Towing and R380 gearbox??

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Originally Posted by Marty110

Isn't the problem that the 5th gear is on a seperate layshaft which is smaller and had smaller bearings than the main? I reckon it is a good excuse to get a GKN overdrive so you can tow in 4th OD which maintains direct drive through the mainshaft and only slightly lower geared than 5th. Had this setup on my Defender and it was the ducks guts - especially that little switch on the gear knob - no clutch so you could just be under full load up a hill or overtaking and either switch up or down depending on circumstances with no loss of momentum as you would have if you had to use the clutch. The downside is you have to have your gearbox and trans well shimmed and 'tight' or you can get some serious 'clunking' at coast or over-run.

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nope its on the same shaft as the other 3 selectable gears (4th just dogging the input to output) your thinking of the lt77 setup where it was cantilevered.

and shifting the GKN under power isnt what its ment to do.... (you can shift it clutchless but you're ment to do it on the coast)

Don't worry about it. Just drive like you stole it. Was only thinking about this today as my tdi was again towing a way too heavy tandem trailer up hill and down dale. I always use fith gear towing and only drop back to forth when needed to keep the revs up. My accelerator only has two positions. On and off. It spent most of today buried in the firewall. 260,000 Kim's and lots of towing. Gearbox is getting a bit tired now but still going strong. Transfer just had a rebuild but only cause it developed a flow through oil system :eek:

That's fine with a 300TDi it doesn't have enough power to damage it

Don't so it with a tuned TD5 or it will end in tears

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Originally Posted by djam1

That's fine with a 300TDi it doesn't have enough power to damage it

Don't so it with a tuned TD5 or it will end in tears

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Agree tdi is much less likely to break something with all its awesome power:D Its a bit slow and steady with a big load on.

However i would not worry in td5 with a 1400 kg trailer. It won't even be breaking into a sweat.

I am also quite happy towing with my puma in 6th. Although I tend to use fifth a lot just to keep the revs up. its only just ticking over at 100 in 6.

Thanks Dave - as always, your advice is appreciated.

So, basically, it is OK to tow in 5th gear BUT beware of straining the revs and change down BEFORE the engine tells me OUCH.

Does that sum it up?

yep, run with that