I've got the 4.6 4x2 with the tow package and LS rear. I've now towed my 4500lb boat package 1000 miles and have averaged 11 mpg. This has been with a combination of head winds, tail winds, and cross winds, as well as all being through the Missouri Ozarks. In the flat areas I can run with the OD on without any downshifting, but most of the time I'm in the hills and run with the OD turned off at 60-65 mph. I too have the wimpy 1.02 rad. but I haven't seen any increase in the temp gauge even on the day it was in the mid 90's.

DanN

 

I too have the wimpy rad. but I have the 5.4 Tritonian. Have 31' Prowler weighs in at 6700#. Average about 12 mpg. Have not hit the 90 degree weather but have seen no movement on idiot gauges so far. Have 5500 miles and climbing. No clunking tranny sounds. Still one great truck. We'll see once July and August gets here.

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2001 Screw Lariat-Plain White, 5.4 Tritonian-Graphite leather captains chairs-3.55 rear-Class III tow pkg.-6-disc CD-Cab steps- Ordered 9/5/00 Serialized 9/21-Build Date-week of 10/9 10/4 Locked in to be built week of 10/9-Vehicle Produced 10/10 ETA DELIVERY WEEK OF 10/30 10/10 Vehicle Shipped via Railcarrier, Est. ETA week of 10/28 10/13 vehicle shipped via railcarrier-Arrived dealer 10/22 Pick up 10/27 Any questions? Big Daddy Pissed off Now that I found out that maybe i have wrong radiator

 

Get your radiators swaped out soon! You could develop problems down the road... say after the warranty expires! Remember, these motors have aluminum heads!!

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2001 Screw XLT
Oxford White, 5.4L,
Towing, Posi, Slider
Power seat, keyless
bedliner, Ford tonneau



[This message has been edited by anteater (edited 04-25-2001).]

 

I just towed my trailer home last night out of winter storage. Had to go about 60 miles and towed it at 60 -70 MPH. Its a 7000LB GVWR 31 foot trailer and I would guess it weighed in at 6000LB last night. I got a new 2.2 in rad. Not that I needed it last night as it was cool but it will give peace of mind this summer when it is 95 degrees and we are loaded for a 2 week trip. Last year with the 98XLT Supercab we towed as much as 700 miles in one day in August.

 

Is everyone towing with the included hitch, or did you upgrade. I will be towing a 6,000 lb trailer, do I need to make any changes to the factory hitch ? Thanks

 

deleted

[This message has been edited by junior (edited 04-27-2001).]

 

barngoddess,
I use the factory hitch. It has been awhile since I checked the specs. but its something like 5000lb and 10000LB with distribution hitch. I use a weight distribution ball platform.

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2001 Silver XLT 2x4 SuperCrew (Gen II) 5.4L 3.55LS Tow Package (now with 2.02" rad) & Cab Steps

Mods: K&N Filter, LoRider by Raider Fiberglass Tonneau, Stull Billet Grille (Black)

Tow: 31FT. Glendette Deluxe Camper Trailer

 

I don't understand why you guys are so worried about that stinkin' radiator. This has been on the message boards forever now. Ford would not do anything to hurt our trucks. Before i got my supercrew i had a 99 4X4 F-150 and hauled hay this past summer. I live in East Texas, it gets well over a 100 degrees here sometimes. We hauled hay at 2:30 in the afternoon, when it was i believe 112 that day. Guys that's HOT! I had a 16' trailor loaded with hay and runnin my AC full blast the whole time. Those of you who haul hay know how hard it is on your truck. My temp. gauge didn't move, this was a V-6 too. Get over it, nothings gonna happen to your truck. I know they said that in the specs, but the specs are subject to change. Let's move on.

 

Hey s/crew

You need to carefully read the thread about our "gauges" which are in reality "idiot sticks". https://www.f150online.com/f150board...ML/004127.html
They are designed to read in the normal range right up until something goes wrong. They're not really gauges, they're "idiot lights" without the lights. They basically have 3 positions, dangerously low (or cold), a huge "normal" range, and way too high (or hot). They will not move until it's too late.

