Can I tow with my Mark VIII

Calabrio

Calabrio

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I have a class 2 hitch on my Mark VIII.
I used to regularly tow my boat with it without any problems. But I live in Florida, which is quite flat, and I rarely drove more than 20 miles.

Do you think I can safely and without causing damage, tow a car dolly with a small car on it down the highway? I'm thinking about towing a little '87 RX-7 up in New England back to me here in Florida. Think it can be done with confidence using the Mark VIII?
 
absolutely, but if you dont have a tranny cooler, i suggest having one installed first before you make the trip. the rx7 doesnt weigh crap, your car will pull it just fine. before you do the trip though, like i said, trans cooler almost a must, have the trans fluid changed unless its recent, and check your brakes front and rear, other than that, you'll be good to " tow "
 
Is it gonna be a new toy? Those little rotary engines are intriguing.
 
jamie97lsc said:
absolutely, but if you dont have a tranny cooler, i suggest having one installed first before you make the trip. the rx7 doesnt weigh crap, your car will pull it just fine. before you do the trip though, like i said, trans cooler almost a must, have the trans fluid changed unless its recent, and check your brakes front and rear, other than that, you'll be good to " tow "
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Speaking of that- do you have a brake caliber cage for the rear driver's side?
That stupid pin that allows the caliper to float froze on mine.
 
Kbob said:
Is it gonna be a new toy? Those little rotary engines are intriguing.
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I hope so. Car in a barn. Super low woman miles on a turbo II model, but it's been sitting for a real long time.
 
Calabrio said:
I hope so. Car in a barn. Super low woman miles on a turbo II model, but it's been sitting for a real long time.
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That one was close to 200 hp, wasn't it? I believe low 14's in the 1/4. That's cool. In the 80's my oldest brother's really hot girlfriend had an RX7. Being an impressionable teenager and since it was also the first car I ever drove, I've always had a soft spot for RX7's. And now the RX8.
 
That's sounds about right. 1.3 liter rotary engine with the turbo charger. At the time it was very fast, now it's just respectable performance. But they handle and drive beautifully and I really want another performance oriented manual transmission.

The car looks tired having been exposed to some elements, but I'm betting that it's clean up nicely and be worth the trouble.
 
Sure you can... LOL

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IIRC, GTW is 2000Lbs for the VIII. Assuming, the car weighs 2000 lbs and the dolly 4-500, your gonna be over the limit according to Ford.

I would'nt myself, but I've had trouble with Highway patrol checking my trailer weights before. :)


You should be fine.
 
I would do it but not as far as you plan.
Your car has 200,000 plus on it right ?
 
you could, but the question is why? Rent a truck or something......as for the tow rating, wouldn't worry much about that. You've got the same engine as the f150 and depending on your year (didn't look before I started posting) perhaps teh same 4r70w tranny. My nav is rated to tow like 7800 or something and I have hauled over 10K (68 impala 4 door, parts and trailer) The only victim was my driver front rotor started squealing a bit towards the end.:shifty:
 
a friend of mine has one of those rx7s, that thing absolutely flies, I've never had a chance racing that thing. right now he's working on a rotary swap in one of those old old corollas, god i hate ricers, especially fast ones
 
stang99x said:
you could, but the question is why? Rent a truck or something......as for the tow rating, wouldn't worry much about that. You've got the same engine as the f150 and depending on your year (didn't look before I started posting) perhaps teh same 4r70w tranny. My nav is rated to tow like 7800 or something and I have hauled over 10K (68 impala 4 door, parts and trailer) The only victim was my driver front rotor started squealing a bit towards the end.:shifty:
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That's correct as far as the drivetrain, You fail to recognize the fact that the VIII, has no "frame" like a truck or a fullsize SUV. Have you ever seen an engine cradle seperate from a unibody? I have, and it ain't pretty.
 
94m5 said:
You fail to recognize the fact that the VIII, has no "frame" like a truck or a fullsize SUV.
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Which is true also and the reason for the tow rating. However, the class 2 hitch, imho, has a sufficient mounting pattern to distribute the load. I wouldn't tow my 5600 lb boat with it, but I did use the '93 to tow a 5x8 trailer that was loaded with close to 2000 lbs on a couple of occasions.

I would defintely pay attention to tongue weight. Not enough, or too much and you'll be wagging the tail like crazy.

I'd do a test run first up to 70 mph and make sure things are stable back there. A gust of wind can make the rear end start wagging and then your in for some white knuckle driving.
 
MonsterMark said:
Which is true also and the reason for the tow rating. However, the class 2 hitch, imho, has a sufficient mounting pattern to distribute the load. I wouldn't tow my 5600 lb boat with it, but I did use the '93 to tow a 5x8 trailer that was loaded with close to 2000 lbs on a couple of occasions.

I would defintely pay attention to tongue weight. Not enough, or too much and you'll be wagging the tail like crazy.

I'd do a test run first up to 70 mph and make sure things are stable back there. A gust of wind can make the rear end start wagging and then your in for some white knuckle driving.
Click to expand...


In my 1st post, i said he would be ok, I was just responding to Stang99X's post.
 
94m5 said:
That's correct as far as the drivetrain, You fail to recognize the fact that the VIII, has no "frame" like a truck or a fullsize SUV. Have you ever seen an engine cradle seperate from a unibody? I have, and it ain't pretty.
Click to expand...

Which is why I said you could, but why would you? I've seen ungodly things towed behind a car before that I wouldn't even dream of doing. Personally, I wouldn't tow an empty trailer behind my mark
 
My buddy is a 7 freak, they all are actually...

If the car has been sitting a really really long time a little MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) in each rotor is a good idea. Youcan put it in through the leading or trailing plug. Then ya want to crank it over by hand with a rachet on the crank pulley to let the MMO soak in. When a rotary sits the Apex seals get lazy and the engine won't make :q:q:q:q for compression, and then won't start. You also don't want to jam an apex seal, good way to take out an engine and a turbo.
 
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