I have a 20 anny Cougar and am looking to buy a pop-up camper. My question is what are the towing capibilities of the fox bodies? :D Thanks.
2000lbs is what my owner's manual says. I knew a guy that towed a 15ft bass boat with his '88 V6, but he used a big trans cooler and towed only in Drive.
And there's the secret. Stay out of OD and use a cooler. 2000 pounds is the maximum for an '87 (but strangely, 3500 pounds is the max for less powerful 83-86 models - go figure). A hint: If you're going to tow regularly, upgrade your brakes. The stock 10" front brakes are no match for a 3500 pound car, much less a 3500 pound car towing a 2000 pound trailer. The TC/Mustang 11" brake upgrade is a big and cheap improvement.
Thanks. I'm not too worried about the aod going doa, as I can always shove a C6 in there. Good point about the brakes, it already has a TC rear with disc, just have to upgrade the front. :burnout: Was thinking of a few engine upgrades ;) , kinda of a blending of the leftover "Project Eliminator" parts, and the 20th. :evilgrin:
When my 84 turbo coupe was my buddies not mine we used it to town a 85 toyota celica on a tow dolly and then another time we towed a 87 VW golf GTI on a tow dolly. Went well both times. Who knew when we were towing those cars for me that I'd end up with the bird and all those cars are gone.
I've pulled my parents old '93 Aerostar a few miles when it died. I didn't have a whole lot of trouble, of course I didn't have to worry about stopping two vehicles since the tow vehicle could brake too.
Could it be because the AOD didn't appear until the 87 model? I'm not stating this for fact, more asking a question. I have an '86 and have often wished it had an AOD. Was the AOD an available option on the '86? It'll hit 23-24 highway, and ain't too bad city, but if I can keep one more penny from an oil company ......
AOD was introduced in 1980. AODE was introduced late 93 in certain cars.
All 83-88 V8 Aerofoxes had the AOD. Your V6 has the C5 (not the C3 as your sig says - the C3 is the 4-cyl tranny). I doubt the tranny was the reason for the lower rating because the owner's manual says that you should tow in "D", not "OD", anyway. It's probably because Ford decided that 3500 pounds was a bit too much, so they dropped the rating a notch (from Class II to Class I).
On a somewhat relate note, I wonder what the new rating would be for my car? I've done the 11" front brake upgrade, installed a disc-brake 3.55 8.8" rear, subframe connectors, tubular rear control arms, TC sway bars, and soon to be heavier-duty springs. I should be able to tow a 40-foot travel trailer now :hick:
If the camper has "surge brakes" on it,I would think that braking wouldnt be an issue?
Just FYI...the AOD trans was an option on 3.8 V6 engines in 1986 only. All 1987-88 Cougars and non-turbo T-Birds had the AOD as standard.
Carm, you should be ready to tow a 747 with those specs. ;)
Surge brakes help, but they don't completely eliminate the extra load. Besides, 10" brakes aren't big enough for the car whether it's towing a trailer or not...
...oh, and did I mention the tranny cooler that's almost as big as the condenser? :hick:
With a single axle trailer and running 3 deep in the cabin with 50 lbs in the trunk, you'd be getting near the load limits of your tires with a 3500 lb trailer.
A 3500 lb trailer with 12.5% tongue weight will drop the rear ~5.7". I don't think our cars have 5.7" of droop travel. ;)
My car had like 180,000 miles or so all stock sport LX 5.0 it worked ok hauling a trailor this size full of mowing stuff. Just make sure you got good brakes when towing in our cars.
So what you're telling me is that I need to install a tandem rear axle setup :hick:
Erm, forgot to account for both wheels in the rear. 2.9", not 5.7".
Got an idea...
Air bags in the coil springs.
I use them all the time and it cures the "wiggly" rear end feeling and restores the ride height.
hmmm, didn't think about those, I was leaning towards airshocks in the rear. Now ya got me thinking.:burnout: