Defender towing

[chally]

Just completed first towing episode of 700ks distance with 2013 Defender 110. Towing a 16' single axle pop top caravan with weight of 1600kg and the 110 did it fine on the straight and level and returned 8ks for each litre of fuel sitting on 90 to 100kph. But come to crossing the Great Dividing Range and throw a few hills in to the mix and I was down to fourth gear on occasions to maintain a constant 2000rpm and the floor around the transmission was noticeably warm. For those that have towed is this heat normal over the floor area above the transmission? I can handle life in the slow lane but I would like to be sure that I am not overtaxing the mechanicals with this towing as I am planning a trip around Oz next year with this rig.

[jimr1]

Hi chally I have the td5 110 the gear box in this r380 , and that gearbox has oil cooler pipes going in a loop , so It doesn't do much but an oil cooler can be added . I have been thinking about upgrading to the Puma like you have ,so when I asked the question , does the 6 speed have an oil cooler or pipes ? I was told NO which was a bit of a surprise . I would have thought you could add an oil cooler even as an option . This would help keep the box cooler , that has to be a good thing , plus helping keep the floor from getting as hot . Up until now I don't know of anyone doing this . Maybe someone can add to this . cheers jimr1

[BilboBoggles]

May be the normal heat coming from the exhaust and catalytic converter. Under load they get very hot. Mine has an air leak somewhere near the handbrake, the air is pretty damned hot when I'm giving it some stick.

The 6 speed is used in the v8 mustang, but I don't think there is an aftermarket cooler available for that either.

[debruiser]

my 90 gets warm when towing, particularly the handbrake lever.... my leg rests against it (i'm 6 foot - with longish legs) it's a bit annoying at times.

[n plus one]

Just completed first towing episode of 700ks distance with 2013 Defender 110. Towing a 16' single axle pop top caravan with weight of 1600kg and the 110 did it fine on the straight and level and returned 8ks for each litre of fuel sitting on 90 to 100kph. But come to crossing the Great Dividing Range and throw a few hills in to the mix and I was down to fourth gear on occasions to maintain a constant 2000rpm and the floor around the transmission was noticeably warm. For those that have towed is this heat normal over the floor area above the transmission? I can handle life in the slow lane but I would like to be sure that I am not overtaxing the mechanicals with this towing as I am planning a trip around Oz next year with this rig.

Heat is normal - it seems to be largely from the exhaust and is made worse by the under car aerodynamics, particularly if you run with the windows down/heater on recirc.

If you tow regularly I'd recommend some sort of remap and increase the frequency of your transfer case oil changes.

[BilboBoggles]

A hot handbrake, that's worse when the windows are down or A/C on recirc, is most likely an air leak. The air under the car is hot, it's come past the radiator and the exhaust, any gap in the seat box/floor/trans tunnel will let air in when the windows are open. That air is hot as hell. So if you have a hot handbrake it could be a misplaced seal or gap in the panels.

[n plus one]

So if you have a hot handbrake it could be a misplaced seal or gap in the panels.

Lol, Defenders are constructed almost entirely from misplaced seals and panel gaps

[uninformed]

AFAIK, the MT82 (6 speed gearbox in current Defeneders) does not have a oil pump in it like the older R380 (5 speed gearbox in the earlier Td5s, Tdis). That is not to say that you cant put an oil cooler system in the gearbox, just it would mean a bit more work.

2 things I would do: #1, run synthetic oil in both the gearbox and t/case. #2 change it every 20k regardless of how good it looks inside.

You can get a little aluminium sump cover that adds about 500ml oil capacity for the t/case (LT230)

[RobnJane]

Interesting topic for me at the moment. We tow a Tvan and like to keep to around 95kmh when in traffic and then drop back to say 90kmh once the traffic drops off a bit.This means we are mainly travelling in 5th gear somewhere between 2100rpm to 2500rpm, this seems ok to me but am interested in what others may do.
Area around handbrake and floor area certainly gets warm, but post trip check of oils indicates all is working as it should.
Rob.

[beefy]

I would drop in to 6th and keep the diesel in its torque band. saves fuel and 1800-1900 is fine for a diesel to run at.