1975 fleetwood towing capacity Help me out fleet!!

[lesinfamous]

o yea annd thanksss alot for posting it on fullsizechevys...im looking at it now actually!!!

[lesinfamous]

as a matter of fact.....how is this????

[N0DIH]

Looks like a photoshop reverse of the other....

[The Ape Man]

If your radiator is old and tired then the 4 row can't hurt. If your radiator is in good condition don't bother. An add on transmission cooler would probably be a better way to lose extra towing heat.
It's not a good idea to exceed vehicle weight when towing. Yours is in the 5000 lb range depending. Might be as high as 5800. This is not GVWR which is the listed vehicle weight PLUS load carrying capacity.
Towing high weights can lead to dangerous control problems. Trailer tongue weight should always be a certain percentage of total trailer weight. After a certain weight the car will exhibit a saggy back end. I'd add aftermarket air shocks to the car. The factory load leveling system limits trailer tongue weight by allowing the back of the car to sag as it only lifts a few hundred pounds. Aftermarket air shocks provide much more lifting capability. Been there.

Make sure things like the distributor vacuum and mechanical advance are working properly and the car is tuned up. The radiator fan clutch is very important and should be free of debris around the thermostatic spring. Core (freeze-out) plugs can sometimes be rotten on old engines. You might want to get a good look at yours. They can really ruin your day if one pops out on the road. The 500 engine will have no problem pulling a house if it is in good condition. The limits are road manners of the whole system.

[The Ape Man]

BTW, the WIKI Cadillac information concerning rear axles from '71 to '76 is incorrect.

[N0DIH]

Ape speaks wisdom on towing....

[lesinfamous]

this is off of a 72 fleetwood ....any resemblence ???

[The Ape Man]

There ain't a lot of information about these on the WWW. They were very trouble free. I've worked on a lot of Cadillacs but have not had occasion to repair one of these beasts.

Might be similar to the Rivera axles of the day, dunno. Ive seen figures putting the ring gear at over 9" diameter.

One thing for sure. They are totally different than the later Cadillac 8-7/8" axles. Notice the offset of the imaginary centerline of the cover from centerline of the driveshaft.

[N0DIH]

Got a link for it?

Originally Posted by The Ape Man

BTW, the WIKI Cadillac information concerning rear axles from '71 to '76 is incorrect.

[The Ape Man]

Scroll down to the 71-76 blurb.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Fleetwood

BTW, there IS a 10 bolt with 12 bolt guts too. It was done more than once over the years.

[lesinfamous]

check this application chart from motive gear...http://www.motivegear.com/images/art...art.pdf...does this mean i can put anywhere from a 3.08 to a 6.14 gear set in my 75' cadillac limo???( obviously, not that i would even think about putting a 6.14 gear set)

[N0DIH]

That would be the Chevy 12 bolt 8.875/8 7/8" axle. I doubt it is compatible with the Cadillac axle. But you never know.

Call Randy's Ring and Pinion and talk to them and see what they know about it.

My guess is the 8.875 axle you have shared the ring/pinion from the Pontiac designed axle gears, which topped out at 3.23, but did go down to 2.41.

[The Ape Man]

2.93 or 3.15. That's it.

[lesinfamous]

Any suggestions on what brand sway bars i should use and what diameters?????

[N0DIH]

If you can do some measuring, I might have a bar (it is from a 95 9C1 cop car, I suspect they work on those axles, but need some measurements to confirm)