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LOADED4X4.COM.AU
OPINION: DAVID WILSON
luck about the first, perhaps a
manufacturing fault caused its
demise, so number two should
rectify the situation. Nup. A
few months later transmission
number two goes into meltdown,
won’t hold gears, starts hunting
up and down its range and then
stops, mightily embarrassing
for all concerned. Back to the
dealer it goes, and now there’s
some serious discussion about
why this has happened again.
There’s lots of finger-pointing, but
no recognition/admission that
heat has likely caused this and
a big cooler is what’s required.
So out it goes with yet another
new transmission and hello, six
months later we’re back and
busted once more, transmission
number three is toast.
I had a transmission
specialist once tell me that heat
kills 90% of auto transmissions
and sometimes scarily quickly.
Apparently for every 15°C
increase in temperature above
80°C the life of the transmission
oil is cut in half and the stock
pathetic cooling system
employed in many automatics
can barely cope when the vehicle
is operating in modest ambient
temperatures, let alone what
happens when towing and in
summer! Get a transmission
to 150°C, and the ATF (auto
transmission fluid) might last
barely 1,000 to 1,500kms!
“With yet another
transmission destined
to find its way into this
impossible situation
the couple, now with
little faith in the vehicle,
are weighing up their
options.”
All the while our builder friend
found the ride disconcerting, as
the vehicle had a distinctly noseup
attitude with bum dragging
on the ground when towing.
After getting into a death-wobble
one day, he recognised that
the suspension was woefully
inadequate and bit the bullet on
a reputable aftermarket kit, front
and rear.
Thankfully the advice was
good there, getting exactly
the right rate springs for the
imposed loads (and not going
down the path of a Band-
Aid fix with airbags or weight
distribution hitches as some were
recommending) and shocks that
truly could dampen and flatten
the ride and keep the vehicle’s
profile at the right attitude.
What’s wrong with the Band-
Aids I hear you ask? How about a
broken chassis for a start!
If the suspension is crook
from day one, there’s no point
polishing that turd. If you
intend doing anything other
than carrying tiny loads and
running around town it should
be replaced. Same rule applies
to tyres and with the 30,000km
young OEM tyres starting to look
pretty threadbare, more money
was outlaid on decent light-truck
rubber with a proper load index.
Tyres now fixed.
With yet another transmission
destined to find its way into this
impossible situation the couple,
now with little faith in the vehicle,
are weighing up their options.
Install a big cooler and hope it
fixes the issues, or buy a medium
truck with a proper payload and
forgo the 4WD opportunities the
ute would’ve delivered for their
lifestyle? If they sell, they’ll cop
a big hit in depreciation and lose
Need to tow a big van? Perhaps
you really need one of these...
the benefit of the suspension and
tyre upgrade. There’s no winner in
this story.
And then there’s the folk who
don’t know anything about this
towing stuff, or how inadequate
their new ute is for towing. Lulled
into a false sense of security by
the manufacturer’s tow rating,
they buy the biggest caravan
they can get for their retirement
lap of Australia. They then
unwittingly, because precious few
people understand GCM (Gross
Combination Mass), start loading