bdennis,

WBT56 may have some answers on the effect this may have on the T5 'box. I'm interested as my car is a manual and I'd like to tow items between 1600 and 1800kg.

Are you out there WBT56?

Mr Walker,

No problems. I have the 1600KG on my Auto Turbo and will be towing a 1200KG Van so I am sweat!

Always interested in the info though..

My intention was to only point out the info from the data we have from Ford.

Just looking to help out my fellow Turbo man and decifer the crap from the dealer..!

Just got word from a reputable person at the dealers. Ford puts the clause of 1200kg for a manual to cover themselves in case the clutch burns. Unofficially, the clutch is already a heavy duty clutch made for high speed high accelerating environments. Towing above 1200 would be akin to heavier than normal accelaration and nowhere near popping the clutch and spinning the wheels.

So I'm happy in pulling a boat 200k havier than allowable. Just be careful and do not ride the clutch in boat ramps. That is standard proceedure anyway.

Talking of towing limits I saw an interesting sight about 6 months ago at my local boat ramp. A guy with a VX SS Crumpledore was pulling a fairly large boat (about 20 foot) out of the water which must have had quite a bit of water in it. When he got to the dry part of the ramp he gave it a bit of a boot (to impress the onlookers I guess) and the left rear door popped open. When he parked the car he couldn't shut the door properly again, you could open it without touching the doorhandle - must have put too much stress on the body and pulled something out of alignment. Needless to say he was not happy!

I've seen this sort of thing happen at the drags plenty of times but never towing a boat.

The load limit is to cover Ford in the event of your stuffing the clutch - there is really no problem with the transmission even though it is claimed to be operating at its limit. There is still a fair safety margin built into that limit. I've been towing loads up to 2000kg with a T5 that has now been in three different vehicles and travelled probably close to a million km - it is still going strong and is currently behind a 4.1L turbo intercooled motor in a ZL. It all depends how you treat it - I'm sure you aren't going to be going stupid if you value your car and/or boat.

The clutch is not a HD unit. it is the lightest clamp unit available in that style of valeo 10 1/2" Pressure plate. I believe it is deliberately light to try and protect the gearbox, as it will flare ever so slightly to absorb the shock load. The best way to protect it is to not ride it, have it in or out. The gearbox IS right on its limit, but shouldn't give any huge problems IF you treat it right. By this I mean use it like a manual- downshift when possible/necessary, don't be lazy and just put the boot in, particularly in fifth. With heavy loads and hilly terrain, avoid using fifth if at all possible. Regular towers keep a closer eye on the condition of the oil. All this only applies to STD engines- I wouldn't be towing with anything that has been seriously tweaked.

also just to add all falcons and c********* have always had a 1200kg limit for towing. have been told by a couple of ppl on that one of the reasons is that engine / turbo oil will overheat with the added stress of anything over 1600kg however I seriously doubt that this would occur if u were careful with your driving style while towing and especially if it isn't long distance.

however when towing with my ef V8 fairmont towing a 22 footer which was about 2100 - 2200 depending on extra load I managed to increase the door gap of the rear doors by a couple of mm and that was with 2300 tow pack etc etc etc and being very nice. maybe if you want to tow heavy things it might be an idea to buy something with a proper chassis.

note it stretched that bit then stopped. and I know that it def wasn't like that originally