Hi all,
I will be towing with my ts auto V6 tomorrow morning and as its the first time Ive towed with this vehicle it occurred to me that I was told some time ago to tow with the 'overdrive off'! Is this correct as I cant find any reference to it in the owners manual.
I did do a search but nothing came up,
Thanks in advance.

Yeah it helps to have the extra revs, I believe overdrive tries to suppress revs in order to save fuel, kind of like a 5th gear but I could be wrong

Personally I've never ever driven with it off, but I've never towed... Then again I'm a huge fan of the power button too

What is the A/T mode button then? Do V6s have one?
I've always thought that it was what you were supposed to use when towing, I believe it delays the gear shifts a bit.
I have towed small boats with my 4Cyl a number of times and never used overdrive-off, if you need to get up to speed quicker I would probably use it for a quick burst, but if you did any speed in 3rd gear for an extended time (overdrive off) I think the engine would feel like it might explode.

Hey pretzel, I actually think it was the A/T now... not the o/d. Mind you it did occur to me that I would be doing some highway k's stuck in third....

Yeah, when you click A/T I think it says 'PWR' on the dash, afaik it will then still go into 4th gear.

Whenever someone mentions towing with a 2nd gen, I always think of this promotional picture :D
http://photos.carsguide.news.com.au/cgphotos/specs_photos/0XG.jpg

Can we find out what you intend to tow?

And the power A/T switch just changes the change pattern in the box. It just shifts higher. So as not to labour the motor. It's ideal for towing. As you guys have discussed.
My old man used to tow 1500 kilos of poptop in a TN/P 4 cyl Astron. Vic to qld. That kind of thing.
Just check the brakes are great condition.
Second gens had tranny coolers. Not sure about 1st gens. Ensure you have one fitted.

Hi all,
I will be towing with my ts auto V6 tomorrow morning and as its the first time Ive towed with this vehicle it occurred to me that I was told some time ago to tow with the 'overdrive off'! Is this correct as I cant find any reference to it in the owners manual.
I did do a search but nothing came up,
Thanks in advance.

Depends on the weight of the trailer, but I'd simply lock out overdrive around town, and if on the open road, go up to 80 in 3rd gear, then switch overdrive on. At a steady cruising speed the trailer shouldn't put much extra load on, so torque converter lockup should still operate. But it will also lock up in third after about 5 minutes at steady speed. Kinder on the gearbox temperature wise, so which gear you use really depends on the actual load and speeds you intend to cruise at.

The A/T switch doesn't do much, except raise the revs at which the gearbox changes on wide open throttle runs.

My old man used to tow 1500 kilos of poptop in a TN/P 4 cyl Astron

Not bad going considering the max legal tow load for the TN/TP series is 1200Kg with brakes 500 without brakes!!

Overdrive is for use at cruising speeds above 70-80km/h.....Around town use will just wear it out quickly as most owners eventually find out the hard way!! Vee

Second gens had tranny coolers. Not sure about 1st gens.

Option on 1st gens if you requested it. They made a purpose built ones to fit the mounts that are in front of the radiator on the driverside. Mitsubishi planned for it which is good unlike alot of other manufacturers where you have to jerry rig up something or get an aftermarket one that attached to the front of the radiator or aircon condensor with plastic fittings!!
I have had three 1st gen wagons that had factory ones fitted.

Most people turn OD off when towing..simply...The auto will just chop and change between gears anyway because of the added weights. Ive towed Caravans up to 2500kg and allways turn it off when towing on any auto...It just wont hold it in that gear at 100k

Hi all thanks for the replies. I was towing my motor bike (180kgs) in a 5x4 trailer (???kg). Not much weight really but I had my tools and spares in the back too so I guess enough weight to change things a bit? I'm not used to auto trans or cars really in the last couple of years, so thought Id better look into it.