Towing with the mark 8?

KyleH

Registered
I will likely be starting a machine shop soon and will need to be able to transport material on a trailer as I don't want to buy a truck. I have a very large tranny cooler on mm car already and am planning on installing a set of 3.55s and a posi when I get some free time. Will the tranny cooler be alright with the 3.08s until my 3.55s get in? I have a 98 base model. I was planning to weld on a trailer hitch myself.
 
You can write off mods to your Mark as a business expense....

I wouldn't worry about towing as long as you keep the weight to a reasonable amount. Ford put the 4r70w in the F150's, it should be able to handle towing just fine.

I would just go easy on it and I would tow with od off...
 
Install the cooler. Remember the TSB issued by Ford had a cooler installed that worked in conjunction with the one in the radiator. If Ford deemed it necessary because of high TC failures with stock gearing without towing I would certainly be installing one for towing. I personally always recommend a trans cooler while you have it down for any type of trans maintenance or Jmoding anyways.
 
I'm a believer in going with a stand alone cooler only, I would just skip that radiator cooler completely.

The 98+ Vics have a stand alone cooler only...
 
I'm a believer in going with a stand alone cooler only, I would just skip that radiator cooler completely.

The 98+ Vics have a stand alone cooler only...

+1.

I've done it both ways and found the original tranny cooler to be almost useless.
 
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i have a bolt on hitch setup from my gen1 you can have it you want it. i took it off the first day i owned the car and will never put it back on.
 
no, if you are in jacksonville you can come get it. but if i am going to the trouble of shipping it, it not free. i saw the OP was in florida too, which is why i offered.
 
I bought a bolt on trailer hitch from harbor freight and was going to weld it to my rear bumper. Thanks for the offer though.
 
I would think that towing isn't really an issue in terms of power and now that you have a transmission cooler.

But I wouldn't tow more than 2500-3000lbs.

Your stock brakes will not be able to handle 7000lbs of car + trailer.
 
The Mark VIII is rated only for Class 1 towing - 2000 lbs max.

Class I Hitches
This is the lightest type of trailer hitch. A Class 1 trailer hitch can handle a gross trailer weight (GTW) of up to 2,000 lbs., and a maximum tongue weight of 200 lbs. The hitch may be a simple drawbar-type hitch or step bumper-type hitch. Other hitches may have a crossbar with a small one-inch or 1-1/2-inch square receiver, or a small 2-inch by 5/8-inch receiver. This type of hitch is often used on smaller cars, smaller pickups and smaller vans (minivans) for bicycle racks, camping racks, and light-duty towing.
 
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