Poor Towing With Hi-lux Pick Up

[dazwilliams]

I am towing a caravan with my 2.4td 2001 Doudble Cab. It is very poor on the slightest of inclines. It forces me to take 2nd gear and even 1st on some! A long hill will push the temperature right up on the edge of the red, luckily the hill ended. I reckon it would have gone into the red and I would've had to pull over!

I have asked many people about a power upgrade chip but cannot find one or even what bhp it has. Milner offroad tell me it is a LN165 and their chip won't fit.

Does anyone know the bhp of this model, any similar problems?

It's not a large caravan, grossing about 1200Kg.

It also gets hot at 80mph (not towing obviously) and there is no difference in the temperature of the heater when I change it from hot to cold.

Any help would be appreciated.

Many, Many Thanks

[stevetubbyturbo]

Hi mate the 2.4 is a bit under powered (well in the surf anyway) the 3.0 is better for pulling.

As for over heating it could be the themostat or rad may need a flush, mine gets rather warm when pulling my boat up the hills in Devon but i fitted a switch to cut in the electric fan and that seems to work.

Wouldnt have thought it would be a serious problem if the vehicle dont do it under normal use.

[hiluxman]

it's normal to have to drop them in to 1st and 2nd on even slight hills i know this because i tow mini diggers and dumpers with my 2.4 hilux single cab (98) - i have had mine pulling 3.5t up hill, the cluch didn't like it but it pulled it up in 1st with no problems. they aren't the best tow vehicels but you can knock them - try using 4H for towing up hills it vastly increases it's pulling power and stability

the other thing to be aware of is that the back end bounces alot when towing so take it steady

as for the temperature rising it doesn't on mine so a clean out for your rad may be in order

[dazwilliams]

it's normal to have to drop them in to 1st and 2nd on even slight hills i know this because i tow mini diggers and dumpers with my 2.4 hilux single cab (98) - i have had mine pulling 3.5t up hill, the cluch didn't like it but it pulled it up in 1st with no problems. they aren't the best tow vehicels but you can knock them - try using 4H for towing up hills it vastly increases it's pulling power and stability

the other thing to be aware of is that the back end bounces alot when towing so take it steady

as for the temperature rising it doesn't on mine so a clean out for your rad may be in order

Hi Hiluxman,

I think a coolant clearout is going to be my next step and possibly a new fuel filter. I have been told to never put it in 4wd if on the road, only if ground is slippy. Confuses me as there is no difflock.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Vigoman]

Hi mate

I used to have a Mk3 Hilux and it was hopeless at towing, as you say even a slight hill & it is down to 2nd gear. I didn't have any overheating problems though so I think the rad flush is a good Idea.

To improve the towing I did get a mate to 'open up the injector pump a bit' this did improve things a bit but it did put out a lot of black smoke up hills. Had to set it back for the MOT as it would not pass the emmission test!!!

I got so fed up with it in the end so I changed it for one of the new 3.0 litre Hilux Vigo's. These have 165HP on tap so nearly double the 85HP of the Mk3. No problems on hills now just have to watch for Speed Camera's!!!!

Tony

[hiluxman]

obviously you dont need 4h all the time but it does help them vastly if it is strugling in 2wd up hill - it's deffienetly not a good idea to use 4L on the roads

you can get them with a diff lock but its rare to find people have had them fitted - they put the difflock swith at the side of the steering wheel on the black plastic.

[dazwilliams]

obviously you dont need 4h all the time but it does help them vastly if it is strugling in 2wd up hill - it's deffienetly not a good idea to use 4L on the roads

Is it feasible to leave the front hubs unlocked and then use 4h?

[hiluxman]

no they need to be locked for the 4wd to work - we have been having a big arguement about this on the other toyota 4x4 under free wheel hubs, we came to the desision that if you use your truck for towing frequently the you can leave them in lock but if you going to use it for motorway use and general driving the leave them unlocked - i leave mine locked, as im that busy that it is having to do the work of a 7.5 ton lorry but when going up hills i come it to its own it also help if you have to take off on hills as it give that extra grip to all 4 wheels - the desision is yours

[Gupster2000]

obviously you dont need 4h all the time but it does help them vastly if it is strugling in 2wd up hill - it's deffienetly not a good idea to use 4L on the roads

Is it feasible to leave the front hubs unlocked and then use 4h?

If you need low range but on the road where you shouldnt use 4WD you can put it into 4WD Low but leave the hubs unlocked. this will give you a low range but not damadge the drivetrain.