Towing with a 2000 Marquis

[85MercPark]

Is the transmission up to the task? I know I will add a cooler for sure. Looking at 3000 lbs.

Transmission currently seems perfect with no shift issues at all.

[85MercPark]

I am also seeing the Watts rear end might not be up to the task...

[FordMan77]

Pretty sure it's limited to 2,000lbs. in any configuration.

[79lincolnlover]

What will you be towing?

[sly]

towing package is up to 5000#. I think the regular with 2.73/3.08 gears is 2000-2500#. Tow package came with 3.55 gears. if you have 3.27 gears, you should be able to do okay. 3.55 or 3.73 and you're golden.

[FordMan77]

I'd J-Mod that trans before towing. Might as well do that while adding the cooler. Would be a good time to change the fluid and filter to give it a fighting chance.

[sly]

I'd J-Mod that trans before towing. Might as well do that while adding the cooler. Would be a good time to change the fluid and filter to give it a fighting chance.

+1 jmod

[MrMarquis]

towing package is up to 5000#. I think the regular with 2.73/3.08 gears is 2000-2500#. Tow package came with 3.55 gears. if you have 3.27 gears, you should be able to do okay. 3.55 or 3.73 and you're golden.

I thought it was 16-1800lbs without a tow package for the whales? I remember something saying sub-2000...

[sly]

could be. I have a 2000 with highway gears and could look it up in the manual... but I'm feeling lazy.

[sly]

From the manual:

The weight of your loaded trailer should not exceed 907 kg (2 000 lbs).
The GCW of your vehicle and trailer should not exceed 2 993 kg
(6 600 lbs).

Tow package vehicles have higher ratings. Case in point... my 88 pulling my brothers 2800 pound tiberon (had his tools in the back along with him in it - base weight is 2550) had NO issues dragging it back to his place. Mine's not a true tow package though, but the only thing it's lacking at this point is the added factory wiring, power steering and oil coolers, and fatter driveshaft is that was a thing on the tow package cars (may not have been).

[gadget73]

I suspect some of the down-rated tow capacity is to help sell trucks, partly for insurance reasons, and partly for sanity reasons. My Towncar with the tow package is rated to 5000. I've pulled about 4500 with it, and its fucking scary. Pulling is not the issue, control and braking is. Heavy loads will push the car down the road, and you get this "tail wagging the dog" thing going on. Not real fun on mountainous highways when the Towncar hitched to the back is shoving harder than the one you are driving. Much improved with trailer brakes though, you can manually apply them a bit and stop that sort of nonsense.

But yeah, absolute minimum, you want a trans cooler. I'd also give serious thought to trailer brakes, even if they are the hydraulic surge brake setup with the master cylinder in the tongue of the trailer vs the electric brake controls in the car. If you have any serious amount of tongue weight, a weight distributing hitch is not a bad idea either. They use a torsion bar setup between the hitch and the tongue to shove some of the weight to the front tires. Keeps the back of the car from dragging so much.

[85MercPark]

3000 lb trailer. Have trailer brakes. Weight distribution hitch and sway bars. My plan is gears, air shocks, cooler and the jmod. Thinking about wagon coils if some will fit. And maybe an overall lift with taller tires and coils


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[85MercPark]

Maybe upgraded watts link bars


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[sly]

Airlift 1000 load helpers added to your stock coils might work better than cargo coils and won't give you the rake when unloaded.

[85MercPark]

Curious question. Could I drop in an older style rearend without a watts link? Or did the frame change?


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