Towing in overdrive isn't impossible or anything, if it's a level grade I'm on at highway speeds, overdrive usually stays on. But the matter is why, when there's gears better suited for that?

 

I think I agree with dunk. if you are towing on a on the highway and cruising along and not shifting excesively driveing in over drive would be better on your engine as it would run in lower rpms. I don't know that much about how a automatic works in the inside so I do not know that it might be harder on the transmition with the lower rpms. I do know that the transmition is designed to designed to shift down when it senses too much load for the overdrive and I would definitely turn the overdrive off if it was shifting in and out of overdrive alot.

 

What I said comes from dragging boats around with Fords for the last 30 years. Both auto's and manual transmissions. I think Ford rating these trucks to tow 9000lbs+ is going get them in hot water, but then again they only bolt a 5000lb hitch under them in the tow package.. As far as I'm conserned the truck is capable of towing 5000lbs, but not any more..maybe 6-7000 around town type towing.

I would never have bought this truck knowing I had to tow a 17ft Mako in 3rd gear... Well like I said I got 17.5mpg on a 900 mile run of which I pulled the boat 750 miles. The rest was 150 miles around town while I was there without the boat. My around town mileage is normally 15.5-16mpg and highway is 19.5-20.8.(best) Yeah, the truck get's better mileage towing the boat(highway) than it does around town.

There's only 5500 miles on it now and completely stock except for the Kleen Shields on the front wheels....maybe the mileage will improve once it get's broken in....lol

 

If towing in overdrive works the transmission so hard, how come it doesn't heat up in overdrive?

I have a transmission temprature gague on my '98 STX (7000 lb tow rating) and it only heats up when the torque converter unlocks. In fact, when I does heat up from going up long hills (not in overdrive), it will cool off when I shift back into overdrive.

I've towed a 5000 lb. load with it for the past 5 years in 100+ degree heat, and I haven't had any problems with it. But I'm hoping our new '05 SuperCrew FX4 has more power. (I haven't towed with it yet)

I'm going to install a transmission temp gague just in case.
--
Mitch (new member)
'05 SuperCrew FX4

 

mitchman,

keep us informed when you install that temp gage and do some towing. As I recall, with OD off, in 3rd, the whole trans internals spinn as one unit in a 1 to 1 ratio. When you turn OD on it has to engage a gear to get the .75 to 1 ratio. For that reason OD can be more efficient at slower speeds and when towing.

In winter I take my OD off when I leave the house in the morning and leave it off until I get to the freeway entrance ramp. It's all stop and go, and it'll take that long to warm things up.

It makes a big difference if you have the 3.55 or 3.73. The 3.55 luggs easily, while the 3.73 didn't, and a downshift with the 3.73 was very agressive, while a downshift with the 3.55 is just right.

 

Just thought I'd revive this thread since I am experiencing the same problems with my FX4. I bought it 2 months ago, and I noticed the hesitation problem the second day I had it. I hoped it would go away once the truck broke in, but it continues to do the same think at least once per week. I mostly notice this problem when I am accelerating up a hill under light throttle. When I hit about ~40-45mph, the transmission shifts into overdrive and immediately locks up the torque converter, thus almost stalling the engine and causing hesitation, vibration, and even some spark knock. If I leave the same throttle pressure, it will continue to jerk and hesitation for approx. 5-10 seconds and then unlock the torque converter. If I punch the throttle as soon as it locks into overdrive, it will immediately unlock the converter or shift into 3rd again. I have 4000 miles on the truck and I continue to experience the problem every week.

My question is, has anyone had any luck getting this problem fixed yet?

 

Thats wrong, The transmission fluid pump is connected to the out put shaft of the engine. This means the higher your RPMs the faster your cooling flow rate is.

When you tow with your O.D. you reduce the cooling flow rate by more then 30%. Your transmission may not be over heating, But remember that the Transmission temp sensor is in the pan.

Fluid from the pan goes into the tranny where it DOES get extremely hot and can cause damage. The fluid then goes to the cooler. With a reduced flow rate your HOT transmission fluid will spend more time flowing through the cooler and the temp will drop. It then goes back to the pan where the sensor says "its cool".

Remember The transmission cooler is there to pull the heat out of the Transmission The less fluid flowing through the tranny, the more heat build up their is.

The tranny temp sensor only tells you the temp of the transmission fluid after it has gone through the cooler. In overdrive, By the time the pan sensor reads a high temp your transmission is already frying.

