I have a 2015 F 15o Lariat Super Crew 4 x 4 5.0 V8. Recently rented a cabin in the mountains in Seveirville Tennessee. To get to cabin and leave the paved roads there were quite steep. Every method I tried going down hill a a safe comfortable speed did not work. Low gear alone did not work as the truck speed up the further down hill I went. I tow haul mode in low gear it did the same thing. I had a 2004 with v8 and low gear it would just walk down nice and calm at a steady pace. I do not have hill descent but read it is only good off road below a certain mph. Anyone else notice this or have any recommendations to prevent riding brakes and burning them up?

 

I notice engine braking varies on engines. For example, my F150 doesn't have the same engine braking as my Jeep Compass does. I can engine brake almost to a stop with my Jeep, where as, my F150, well good luck, you still need the brakes. I don't even bother downshifting, only to catch the next lowest to get through a light or traffic. I also have a Dodge Dakota with a V8, and that thing will engine brake like there is no tomorrow too, almost to the point I have to be careful if the road is wet. These vehicles I mention are all manuals trannys.

Maybe the 5.0 isn't good at engine braking.

 

My transmission is a 6 speed automatic.

 

Have you tried 4Lo?

 

No because as I mentioned this is a paved road and the road also has some sharp bends in the road.Going in 4 low on the dry pavement would damage the drive system.

 

You are going to have to pump the brakes to avoid riding them. Come smartly to almost a complete stop, let off, repeat.

You might be able to rig something up with the vacuum system where you could throw a switch to bypass the controls and apply constant vacuum to the IWE's, then you could use 4 low without damage.

 

Upgrade your pads and rotors and not worry about it. The factory rotors are junk and warp pretty easily.

Otherwise, downshift and use the brakes for 10-15 seconds then let off. If you leave it in D the truck will pick up a lot of speed and have almost no engine braking. In 1st and 2nd you should have a pretty good amount.

 

Wookie and glc have given you good advice. I have the same problem with my 3.5L EcoBoost going downhill when towing a trailer. The engine is just too small to give me good engine braking, but, it does help to slow the truck pretty quickly when I apply the brakes. So, I just apply them for a short time to control the speed and otherwise let the engine braking do its thing.

- Jack

 

Based on the comments so far I may half to get a different truck that can do this without burning up the brakes. Going down hill in the mountains especially if towing a trailer poses a safety risk of being able to maintain a safe speed down hill. Since the 2015 Ford F 150 5.0 6 speed transmission can not do this safely without burning up the brakes then what truck with what equipment on it would you recommend I look at?

 

Something with a manual transmission and a granny low gear. I don't care how technologically advanced today's automatics are, there is still a torque converter between the engine and transmission.

 

Can't you "lock" your truck in low (1st) gear? I can do this in my truck, but I have to be moving very slow to do it. I can't imagine why a 5.0L engine would not control the speed downhill even with the Torque Converter.

- Jack

 

What mountains and how big of trailer are we talking about? I've pulled through the Smokies, Ozarks, Ouachitas and Rockies and never not had enough braking. I have warped rotors but they still worked perfectly fine.

 

When I toured Wyoming two summers ago, I went off road and drove to the top of a mountain. The gravel road was very steep. Coming down I did what glc suggested which was I put it in 4wd lo and didn't have to use my brakes at all or very little.

 

In the good old days, I would have left my front hubs unlocked and shifted into 4Lo. That would give me the advantage of engine braking via an ultra low gear without the driveline bind that comes with locked front hubs.

 

When I first started driving in Montana the common wisdom for driving in the mountains is to go downhill in the same gear as you used going up (assuming both roads were on the same angle). Also, all the advice about not riding the brakes is good. Burning up the brakes is a possibility, but what you don't want before that is your brakes fading to the point where they don't work very well. So, yes, step on the brakes to slow way down and then let off for them to cool a bit. Good luck.