Thread: Towing in 5th Gear DII TD5

Originally Posted by slug_burner

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for all you fifth gear towers, this is just the input side of the box. Where fifth comes off the gear is smaller,

Wowzers!!! But still if you want to do the speed limit then 5th is a necessity, however it shouldn't be loaded up hard!!

%th gear is an over drive gear , by its very nature is not designed to haul heavy stuff for prolonged periods. With towing you will get much better mileage if you use 5th only for flats and light downhill. Its all about keeping the revs in the sweet spot, torque vers speed. On a long haul you will find that keeping the torque up will let you travel easier. If any there is any doubt put a temp gauge in the box and run tests. 5th WILL make the temp rise with any sort of load.
Many Nissen and toymotors gear boxs have bitten the dust from the same thing , and really ours is no different in that respect. My '96 Deefer has done 308000kms now , orig box , only run dextron atf , change it regular, and dont use 5th for towing. But it does all types, highway work, Lots of offroad on the property, with everything from a bundle of wire to firefighting tanks!
But then again it could just be me