 

Slightly different take on this. The computer in the truck ought to know when to downshift and when not to. The computer ought to also handle the "bogging" situation without the driver ever knowing anything. The computer ought to properly handle the air-fuel ratio and the gear ratio when a bogging condition is detected. Ford rated the truck for 9000+ towing capacity. It is Ford's responsibility, not mine, to make sure the truck performs properly at that rating.

 

Owner's Manual
Page 185

Driving while you tow:
When towing a trailer:
Turn off the speed control. The speed control may shut off automatically when you are towing on long, steep grades.
To eliminate excessive shifting, use a lower gear. This will also assist in transmission cooling.

Just because the vehicle is capable of something doesn't mean it should be done. The truck may pull 9000 lbs at 80MPH cruise, but it's a whole lot more comfortable and safe when you are in control...and as far as downshifting before you get to hills, when I'm towing, I do just that...I don't wait for the engine to lug, I get it in the powerband ahead of time. I prefer to anticipate conditions rather than let the vehicle computer play catchup.

 

The truck isnt the problem, Its the driver.

On page 186 in the 2005 F150 Owners Manual under the paragraph titled


DRIVING WHILE YOU TOW it states....

Do NOT use your cruise control while pulling a trailer.

Use a lower gear " Obviously, that would mean no overdrive "


There is also a chapter marked " Understanding the gear shift positions of the 4-speed automatic transmission" Its starts on page 201.

On page 203 it clearly states that you should deactivate the overdrive when conditions cause excessive shifting. Some of the examples that are listed are 1. City Driving 2. Hilly terrain 3. when pulling heavy loads or trailers.

This Bogging problem is because people are driving around at the speeds that cause the torque converter to lock up and the overdrive to engage

The problem has nothing to do with the F150 being defective, Its people who dont know how to operate their own vehicle.

I dont really care what people think their truck SHOULD be able to do.

I only expect what that owners manual says it CAN do.


NUKEPOOCH pretty much explains the problem, read your owners manual and use your head.

Dont get made because your pick up bogs down while you try to pull a trailer up hill in Overdrive.

 

Amen brother!

I do the exact same thing. Didn't have a problem towing this way for 4-5 years with my old F150 and I don't anticipate having problems with our new one.

When the torque converter unlocks and stays unlocked for long hills.....that's what you need to worry about.

I'm pretty sure that with our new truck (just like the old truck), if you don't manually take it out of OD before a hill, the transmission won't always shift all the way to drive. It depends on the hill. On the lesser grades, it might just unlock the torque converter and not shift all the way to Drive. This creates a lot of heat and if your not paying attention, could create problems.
--
Mitch
'05 SuperCrew FX4

 

and there is nothing wrong with it if you do it right. When I get to hilly areas, and there are quite a few here in western and central wa, I will turn it off. Cruising (not cruise control mind you, I wouldn't do that while towing) with OD is just fine when your towing something.

Now saying that, I have also experienced the same issue the others are indicating but not while towing. The reaction the truck is having is not correct. I have had it happen going up a hill or a slight incline. It is a whiplash kind of downshift surging violent jerk. Reminds me of the same behavior exhibited by my Acura TL right before I got the transmission recall notice, although it was more frequent/easier to induce in the Acura which had almost 3x the miles of my F150. Good to know others are seeing it also so I can take that to my dealership.

I would advise others to try and make it happen. I haven't spent a lot of time repro'ing it (just seems to happen at times) but I believe it is essentially cruising into the base of a hill/incline and then give it a slight bit of gas.

 

Why would you want to put unnatural, uncalled for, stress and strain on your truck just so you can make it fail and then say you did? That makes no sense at all to me; I guess I’m missing the point of this experiment; trying to intentionally screw up your truck.

 

What's unnatural about it? Do intentionally turn off OD every time are going easy on the accelerator into an incline? Seems to me that would be unnatural. If I wanted a manual, I would have purchased it.

Since you don't seem to get it, it is incorrect behavior on the part of the truck in these situations and that is why you would want to repro it and get it remedied.

 

The part I can’t understand is why anyone would intentionally try to make their truck fail. If you know a certain set of circumstances cause a problem, the prudent thing to do would be avoid them.

Would you intentionally hit a pothole, that the city was suppose to fix but didn’t, instead of going around it?