Towing with the air conditioning on?

[InlineFive]

What are your thoughts? On one hand I see that towing with the air conditioning on causing more stress on the engine. Alternatively it would keep the fan blowing air on the engine.

This is a for a Taurus towing a small trailer about 1000Lbs.

Thanks!

I5

 

[SickBeast]

What's the towing capacity of the car?

I leave AC off whenever possible.

 

[woodie1]

Originally posted by: InlineFive
What are your thoughts? On one hand I see that towing with the air conditioning on causing more stress on the engine. Alternatively it would keep the fan blowing air on the engine.

This is a for a Taurus towing a small trailer about 1000Lbs.

Thanks!

I5

Unless the car itself is loaded too or you are in a mountainous area I wouldn't worry about it. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge to be safe.

 

[SickBeast]

Yeah, I'd say you're fine unless you notice 'lugging', which is when your car slows down even if you have the gas pedal floored. It's a sign that your engine is overloaded, or else you have it in the wrong gear in the case of a manual transmission. It's apparently quite bad for your motor.

Just leave the AC off when you're going up hills.

 

[brblx]

the AC compressor should disengage at WOT but will otherwise be on most of the time, depends on the temperature and the efficiency of the system. it shouldn't be that much of a problem if you're not already exceeding the capabilities of that car. as other said, just keep an eye on the coolant temp, and don't let keep pushing the engine if it's in obvious trouble. i would imagine as long as the trans downshifts properly, you shouldn't have an issue with the engine. my biggest concern would be your transmission, which is affected negatively by the weight of the load you're hauling (but not really by the AC).

you may not even have a warning light for trans temp, so check the fluid often for signs of burning or heavy wear.

 

[Ronstang]

Your concerns would be valid if it was 30+ years ago but not on todays vehicles if they are designed to tow.

Sorry, I did not see you are using a Taurus. I would simply watch the temperature gauge. If it stays in the normal range you should be OK.

 

[Pacfanweb]

It won't matter, power-wise. Anytime you give it gas suddenly or it goes WOT, it kicks the compressor off. Temp-wise, it won't matter.
But if it makes you feel better, watch the gauge.

 

[LTC8K6]

Taurus transaxles are barely enough for the car itself...

I would not tow anything at all with one.

 

[thomsbrain]

The transmission will be the weak point on this car, and running the A/C won't affect that too much.

BUT...

My band towed a ~1000 pound trailer with a Taurus once. We made it about 75 miles before the transmission started spewing fluid all over the highway. It was an expensive tow home. Proceed with EXTREME caution. Maybe rent a U-Haul or a Public Storage truck?

 

[thedarkwolf]

1000lbs isn't that much weight. Put 4 heavy people in the car and you are towing 1000lbs.

 

[LTC8K6]

Trust me on the Taurus transaxle. It's weakness is legendary. It would not surprise me a bit to learn that a single tow destroyed one.

If you must tow with it, you need to add a trans fluid cooler and change the fluid much more frequently.

 

[StageLeft]

When did cars start kicking off the compressor on WOT and how quickly does it take effect? Maybe I don't need to turn off AC when I'm about to race somebody at the lights in my minivan as I always have?

 

[thedarkwolf]

pretty much since a/c came around. Well maybe not but long ass time. I know the A/C kicks off in my 89 caravan .

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
The transmission will be the weak point on this car, and running the A/C won't affect that too much.

BUT...

My band towed a ~1000 pound trailer with a Taurus once. We made it about 75 miles before the transmission started spewing fluid all over the highway. It was an expensive tow home. Proceed with EXTREME caution. Maybe rent a U-Haul or a Public Storage truck?

I was about to add something to this effect.

On my Truck if I am towing near max capacity I leave the AC off for the reason that the extra load of the AC on the engine can cause it to down shift more and will add a extra load to the trans from the jumping around in gears.
Let alone this is a car and 1000pds seems heavy for it.

 

[LTC8K6]

Older cars have a WOT switch, so you have to actually go to full throttle to have it turn off the A/C compressor.

Later computer controlled cars will turn it off if you get on the gas hard.

Newer cars will also turn it off if the coolant gets too hot, or if the trans fluid gets too hot, etc. They will also lock the rad fans on high.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Taurus transaxles are barely enough for the car itself...

I would not tow anything at all with one.

This news is somewhat disconcerting. Can anyone else attest to this as well? I have an '05 with a 3.0L Vulcan if that makes any difference.

Thanks everyone!

 

[PCMarine]

Originally posted by: InlineFive

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Taurus transaxles are barely enough for the car itself...

I would not tow anything at all with one.

This news is somewhat disconcerting. Can anyone else attest to this as well? I have an '05 with a 3.0L Vulcan if that makes any difference.

Thanks everyone!

This was definitely the case with older models. The auto trans in the first two generations (~'86-95) was a poor design and had poor lubrication. A trans rebuild was almost a sure thing between 75,000 and 125,000 miles. The 3rd generation was improved IIRC, but I still don't trust them totally. Ford finally ironed out the transmission issues with all 2000+ models. I have personally owned a 2000 taurus (3.0 OHV) with 123,000 that had zero trans issues, and a 2002 taurus (3.0 DOHC) with 118,000 that also has zero trans issues.

The big thing is changing the trans fluid religiously every 30,000 miles. If you do that, you should have no problems at all.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm not aware of any transaxle improvements for 2000. The AX4N was used on Vulcans from 94-06 as far as I know. The AX4S/AXOD-E was also used from 91-early 03 as far as I know.

The N was slightly better than the S. The N has 19 pan bolts, the S has 17.

 

[LTC8K6]

It was rated for 1250 pounds max towing with the Vulcan, which gives you the idea of how well it tows...