well, I've pulled 6000 a few time without a hitch, but it would be easy to eat a clutch if you didn't know what you were doing, so I kinda see thier point. Also the more gear you have, the easier it is to pull with a manual, the ranger has 4:10's and does a great job. My super duty had 4:30's, it didn't even grunt when pulling. I had an 77 f-150 with a 302, 3 on the tree and 3:27 gears, you had to really ride the cluth to get it moving when towing something. 3:73's aren't bad in a kj, but 4:10's would be better for towing, more so with a manual.

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:13 am

jason thompson wrote:

I belive that you rig has a electric fan on it now wich is 10X better than the engine fan so I would not worry about another fan

No disrespect here - But I wanted to adjust your statement. A mechanicaly driven fan will pull much more air than an electric fan in low speed situations. Mechanically driven fans are ideal for heavy traffic / high load situations where your vehicle doesn't get enough air flowing past the radiator. The reason is that the blades of a mechanical fan can be more agressive since they do not have to rely on a small electric motor to turn the fan assembly. The true bennifit of an electric fan is seen on the highway where your engine doesn't need the fan to get air moving past the heat exchanging fins on the radiator. In this situation, the electric fan can completely shut off - where as a mechicanical fan will keep turning and detract from your gas mileage.

moose · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 11:36 am

wendell wrote:

3:73's aren't bad in a kj, but 4:10's would be better for towing, more so with a manual.

In general, I agree that the 4:10's would provide easier pulling over a 3:55 in any vehicle, but the 3:55 with the low first gear is sufficent for anything most people would do. Even with my 32's, I have no plans to change the gears, because it finally "feels right" - meaning the 6 spd, even with the 3:55 always seemed like it had a lot more power capability than the stock configuration was providing. The larger tires have evened that out now, so that I'm not racing through the gears just to get it to highway speeds.

KeswickDave · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 4:56 pm

wendell wrote:

I've pulled 6000 a few time without a hitch

I'm sure you didn't mean without a trailer hitch, but that's how I read it the first time - thanks for the chuckle ;-)

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 5:35 pm

KeswickDave wrote:

wendell wrote:

I've pulled 6000 a few time without a hitch

I'm sure you didn't mean without a trailer hitch, but that's how I read it the first time - thanks for the chuckle ;-)

I was thinking the same thing :lol:

jason thompson · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:58 pm

sleeve84028 wrote:

jason thompson wrote:

I belive that you rig has a electric fan on it now wich is 10X better than the engine fan so I would not worry about another fan

No disrespect here - But I wanted to adjust your statement. A mechanicaly driven fan will pull much more air than an electric fan in low speed situations. Mechanically driven fans are ideal for heavy traffic / high load situations where your vehicle doesn't get enough air flowing past the radiator. The reason is that the blades of a mechanical fan can be more agressive since they do not have to rely on a small electric motor to turn the fan assembly. The true bennifit of an electric fan is seen on the highway where your engine doesn't need the fan to get air moving past the heat exchanging fins on the radiator. In this situation, the electric fan can completely shut off - where as a mechicanical fan will keep turning and detract from your gas mileage.

You need to do some more reaserch at low speeds ,trail riding and rock crawling, your engine RPM is very very low >2000
a mech fan will pull less than 1/2 the air of a GOOD electric fan
your theory is good but not true look at 99% of the real trail rigs and see they all run electric works better at low speed and is one of the best mods you can do

I know that you will still doubt me so I can show you
find a TJ with a mech. fan and let it get HOT about an hour on thee trail should do it let it idel and pop then feel how much air is being pulled
next take a KJ with an electric fan and do the same pop the hood and feel the air

I have done this with both rigs on the same trail at the same time
yes an electric fan is grat on the highway cause it does not do any thing no drag cause the in coming wind from out side is going faster than the fan can move it

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:02 pm

He's asking about towing - not taking a trailer off road. If the electric fan was so great for towing, why does the liberty come with a mechanical fan when you order the tow package?

Edit to the OP: An electric fan will properly cool your engine while towing, but just keep your eye on the temperature gauge if you are pulling large loads like a car on a dolly.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:13 pm

sleeve84028 wrote:

He's asking about towing - not taking a trailer off road. If the electric fan was so great for towing, why does the liberty come with a mechanical fan when you order the tow package?

Edit to the OP: An electric fan will properly cool your engine while towing, but just keep your eye on the temperature gauge if you are pulling large loads like a car on a dolly.

they move more air at mid-high rpm then at low when compaired to electric but it is the low rpm that will get ya
that is an easy one

and as far as towing heavy with the electric yes you do need to wach the temp but you should do that any way

unixxx · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:15 pm

Why is the mechanical fan part of the tow package when DC could have just installed a larger electrical fan? The mechanical fan must be good for more than towing because it comes standard without the tow package on the Renegade.

jason thompson · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:24 pm

unixxx wrote:

Why is the mechanical fan part of the tow package when DC could have just installed a larger electrical fan?

same as above
mech fans pull more air at the mid-high rpm range ,normal highway/daily driving at the cost of fuel so to avoid burning fuel all the time they put an electric fan on

by doing this they can bost better fuel economy on a specific model and get a "green" sticker for getting better fuel economy and "being nice to mother nature"

guys are yall on a mission to prove me wrong?
or are yall just being royal P.I.T.A.'s?
do you realy not know or think you know but are questioning me to prove a point?
I do know all about this stuff and have no problem answering but I feel that I am dealing with jackalopes
I mean NO offence at all by this but look at it from my end

Jason

sleeve84028 · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:26 pm

jason thompson wrote:

they move more air at mid-high rpm then at low when compaired to electric but it is the low rpm that will get ya
that is an easy one

and as far as towing heavy with the electric yes you do need to wach the temp but you should do that any way

Agreed

Under 1500 RPM / Idle - Advantage Electric
1500 - 3000 RPM / Low cruise or "grunt work" - Advantage Mechanical
Highway Speed - Advantage Electric

Towing package on 3.7 6-speed

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