So I was on my way to the beach with my 6000 lb trailer that I have been towing for 2 years now. I most always tow with the OD off (light on dash is on) which keeps me from gear hunting and keeps engine at a steady RPM. At 15000 miles I flushed and replaced fluid with Mobil 1 synthetic and at the time of problem I had just under 28,000 miles.
Back to the story.. about 200 miles into a 600 mile trip, after a stop for fuel, I began merging back onto the freeway, speed maybe 50 ish and I hear a loud bang followed by metal grinding and the truck shaking badly. I though that a sway bar from my trailer or the drive shaft had come out and was dragging the pavement, to give you an idea of the sound. Soon after that OD light begins blinking and TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION pops up in my odometer.
I pull over and see nothing, leaks, metal etc. As I try to start off again I get about 20 mph and the engine goes WOT yet no speed is archived, I drop into 2nd and gain speed again, tranny slipping. Needless to say I drive the remaining 400 miles to the beach in 2nd gear. Ford roadside won't help me because I can still make forward power and gives me the number to the dealer where I am headed, they say call if I break down completely.
Luckily I make the dealer the next morning and tell them my story, the tranny man on staff says "you towed with overdrive off didn't you?" "Yes" I replied "it says so in the owners manual, towing, heavy loads or hilly terrain use overdrive." "Wrong" says all the service guys in harmony "We see this all the time"
So after a few days on vacation in a rental car the tranny is rebuilt. Final verdict is towing with overdrive builds up pressure in the tranny that the seals cannot hold they blow out. This also caused the clutch discs to wear out over time and when they let go that was the grinding metal I heard.
They instruct me to never tow with OD off unless I am in the mountains let the tranny shift back and forth.
I explained that I have and Edge and monitor the temps which get hotter when the tranny gear hunts. They still backed up what they said and claim the owners manual clearly states not to turn off over drive... funny thing is my owners manual and the 2008 RV towing guide that I picked up at there dealer states "reason to turn overdrive off are hilly terrain, heavy loads, stop and go traffic or towing with a trailer. Thats all it says nothing about only in the mountains or rare circumstances.
So I made the 600 mile trip home today doing it their way, no overdrive except the mountains, tranny temps went from 190-205 range that I would see towing with overdrive off to 225-235 with overdrive on and lots of gear hunting to keep it at 65-70 mph while towing.

Your opinions, no bashing about the weight of my TT it is well under the 8800 lbs that Ford says the truck will tow. 5000 miles of towing with this truck thus far and this is my first problem.

BTW the next day my 4WD solenoids went out and I had to replace them on vacation, under warranty but on the way home they went bad again, only three days old so back to my local dealer Monday morning.

 

I think that dealer is full of ****.

 

I see a huge increase in tranny temps... I think you just had a malfunction and some bad luck, I don't see how increased temps and gear searching can be better for the transmission

 

is the dealer trying to say only pop OD off when you approach a big hill?

 

Thats what I assume, which around here would be every 1/4 mile since the roads are up and down around here. Near sea level, say Florida I would see why you wouldn't need to turn off OD.

 

I just posted in your other thread Welfare, but to reiterate what I said there.....

My 300 miles of towing experience using an Phantom tranny temp gauge and Scangauge II to monitor tranny temps has told me that ANYTIME you can let the truck shift into overdrive, transmission temperatures come down.

Not sure, maybe my experience was different than others and I am basing this on only 300 miles, but the above evidence was very obvious in my case.

 

Alright guys check this out. On the way to my Ford dealer today the tranny went out, it did th exact same thing that I described earlier except I was unloaded and pulling away form a stop light, 10-20 mph, loud clunk and no forward drive gear. So I just returned form milking it to Ford and we shall wait and see.
Just goes to show you how well some work is done. Beach Ford in Myrtle Beach, SC. did the work and yet it didn't make it 6 days or 800 mile.
BTW I spoke to the service techs at Man-O-War Ford where my truck is at and they say always tow with the OD off, claiming that the guys at Beach Ford had no idea what they were talking about.

Ahhh now the debate goes on.... while I pimp in my Civic waiting for my truck to be repaired, not all bad 35 mpg and gas going up 40 cents by weeks end.

 

That is true yet my experience showed that towing with OD on gave me a reading in the 220 range and gear hunting/ converter locking and unlocking, but what I have towed over the past 2 years with OD off kept the temps at a steady 109-195 range with the exception of a few higher temps on long grades.

 

i feel for you man!!!! i see what you mean now......later...lab!!!

 

I will start off by saying that I do not dis-believe other people's experiences. But mine are a little different. I'm pulling about 5,500 pounds of travel trailer. Also have a ScanGauge II. My trans temps, cylinder head temps, and fuel mileage do not change much at all between overdrive and overdrive lock-out. My trans temps have not exceeded 162 degrees as of yet. So, I have been locking out overdrive when towing into the wind, or in hills. I've been using overdrive when towing with the wind without hunting. I can't believe that locking out overdrive is problematic. You may be generating heat if your torque converter is not locked. This is key to keeping the heat down. Better to tow in 3rd with a locked Torque Converter than to tow in 4th unlocked.

 

WW: That's rough man, I'm curious to see what they tell you the cause is this time.


On a separate note, PLEASE SHRINK YOUR SIG!! It's freaking huge, plus the mod's have instated a 500x100 pixel size for the images in signatures...

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=335148

- NCSU

 

It seems to me that the owners manual is pretty clear about this. Turn off the overdrive while towing. It says this in more than one place in the manual and the reason is to avoid excessive shifting.

Does your truck have the towing package with the transmission cooler?

 

I'll let everyone know the problem just as soon as I do.

SIG will be resized ASAP

 

Just saw that part... I wouldn't trust anyone in that town any further than I could throw them!! I'll bet they did something stupid like not tighten some bolts all the way or something like that.

- NCSU

 

To the fellow in Twin Cities Minn:
Come down south & watch that tranny temp spike. It's a 100 in the shade now!
My edge reports a tranny temp of 165 with no load cruising at 70 mph.