HOW TO NOT DESTROY YOUR VEHICLE / TORQUE CONVERTER LOCKUP / TRANSMISSION / OVERHEATING / TOWING 101 

Great to hear someone explain in simple terms “ mechanical sympathy” they need to be nurtured or they will go bang. Good job Keelan 👏👏👍

spot on Keelan. I learned long ago that when when driving a Prado in Vic High Country you must keep it in low range - if you don’t the red light for transmission overheating lights up quick smart.

Great advice mate Also trans fluid change, don’t believe the manufacturers that tell you it doesn’t need changing 👍

Keep up the good work, I have used a scanguage for the last 10years and 150,000klm of towing 2.5 ton, a must have plus I have an engine guard cylinder head adjustable temp alarm to alert you to a blown radiator hose that your coolant temp won’t register with rapid coolant loss.

This was the info I’ve been looking for. Thank you. Great vids as always

Your not wrong about Toyota's hunting for gears. I have the 1GD variant and yeah no chance of lock up in 5th even though it is a 6 speed. Tow in 4th also. I need a Scan gauge and put your theory to the test. Best explaination I have seen yet mate well done 🍻

I love how you guys share it all. Tips, tricks etc. Really helpful!

This is a great vid for anyone who does not do there research, very well done mate, Nissan 4.2 turbos blow their 5 gear if you tow heavy , top gear in most vehicles is the weakest, also add a extra oil cooler to your transmission it helps alot, keep up the vids great work from both of you.🤙

I knew the info you said from work life but I've never seen it on a video before, good work Keelan (good camera work Sarah). Lovely background views of Ardrossan silos too!

Good write up I agree never tow in over drive gears, as you said they are the weakest gears, even with my lockup kit I would tow only in 4th. I'm no expert but here are a few things I've worked over the years I have the Richards after market lock up kit, I luv it It has high speed lock up and low speed lock up buttons High speed lock up in your case would work on 4th and 5th gear lock up Low speed lock up, locks up 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear, this a great for those long windy up hill sections of road, keeps the trans cool and engine is happy too. Something a lot of people down realise is using a lower gear to hold you back going down hills heats up the trans too, anytime there is slip in the trans there is heat build up, the aftermarket kit helps here too. Low speed will also lock up in low range, so great for keeping the temps down in the soft sand Something I found I interesting is even when locked up with the kit the trans will change gears, if you have it in 4th locked up and you come to a steep hill it will change down a gear and then lock up in that gear (if in low lock up) if in high lock up it changes down to 3rd and unlocks. Economy is better too, when unlocked the transmission is slipping and using more fuel

Excellent advice! May I add a further thing that I do in my 200 Series. When towing I essentially drive it as a clutchless manual keeping revs between 2300 and 2600 regardless of road speed. I recently did a trip in western NSW on a dirt road. The road was such that I averaged about 55 km/h driving mainly in S3. Fuel economy 20.7 l/100km. Usually it is 22 to 25 l/100km.

Informative video and should help a lot of people avoid cooking their auto transmission. Also pays for owners to confirm which gears are overdrive. If you have an 8 speed gearbox you will probably find gears 7 and 8 are overdrive, so you should not go higher than 6. Also avoid the temptation of using cruise control..

In addition to my original post there is a trend in 4x4 circles to increase ground clearance with lift kits and fitting larger diameter tyres . Fitting the larger tyres will also add more stress on the transmission when towing and in an overdrive gear. You are effectively making all gears, and more importantly your top gear, taller. That’s why Speedo’s need recalibration when doing this mod.

Good information mate. I have a 2013 Prado Auto. 150000kms and it has just cracked a piston a month before we are due to get our van. Good times!.. I’ve had it since 9000kms well maintained and has only towed 500kgs for minimal kms. Disappointed is an understatement.

Love the ultragauge, can set alarms for whatever you want too, such as high temps or low voltage. Also had an EGT gauge fitted to my 3.0L grenade patrol and like you said its about getting to know your car and what numbers are normal for it.

well covered Keelan, i tow a 3-5 ton boat with a 79 series and never tow in fifth gear and have a scan gauge and a pillar pod to watch the egt's

Keegan you are the bloodily legend mate! Awesome video bro I got so much out of it! Hope you put some more of those mechanical style advice videos together. Awesome job mate, cheers 🍺🍺🍺

Best information I’ve heard on this subject ever. Well done and very informative. Need a discount code for a scan gauge now.

Great info mate, well done. Keep up the great content guys. Those waves were sick last week, you were ripping.

After fitting an EGT gauge to my Prado for towing, I agree on everything you said.

Well done. Great way to explain it all

Good video guys. I use an OBDII scanner to monitor all those numbers while towing and provide alerts. As you have shown it is not difficult to slightly modify your driving style to suit conditions and reduce strain on your driveline when you can see these numbers and find the "sweet spot"

Great video. I was aware of the need to keep temps in check but hadn't realised just how quickly temps would escalate under "normal" driving conditions. 20sec and you had gone from safe to knocking on door of temps that would degrade the oil.

I use two air trans coolers with fans and the factory one as well, so 3 all up and a larger transmission pan extra 1.5 Lt oil and tow 3ton. Temp never exceed 85’c, up hills in sand flat out and 38’ days. If it shutters it’s fukt just a little bit, it’s the start of major dramas 6k +. I change oil every 40k with filter. Or just get good insurance.

