Aftermarket Hitch Installation - what were they thinking?
 

Apologies in advance if this is an X5 of one of our members, but it does beg the question - was going the aftermarket route route really worth it??

http://www.xoutpost.com/images/member...ch-non-oem.jpg

:wow:

yep--

that's the "replacement" for the aftermarket u-haul one that used to rip off bumpers.. this is the one NOT to get. (its still the u-haul one).

go either OEM, da'lan, or hidden hitch..

Looks like it was put on sideways. Not too purty. :tsk:

I'll keep my eye out for that X5, noticed it's local.

JV

what would the lower part be for anyway? seems the upper hitch within the bumper and the harness are adequate to tow.

its the support to keep the hitch from pulling off the bumper

Don'cha just love the way the trailer harness hangs out there on the left :tsk:

Seriously, if I had paid someone to put a hitch on the wife's X5 and came back to find it looking like that, I would be so PO'd...

i justv got an 03 x5 4.6 and am getting a hitch from a member......is it bad to tow with x5 4.6..i was worried about the diff, and tranny etc?

It depends on what you're towing. I tow a small utility trailer - full load total weight is 'bout 2,000lb. The 3.0 hardly knows it's back there. Someone posted a photo not long ago of an X5(I think it was a 4.4) with and Airstream trailer hooked up. Just a guess, but I'd bet your 4.6 should handle up to 7,000lb., but I'd definitely get trailer brakes for anything over 2,000lb.

Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

I want to point at that guy and laugh.

I would want to add a tranny cooler as well if I was pulling anything more than 4000#. Would be easy to put a B&M tranny cooler in front of the radiator.

Anything over 1600 lbs trailer weight requires trailer brakes, per BMW recommendations.

The 4.6 is rated by BMW to tow up to 6000 lbs, with appropriate equipment (proper hitch, trailer brakes, etc). European models have optional higher towing ratings, and BMW also make reference to being able to tow more than 6000 lbs in some circumstances (special trailers, etc).

I wouldn't recommend an additional transmission cooler over the standard BMW one - the standard system seems to work pretty well. Not much reason to introduce another point of failure, IMHO. The X5 had a recall once for leaking transmission cooler lines, so I would just stay away from them.

The top towing expert here is withidl, one of his several posts on his Airstream towing experiences is linked below.

http://www.xoutpost.com/showthread.php?t=640

We just had a hitch installed by uHaul on a 2005 X5 (was in a bind). Just the hitch was installed (no wiring) since we needed it for bike racks.

1. The hitch seemed considerably larger that what I thought it would be. It's a Class III hitch. Is the hitch big just because it's a Class III hitch.

2. Similar to the picture, there is a piece of the hitch that protrudes under the car. Is that normal? The metal goes through a plastic cover (looks like it was cut through by uHaul)

Thanks

Vendetta, if you have an OEM westfalia hitch, I expect your's is rated to tow 6,000 lbs with a max hitch weight of less than 600 lbs. Given the propensity of early 21st century bmw auto trannies to fail, a tranny temp gauge and cooler would be a good idea if you plan to regularly tow anything close to the 6k rating, such as a horse or travel trailer or good sized boat.

Noting JCL's post - I'm no auto tranny expert, but added a temp guage to my first auto tranny Ford Superduty diesel and watched it closely when towing. I never added an extra cooler, but considered it carefully. X5 drivers who tow don't seem to follow the gauge/cooler theory, though withidl sounds like the guy with experience here. On trailer brakes: I can vouch for the Tekonsha prodigy RF version, works fine and avoids messing with the wiring.

Really? Why would an engineered tow hitch pull the bumper off, unless you've decided to attach something too heavy for the vehicle. Are the u-haul tow hitches simply bolted to the rear plastic bumper or what? I've never seen something so god awful before....

For most trucks or full-size SUV makes, a tow package is an extra option (i.e. hitch, tranny cooler, wiring, etc.)

The largest selling 4wd's (SUV wagons) here in Australia that are used for towing - no specific "tow package" required, just a hitch. And it's not known for being particularly cool here in the land down under.

I keep seeing people scoffing at the idea of adding a cooler as if BMW transmissions contain pixie dust and the small water cooler is magically efficient for its size.

Towing anything large is putting more load on the driveline, and creating higher ATF temperatures. Ask anyone highly knowledgeable as to what the number one killer of transmissions is, and they'll tell you high fluid temperatures.

So, we have a transmission that isn't exactly what I would call "bulletproof", a small cooler that depends on BMWs somewhat high temperature running coolant system, and I have yet to see anyone post transmission temperature numbers while towing larger loads.

Yet, with all this, people poo-poo an additional, or increasing the size of the cooler due to the fear of "another failure point".

Sorry, but kinda makes my head spin.

