towing with a '93 wagon

[bosango]

Hi all,

 

I searched the forums and found lots of general and second-hand info, but nothing to rely on. So, does anyone know the towing capacity of a '93 Legacy non-turbo LS wagon with auto transmission? I'd like to move some stuff from NM to WI (1,400 mi) and am wondering if my car is up to the task. For the most part, there's only one mountain pass between here and the flatlands, along with some rolling hills from KS on. Any recommendations from those who have towed similar distances or with similar vehicles? I've read a bit about the tranny coolers - are these necessary and if so, where's a good place to mount them?

 

Cheers!

[idosubaru]

I towed a MASSIVE trailer to Colorado and back last fall with my 1989 Subaru XT6. It's a 6 cylinder but the power ratings are roughly the same as the legacy. I had a 6x12 trailer filled with a 4 wheeler, massive amounts of camping gear - like army tent, wood stove, equipment, and carried 3 people in that little 2 door car too! We were seriously weighted down. But it made it many thousands of miles out there and back.

 

I look at it this way - if you're going to be consistently doing something like that, it's a very bad idea. Towing is not something to mess with, which you'll learn once you tow enough that you have something happen - that's scary. It's not safe, it's a ton of weight, the brakes aren't up to it as well as probably all sorts of other things. But to do it once you're probably fine.

 

I would go through a lot of effort to not do what I did again though, it was too much and definitely not safe but i sort of got cornered into and didn't think better at the time.

[wtdash]

According to my Owner's Manual:

 

The maximum trailer weight is 2000#. Max. tongue weight is 200#. If the trailer weight exceeds 1000#, trailer brakes are required.

 

It makes no distinction between sedan or wagon, FWD or AWD, or 5-speed vs. Automatic.

 

I did see this on 'cars101.com' for the '98 and '99 Legacy, which isn't a whole lot different than the '93:

 

1999, 1998: manual trans 1000#, automatic trans 2000#

 

 

Tranny coolers: I mounted a small one in front of the radiator. IIRC, I routed it from the trans, into my extra cooler, then into the stock cooler built-in to the radiator. I also disconnect it in the winter as I've read it'll keep it too cool, and won't shift into OD.

 

 

GL,

Td

Edited August 10, 2010 by wtdash

[bosango]

Dang grossgary - you got huevos! Real nice advice, and an impressive tow, though. And thanks for the specs, wt - I had looked on the cars101 site but assumed the newer ones had all kinds of badass power. Looks like I got the info that I needed. Thanks a million!

[idosubaru]

not sure what those numbers apply too but a lot of the later legacy's got larger brakes, dual pistons, a little more power, and they're heavier cars, so you're right in assuming the newer ones are a tiny bit better for towing. my XT6 is a manual trans, i like towing with auto's better, so consider that a plus.

[Olnick]

I've read a bit about the tranny coolers - are these necessary and if so, where's a good place to mount them?

Cheers!

 

Excess heat can be a real tranny killer, so an auxiliary cooler would be good insurance. I put one on my wife's auto tranny Maxima since driving here is mostly warm weather city stop & go.

 

Mounted it in front of the radiator/condenser on a small frame I fabbed out of aluminum stock (couldn't bring myself to zip tie it to the condenser as the instructions said!!!) Plumbed it into the fluid return line (after the radiator), added a Magnefine filter after the aux cooler, then back to the tranny.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[WoodsWagon]

The engine and tranny should be fine for pulling as much as you want, but make sure the cooling system is in top shape, and 100% install an auxiliary tranny cooler, in good airflow, and between the tranny and the radiator cooler, not the return. The higher difference between the hot tranny fluid and the air will make the cooler more efficient than if you had it in the return of the already partially cooled fluid.

 

Change the fluid while your at it, possibly a couple times before the trip. They give you a drain plug to make it easy as changing the engine oil. Remember there is 2 dipsticks for the tranny, one on the drivers side for ATF, with a red handle, and one on the passenger side for 90w gear oil, with a yellow handle for the front diff.

 

You can update the front brakes to the dual piston calipers and larger rotors of the newer ones, the knuckles and hubs are the same and the bigger rotors and caliper brackets and calipers bolt right on. You will need to run 15" rims though.

 

Trailer brakes are awesome. It's easy to wire in a controller, and they make towing so much easier. And in that one situation where it's all going wrong and the trailer is trying to pass you and the car is sideways, reaching down and manually applying the trailer brakes can pull everything back into line. I've had a dodge cummins 4x4 counter-steered at full lock both to the left and the right using 3 lanes of highway going downhill at 55mph with a 1 ton 56 GMC truck on a trailer behind me pitching like a skiff on the high seas. No trailer brakes meant luck and perfect skid control was all I had until the next uphill. Took all the throttle feathering countersteering skill I had to keep that mess from scattering it's self and me across the highway. With trailer brakes it could have been simply resolved with a push of finger.

[Olnick]

install an auxiliary tranny cooler, in good airflow, and between the tranny and the radiator cooler, not the return. The higher difference between the hot tranny fluid and the air will make the cooler more efficient than if you had it in the return of the already partially cooled fluid.

 

You are certainly welcome to your opinion on the placement, 91Loyale, but every resource I have found, including manufacturers, recommends putting the aux cooler in the return line after the radiator. This provides for the greatest efficiency.

 

Generally like this:

http://www.carcraft.com/howto/transmission_cooler_install/photo_03.html

[WoodsWagon]

Second reason I wouldn't put it in the return line:

The transmission is meant to operate at a minimum temp, the sooner it gets there the better, many electronicly controlled transmission have different shift schedules for a cold tranny vs warm and no lockup while cold to try and heat the fluid up. When the car is first running, the engine gets hot first, and the tranny cooler helps transfer some of that heat to the ATF. If that's getting cooled back off by a tranny cooler, then it will take even longer for the tranny to get up to temp.

Third reason:

The radiator is already being worked hard dumping the heat of the engine towing the trailer, why have more hot fluid going into it when you could be dumping a lot of it out already with the auxillary cooler?

[Olnick]

So did you make any decision regarding a tranny cooler, bosango?