tow package & axle ratio determination??

carterep · 06-08-2008, 11:11 AM

I am planning on buying a 1998-2002 Expedition to be used to tow a 5000 lb travel trailer.

Q. How can I readily determine if the vehicle truly has a factory installed tow package (as opposed to an after-market hitch) and determine what the axle ratio is (3.08 vs 3.31 vs 3.55)?

Any tips/advice is readily appreciated.

Ethan (Denver, CO)

TBIRD430 · 06-09-2008, 02:06 PM

Crawl under the rear of the SUV. There will be 2 metal tags on the rear diff cover. 1 has the recommended gear weight oil (such as 75W140), and the 2nd will have the gear ratio. For example, 3 73 or 4 10. If it has a limited slip rear diff (most with trailer tow do), it will read 3L37 or 4L10. I hope this helps...

carterep · 06-09-2008, 08:05 PM

TBIRD--
THANKS!!! That is exactly the quick and dirty method I was looking for. I don't want to take someone's word for it that the vehicle has a tow package when in reality it only had a hitch installed at the local U-Haul rental for a local do-it-yourself move.

Ethan

SoCalFordie · 06-14-2008, 05:45 PM

So, I have several questions about towing with Expeditions. Any help is appreciated. Do the factory tow packages have a separate transmission cooler or do they just utilize the "tranny lines to the radiator" cooling method? Do they have larger brakes? What axle ratio did Ford usually put in their tow packaged rigs? And here is an unrelated question...are all Expy 4x4's actually AWD? Everyone I've ever seen have the AWD, 4x4, 4x4low switch on the dash. I can't recall ever seeing a 2wd, 4x4 & 4x4 low labeled setup. Thoughts?

TBIRD430 · 06-17-2008, 09:18 AM

They should have a seperate trans oil cooler. I would think that there were 2 rear gear choices for the tow package. The rest of the Q's someone else will have to chim in....

99Expy · 07-01-2008, 09:23 PM

Separate trans cooler, 3.73 gears, heavy duty altenator, prewired for 7 prong plug. I tow a 30' travel trailer for years, be sure to lock out torque converter when towing.

sheenk · 07-21-2008, 09:13 AM

I am very interested in this thread. We have a 97 Expedition which we use to pull our trailer that has a dry weight of 4500 lbs. It seems like we have had problems with pulling this trailer from day one. We have even installed a super chip to see if we could get better results as we pulled. I am interested in what is meant by locking out the torque converted. What is this process and how does one go about doing this?

99Expy · 07-21-2008, 06:03 PM

First of all, which engine does your Expy have? 4.6 or 5.4? 2wd or 4wd? 4wd has higher tow capacity. Lock out the torque converter by locking out your overdrive. At the end of the shifter, there should be a button to push. This will lock out your torque converter. Makes engine run a little higher rpm but keeps things from getting to sluggish. Keeps more power at the wheels. What other things are you complaining about? I tow a 32' travel trailer, never had a problem with the Expy - knock on wood.

sheenk · 08-10-2008, 05:36 PM

We have a 5.4, 4wd. We do pull our trailer with the overdrive off. The RPM's run about 3000 for us. What we do notice is a significant drop in our gas milage. Without a trailer, we get around 16 - 18 mpg. Pulling the trailer, we get around 8 - 10. We do regular maintenance, fluids, plugs, etc,. We run 91 octane, and travel @ 55-60 mph when pulling. Any other ways we can gain some better gas milage?

TBIRD430 · 08-11-2008, 02:21 PM

Keep tire air pressure in check with what Ford posted inside ur left front door jam. Try adding a can of Seafoam brand fuel treatment to ur gas tank on the next "pull".

There is no need for 91 octane when pulling, that is unless, u are using a hand held programmer?