Show me data on X5 transmissions failing due to heat. Standard cooler does fine. Added advantage that the cooler heats the trans fluid at a cold start, reducing wear right after startup. Lack of transmission reliability does not relate to lack of transmission durability.

Driving practices when towing matter more. Keep the torque converter in lockup.

Early aftermarket hitches didnt pull the bumper off. They caused separation of the rear body pan at the seams, allowing water ingress. It was due to the torsion or bending caused by the tongue weight. BMW avoided the issue with stiffeners on the OE receiver. UHaul and others eventually added the longitudinal strut.

For the 3.0, it was 5000 lbs up to 2004, then 6000 lbs. Also, the 600 lb tongue weight is only for on-road, and to a maximum of 8" offset from the pin to the ball, horizontally. No additional cooler required. A gauge is fine, but what temp would you draw the red line at? Better to monitor torque converter lock up via the tach.

Quick search (all of 2 minutes) provided two owners having cooler system issues in this thread: BMW X5 Transmission Problems - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

If you want to compile data, by all means feel free as I don't have the will nor the time, however, I still stand by my temperature comments, and have yet to see anyone even post the most basic information supporting your claim as to a cooler not being beneficial: actual transmission temps.

My platform is cooler running transmission temperatures provide better longevity for both the fluid and components, which encompasses pretty much every car from a 1960s ford to the newest SSTs.

Yours is "I have no data, but the stock cooler is fine, even for towing, because..."

I would agree with you stating: "Don't throw an auxiliary cooler on the car if you're going to implement some half-assed kit, as you can just create problems"

Why would having the convertor locked be beneficial? Using your above statements about the cooler being more than adequate, I would think that keeping it locked (which reduces heat) wouldn't be a concern..

My experience and knowledge of auto trannies and towing is with the Ford 7.3L intercooled turbodiesel, circa 2000, whose auto tranny was the weak link in an otherwise marvelous towing machine. The standard solution there was (1) add a temp gauge (2) use synthetic Mercon ATF, changed every 30k miles (3) track the temps carefully and (4) watch the temp rise to dangerous levels [230F+, as I recall] when towing uphill at speeds that didn't lock the torque converter. If towing heavy in such conditions, with temps approaching the danger zone, you added an auxilary cooler. I only got close to this temp once, hauling uphill in the Rockies on a gravel road at over 8k feet elevation towing maybe 14k lbs of horse, tack and gooseneck trailer. Mine usually ran in 180-190F area. Later years [I think starting sometime in 2001] Ford added a aux cooler in the radiator, which mitigated the problem. I don't pretend to know the operating temps of auto trannies in E53s, or its torque converter lockup tendencies, but if I had an auto tranny and towed heavy, regularly, I would look to add a temp gauge and learn about optimal operating temps and work from there. On my Ford, there was a bung on the side of the auto tranny where you could insert the NPT threaded sending unit. One other advantage - with this, an exhaust temp gauge, and gauge to measure turbo boost, you got to add a cool three-pod gauge mount to driver's side front pillar! Required if, as I did, you had chipped the truck to maximize its towing/hot rod performance. Good times ....

Those aren't towing issues. The first shows what happens when the transmission cooler thermostat malfunctions. Demonstrates the effectiveness of the design. The second shows what happens when the temperature sensor fails. Both problems were resolved by fixing the problem. I take it as a given that the vehicle should be functioning properly before commencing towing

We have seen innumerable transmission internals at high mileage when specific problems are being addressed. Clutch plates are typically good, fluid is not burnt. Additional cooling only helps when the cooling system is marginal.

Yes, but only if transmission temperatures are too high. How many of those Cruisomatics, Selectomatics, FMX, C4, C6, etc transmissions in older Fords had temperature sensors? Or were designed to tow up to 7800 lbs without additional coolers? Or had lock up torque converters? Or backed off the power during shifting? Apples and oranges.

That isn't my position.

Any kit that overcools on cold start and thus accelerates wear during the period of highest wear is, by definition, half assed.

First step is to avoid the transmission hunting for a gear on a climb. Second is to avoid excess heat by taking advantage of the lock up mode. Both are driver controlled. If heat can be reduced, it is a good thing, in general. The benefits of driving properly come for free. Putting a second cooler on it and accepting increased wear on cold start, just because one doesn't want to operate the machinery correctly, is dumb IMO. And in the absence of a history of accelerated transmission failures relating to excessive heat, additional coolers are a solution looking for a problem.

Oh good. Another debate about who knows more about how auto transmissions work, in what otherwise appeared to be an informative thread for the OP and others.

Why don't you guys open a thread titled something along the lines of "I know more about auto transmissions than you do", and compare d!ck sizes to your hearts content.

The OP founded this site in March 2005. The first post was gently mocking the aftermarket hitch, and was posted in mid 2005, coming up on ten years ago.