Don't you think it's odd that they never move?

Hey Ford we want our SuperCooling radiators!


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the_Sandman
2001 SuperCrew 4X2 5.4
1993 GMC Typhoon
1991 GMC Syclone

[This message has been edited by the_Sandman (edited 04-25-2001).]

 

well i had 4 metric ton on my trailer today truck pulled it well didn`t even sag that much (didn`t level out )
first time with that much load with this truck and electric trailer brakes werked well
oh and i can spin rear tires when loaded taking off from dead stop hehe
and IMHO the_Sandman is right ..
on don`t worry about it its ford problem if rad causes us problems later on

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Ordered 11/8/00
Build Date 11/27/00
Delivery Date 1/06/01
----------------------
XLT 2001 Supercrew
Arizona Beige
5.4
Tow Pk
Captain chairs
*
Ford Duraliner.
Stull Billet Grill
Front Tow Hitch
-------------------------
Nothen` Dirty` Going` On`Here`

 

1 more thing sandman,
I had a 175,000 miles on that truck too. I worked out of it, hunted, that truck was very much abused. Never used a drop of oil. Never come close to overheating. It never missed a lick. I think if it did get real hot, since you say the guages aren't accurate, i would have some kind of damage. Don't you think. Ford would not put on a radiator that would mess up your pick-up, they knew people where gonna wonder about it, and the last thing ford wants is a recall. 0.40 is not gonna make that big of a difference. Otherwise ford would have kept them on there. These guys aren't shade tree mechanics, there professional engineers, there not stupid. It's whatever you think, i have a lariat 4x4 myself and spent 31,000 too, and i'm not gonna worry about 0.40 on a radiator hose. If for some reason something happens, they'll fix it.

 

s/crew-

I can kind of agree with your perspective, but I have some problems with it. First, I agree that more than likely there is "zero" chance that anyone would have a problem with their radiator overheating. I don't think I would have. But, the issue to me was being sold something that I didn't receive. I paid over $300 for the Ford tow package. I could easily go and get a Class III setup for a little over $100 at U-Haul or any other car parts store. So, why did I decide to get the one from Ford? Because, there were all the other items associated with it - like the upgraded radiator, etc... Without those additional items, I really paid a whole bunch of money for something that I could get much cheaper elsewhere.


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2001 F-150 S'Crew
Lariat 4x4
Oxford White w/ silver accent (two-tone)
5.4L V-8
skid plates
rear-slip
graphite leather (60/40 bench)
Husky liners
Jason Dimension tonneau cover w/ skid mat in the bed

 

Whoa there the_Sandman

You're right about the "oil pressure sending unit" causing your oil pressure gauge (analog) to act like an idiot light rather than a gauge. This is obvious when you start up your F-150 and the oil pressure goes straight to normal and NEVER moves up or down regardless of whether you are at idle or accelerating etc..

The water temp gauge however must be a true analog gauge. Just watch it start out at cold and slowly move up in the morning as the engine warms up. I'm sure you'll see the gauge continue to move up if you start to over-heat. The article in popular mechanics was about the Oil Pressure Sending Unit Only.

Why Ford thinks the Oil Pressure Sending Unit behavior is a good thing is a complete mystery unless they think we can't handle interpreting an analog type gauge for oil pressure. ????

 

DesertDog - I think you got it right in your last paragraph. Many years ago (when oil pressure gauges worked and most cars had one) my mechanic complained like hell about the time he spent explaining to people how "yes, they are supposed to move, etc". Personally, I would like to have a truly functional gauge, but I think Ford's approach is just meant to save on questions they don't want to take the time to answer. Still like my truck!

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SuperCrew XLT 4x2, Silver Metallic, Dark Graphite, 5.4L, Captain's Chairs, 6-CD, L/S, Tow Package, Gen. III, Lund Bug Deflector

 

Hey rasch,
I understand what your saying. But when i gave them that 300 extra dollars i was concerened about the heavy duty electrical, transmission cooler, heavy duty shocks absorbers, that kinda of stuff, not .40 from a radiator hose, that cost 20 bucks. that's just my thinkin'.