Great information must look into for my 2021 Ranger Bi Turbo hope I can come down and see you on Sunday

thank you so much. Didn't know why my tranny overheated. Using my 4th gear has worked great and watching my Tachometer to see when the torque converter unlocks

Great information mate, a transmission cooler is a must for towing

Good info I’m going to get a second hand prado this year to tow my van

I guess I don't really need to buy the Scangauge as you've done the testing, and the message is to not use overdrive gears when towing. I have a Pajero Sport with 8 gears. 7 and 8 are overdrive. When not towing I use full automatic. When towing I tend to drive in 6 when under any load, 5 with steeper inclines, 7 when declining (is that the right word?) and 8 not at all. Some vehicles will change their behaviour when towing, but the PS doesn't seem to. I tend to look at the tacho and keep the revs around 2000 or more when towing.

great video and very useful information thank you, we leave on July 4th to the Kimberley and all the way around and back to the Gold Coast, 2 months this first trip then wifey flies home from Uluru and I head up to Katherine and across pretty much on the same trail but I will be good prospecting alone for 3 months then I head home before Christmas 😁, I also have a 2010 150 series with around $35k of extras on it, I just fitted the trans oil cooler and will put the scan tool on this week. Cheers guys maybe I’ll see you on the road one day 😁

Good video mate, agree with most of what you had to say, but bottom line really is if your gonna tow, fit an external transmission cooler.....its a no brainer....made about a 10 to 12 degree reduction in our BT50 pulling 3.3t caravan around the island....

Bang on bit of info!👍

Good info, thanks Keelan👍

$5 OBD connector from eBay and Torque Pro give you everything you need Pan/Converter/EGT/Coolant temp wise, just google custom PID's for your vehicle.

Excellent video Keelan. Your mate Derek overdone heated his Ranger trans in Queensland. Too bad he didn't have your knowledge at the time. Has the 79' now, is that a manual? You keep surprising with your knowledge in general for a young bloke. Is the wine as good as home mate? I like SA wine. Marg R is best in the world though. I'm biased 😆

Well explained mate.

Nice work

Good vid mate, Coulda maybe touched on trans coolers - running up grades and regular checks / services help too. Are you running a stock cooler? Nice yorkes. Love it!

Investigate 4X4MM lockup kit, the problem you describe goes away, transmission has less wear, and save fuel, all at the same time.

Nice video bro very informative 😎 👍

Good explanation

Great info!

Whilst observing EGT's and auto transmission temps is a good thing, its something completely different to actually understand what the numbers mean. With EGT's your not looking at the peak number, your looking at consistancy, and variantions within that figure, EGT's can vary quite wildly, if you are using an aftermarket probe, moving it even 4-5cm can see temp differences of 50-80c. As for Auto temps, auto boxes are good for 130c fluid temp constant, but they also rely on not running too cold, you will find most auto's these days have a thermostat within the auto which restricts fluid movement until a set temp as part of the cold temp warmup, so seeing temps

Awesome explanation, should help plenty out!

Nice guys

look up wholesale automatic transmissions ask orto and see if he does a torque converter lock up mod . oh right yeah u just said it now at the end .. cool.

That was terrific info thank you. Dumb question, would you ever use cruise control while towing your van?

saw TCLUK in the the desc, havent even watched it yet, but had to comment hah!! I have a 200 series, got a lock up kit, trans remap and engine remap/tune done in Perth in 2017 on my first half aus lap. Towing a 17 foot van at 2.2 tons. By the time i got to Broome, it had paid for it self in fuel savings. Let alone trans temp reduction. Hunting for the correct gear vs revs was also almost gone. I realise mines the 4.5 liter v8, and kitted a bit, however, i still think any one towing in an auto should invest in a lock up kit. No matter what brand of vehicle, the benefits out weigh the costs by a huge margin. I have an UltraGuage and trans temps is one of the windows set in the shit i like to see, turn off the luk when towing, watch the temps go through the roof, turn it back on... back down 30-40 C lower. Ill go watch your episode now. G.

Hey, Keelan, I thought you said sometime that you EGT on your ScanGuage, if you do, where can I find the code. I have the same model Prado as you. Cheers Mate. Great vids.

Just out of interest what does Toyota recommend? When I contacted Isuzu about towing in our MU-X they specifically told me not to hold gears manual and to only ever tow in auto. Also I think fitting an auto trans cooler on vehicles that to is always a good idea.

I'm a motor mechanic and honestly I could not have explained that any where near as good as you did and you were driving at the same tme, you must ave a few female genes.

Great information, what gear would you use on bad corrugations ?

Mate are you using it in Auto at the start when taking off or do you flip it over to S mode straight away and use it as a manual?

How do u know when the torque converter is locked up??

You no wear seat belt while driving?

I find that my 6 speed electronic controlled gear box is a lot smarter than me it has instant access to all the required sensors so I let it make all the decisions Holding a gear could put unknown stress on mechanical parts But I take your opinion on board as your experience is of great value

Higher rpm _is_ correlated with higher fuel consumption because the engine is an air pump - the faster it spins, the harder it has to work to suck fresh air in and push hot exhaust out. Thermal efficiency tends to be greatest at a moderate rpm and tapers off at the extreme lows and highs.

So do you want the torque converter locked when towing??

Well done mate, I have a 2014 Prado, auto, and I tell everyone exactly that, I tow a 2200kg caravan, just curious, what speed do you tow at, I sit at 100kmh which equates to around 2700rpm, and when I come to a hill I wont allow it to rev always keep it around 2500 to 2700, and if it goes into converter drive I will drop down a gear, 3rd and if its a mountain range I have gone to 2nd, dont have a scan gauge but have a Transmission temp gauge(digital gauge)