I tow a 4000 lb boat and trailer and when I mean tow I mean 2 miles at most. If it was any more I would have bought a 250 diesel. I also always hit two buttons right away. Od off and reversing sensing off. As far as steep hills I get it moving wait dfor it to shift to second and manually shift to secon to keep it there. Then shift manually to drive. I would never drive in od with a trailer ever.

 

I wanted to mark this thread for my future reference.

1969,

your missing the point on this one. Not a problem, but I'd like to clear it up for the next reader. No one has suggested towing in OD. The point is that towing, by physics, will work the motor with OD off and if you have the problem you will feel it. For those who do not have a trailer you can replicate it by working the motor up a hill at a speed and acceleration where the trans does not shift. This is normal everday driving. You can't lug the engine too much because the truck is designed to shift before that happens.

He also pointed out that this is a test that will reveal the problem, if in fact you want to know if your truck has it, but also cautions that experienceing the problem is hard on the coils and cat, so repeating the test is not recommended.

Keep in mind there are many like me every day. I'm driving an 01 that is performing great, and set up with my favorie mods. I'm also looking at the paper and noticed there is a $1000 Auto Show bonus and another $500 coupon at the Auto Show, and thinking of looking at local dealer inventory. At the same time I'm shopping trailers (6000-7000lb) and JD dealers for a JD 2210 with a front end loader.

I'm interested in the outcome of this thread. Maybe I will keep the 01 and get the JD, or make sure I put an 05 through this test before I take it home under the fine rebates.

 

It's not a problem with the engine, the transmission or anything mechanical whatsoever. The only problem is the idiots that programmed the PCM from the factory. There is no way the damn converter should lock up in OD and drop the RPMs to 1200 and then expect to the motor not to load up when trying to pull something or tackle an incline. Would you have the truck in 4th gear at 1200 rpm if you had a manual trans? Hell no. I've noticed the issue with my truck and I wonder if it would be more common for those of us with 3.55 gears. The bottom line is that it is something that should be addressed in reprogramming the computer, not continual replacement of parts that weren't defective in the first place.

 

GunR
I think (hope!) you're right about the computer being the problem. If it happens frequently when we start towing, I'll definatly bring it up with the dealer and get it fixed within the warranty. (I'm hoping there will be a fix!)

ScubaMan
I'm sorry, but I don't feel your message deserves a response. You can't be serious. (Sheesh!)
--
Mitch (new member)
'05 SuperCrew FX4

 

I dont think my truck could go 75,000 MPH in the U.S. or Canada whether I was towing something or not.

 

Just curious, do you think this could be fixed by an aftermarket tuner? Anyone here that has used a "tuner" experiencing the same problem.

I'm not home to test my truck but I'm sure others have.

 

This statement is wrong.....

There nothing wrong with towing in OD as long as the trans isn't constantly hunting for gears. It the shifting that causes the heat, not what gear you are in.

 

That's what my Brother-in-law thinks. He also thinks that GM transmissions are weak. He's been through four transmissions in 150,000 miles, but he keeps towing his bass boat in overdrive. We live in Oklahoma, so severe grades do not exist here...Kevin

 

towing in OD causes excessive heat plain and simple its not because your hunting for gears a trans does not hunt for gears it shifts when all conditions are met. the heat comes from when you are in OD, you are at less then a 1:1 ratio more like 0.75:1. even if your on flat ground your trans is working its ***** off to maintain speed and power, and in turn you are working the engine harder.

if i haven't said yet i will say it now your test is bs and the dealer throwing parts at your truck is not helping, i have talked will a lot of our customers about hgow they like the trucks for towing and not one has had any complaints.


and you are purposly trying to lug your engine and trans and cause a problem thats why you have these problems.

Mac.

 

Owner’s Guide
F-150

pg.-158 to 161

Understanding the gearshift positions of the 4-speed automatic transmission

 

I have an 04 Lariat and have noticed this exact phenomena (problem). It occurs when the truck is ascending a long hill where I live. I am not towing anything and am doing ~50mph. There are two sweeping turns, I ease off the gas into the first one and then apply throttle slowly into the second. The truck does not downshift into third but hesitates and stutters at which point I apply more throttle which results in a downshift and rpm increase, stutter gone. I agree that it is a PCM program error, allowing too much throttle at too low an rpm, resulting in a lean condition.

I have also experienced some rough, clunky shifts into second, usually at low speed/throttle, and again with third, same conditions. Under load/power the shifts are good.

 

Good point, I agree!
Ok so you have stated your opinion, now back it up. Where's the beef?
How is that possibly lugging the engine? That's normal driving. When I approach a hill I don't consciously think about accelerating hard enough to cause a down shift out of OD. I don't know anybody that does that. If there is a car in front of you then what? This contradicts your previous statement: " it shifts when all conditions are met." With cruise on it will hold OD as long as it can.

I'm no expert, but I did read the manual.
P158 Forced Downshifts
"when passing another vehicle, push the accelerator to the floor."
p159 Shift strategy (4R100 automatic transmission)
"your 4R100 automatic transmission electronically controls the shift quality by using an adaptive learning strategy."

 

I have noticed a problem on several occasions ascending a long hill on the way to my office. As I hit 40mph(give or take) at normal acceleration the truck misses and sputters and all sorts of stuff. I have to hit the gas to keep it from dying. Just rolled over 4000 miles. No load on the truck, just the truck itself.

 

Nothing in there about not towing in OD.. It says if the trans is EXCESSIVELY SHIFTING.. then use the button to click it out of OD. There absolutely no reason not to tow in OD if the trans isn't hunting for gears. Yes, the trans will run warmer towing, but unless it's shifting constantly it's not going to overheat.

KevHunt, no one here is driving a GM. They got their own problem with their tran's.. Ford doesn't..

I towed the 3000lb boat back and forth to NC last fall and averaged 17.5mpg for the trip. Didn't seem like it working all that hard in OD with that kind of mileage. In fact it accelerates nicely in OD with the boat behind it and even climbs mild hills in OD without a problem..

 

Over Drive is the weakest gear at 0.70:1. If you want to tow in 4th, have at it.