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Flat towing a 2009 V6 4 wheel drive Escape?


mraschke03

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We purchased a motor home and had plans to flat tow the 2009 Escape we have behind it. The manual states that it is suitable for this. The mileage is at 150,000 and a new transmission was installed at 105,000 miles by the local Ford dealer. Before we installed a tow plate and dragged it down the road I am hoping to get advice on whether this is wise. Several on line sources refer to burning up the transmission if this vehicle is flat towed. Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.

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It is supposed to be able to, But I STRONGLY and I mean STRONGLY (can't stress this enough) suggest you install the supplemental transmission pump that is available for them. Mostly because you either will get a failure by pulling it longer/further than it is supposed to be, or that it will just crap the bed on its own. I've been involved with both instances. Buy the pump or don't flat tow.

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The alternative to the auxiliary transmission pump (which IS the the best solution) is to rig up a system with a long thin dip tube and suck about a 8-12 ounces of fluid out of the transmission BEFORE towing ! Of course, you must replace this before driving !

 

The problem is, when the transmission is cold (from not being actually driven by the engine) the fluid level is high enough that some parts of the transmission contact the fluid, heat it up and cause it to foam. A couple of hours being towed and the foam will expand enough to come out the dipstick tube. The air in the foam does not allow sufficient cooling to the parts of the transmission that are supposed to be "splash" lubricated.

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The alternative to the auxiliary transmission pump (which IS the the best solution) is to rig up a system with a long thin dip tube and suck about a 8-12 ounces of fluid out of the transmission BEFORE towing ! Of course, you must replace this before driving !

 

The problem is, when the transmission is cold (from not being actually driven by the engine) the fluid level is high enough that some parts of the transmission contact the fluid, heat it up and cause it to foam. A couple of hours being towed and the foam will expand enough to come out the dipstick tube. The air in the foam does not allow sufficient cooling to the parts of the transmission that are supposed to be "splash" lubricated.

 

That's interesting. One usually things the answer to an overheating transmission is MORE fluid (up to a point, obviously).

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  • 3 months later...

I towed a 2010 Merc Mariner behind a motorhome from summer of '10 thru the spring of '16 and did about 25,000 miles towing in about 35 or 40 trips. It had the infamous 6F35 tranny that was so bad for this job. I was paranoid about overdoing the prescribed start up routine, going back and forth the gears 5 or 6 times. I also did the routine again after 3 to 4 hours of towing it. I glanced at my rear view camera probably about every 10 minutes. But the thing never failed. Still, I was glad to get rid if it and the motorhome.

 

The pump listed above is from Remcotowing.com and sells for $1895. I've heard it is easy to install, and takes about 6 hours. I don't know if there is any other option.

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