How did the freak o boost rad work?

 

Unfortunately since I put the new radiator in I haven't had the opportunity to pull over the grades I usually do. I know I will in the next month or so. I will update when I do.

 

@basecamp, I'm pulling horseshoe bend hill for the first time this year in a couple days in my 2011 super crew... overheated on it twice last year coming home on 80+ degree days, so I'm eager to hear if your new radiator makes a difference! Thinking about doing a radiator flush before I go, just to see if it makes a difference.

 

Man.. And here I wished I had gotten the EB instead of the seemingly gutless 5.0.. I'm currently towing my other car back home to Topeka Kansas after a trip to Dallas Georgia to visit a speed shop for some custom dyno work.

The trailer is meant for skid loaders so it's easily 2000lbs with a slanting bed, with a nice accumulator so it doesn't slam, and the car is 4300lbs. I have the Max tow, and a mild lift with 33" tires and 3:55 on a 2014 SCrew.

Gutless.

Complete turd with the trailer and car on. Even in Tow/Haul mode.. 1st is like crawling until 3000rpm it seems.. 2nd is worse, it's like 2nd just doesnt fit the powerband.. 365 hp and 385 tq my ***. Every gear the motor screams just to do 60-65 with 13 mpg.

Moral of the story? I got passed like I was a geo metro at a drag strip by a EB F150 hauling a huge *** fifth wheel triple axle camper trailer going up the mountain on 24 between Georgia and Nashville NW bound. I was struggling and this guy "nyeoooohmm" right by me. Made me look over at my wife and ask her why she let me get this damn 5.0 instead of the ecoboost or 6.2..




As far as your turbo heat issue.. A few suggestions from a racer.

By pass the radiator connection for you oil cooling for the turbos and get a stand alone cooler with fans, and run them to a switch if you need to, or key hot them. Trust me..

If you can, try getting turbo blankets and header wrap for your downpipes.. The hotter you can keep the down pipe and colder the rest of the exhaust creates a nice scavenging effect which might help pull more heat out with the rest of the exhaust gas.

Have you guys considered a water meth injection kit? It keeps combustion temps down which may help when towing up a grade under sustained boost.

Do your turbos use the oil system from the motor or are they stand alone? If stand alone is it possible to change the fluid out to a synthetic heavy duty fluid? Surely there must be oil out there with far better thermal efficiency?

 

 

9500# at 7000'? You need a turbodiesel.

 

 

DO NOT replace the radiator coolant with plain water! That would lower the boiling point of the coolant and give you even more problems. Additionally, the anti-freeze contains anti-corrosion compounds that protect your radiator. Reducing the concentration below the 50% recommended level will lead to damage in your radiator.


I don't think replacing the Motorcraft air filter with anything else will get you anything. This forum is full of people who have had troubles after they modified their intake systems. As long as the filter is not clogged, it will give you the air you need.


I agree totally with glc. You are towing a trailer that is too heavy for your truck in the mountains. You need a turbodiesel for that task. Your tongue weight on that trailer is also probably overloading your truck's axles and tires.


- Jack

 

 

Hi all,
appreciate all the great information on this forum. I'll be pulling my 6000lb travel trailer over Berthoud pass in Colorado (1st time on this pass with trailer) with my 2013 F150 FX4 with Max tow. I have 3.73 gears, wondering if I'll have the same overheating issues. Thoughts??

 

There's no way to predict if you'll have trouble pulling that trailer over Berthoud. You've got a pretty good gear ratio for towing something that heavy, so you might have no trouble at all. I've NEVER had difficulty pulling my 3500# trailer over any grade at any altitude, but of course my truck isn't working as hard as yours will be.

As I've said before though, I don't believe the engine is actually overheating. It would not recover as rapidly as other members have said if it were. I think the ECM is sensing a very heavy load on the engine and is being "proactive", putting it into limp mode to keep it from overheating. (As it goes into limp mode it also drives the temperature gauge to full hot in case you needed the additional warning.)

Personally, I'd just drive it normally and see what happens. I would not force it into a lower gear, which some have done, because that will probably increase the engine heat due to more combustion cycles.

If it DOES go into limp mode, just pull over, turn the engine off and let it rest a minute. I bet if you then restart it you'll find things are fine again.

Let us know how things work out.

- Jack

 

Thank you Jack, that sounds like good advice to me. I definitely will be taking it easy. I also plan on leaving early in the morning when the outside temp is lower. I'll post how the truck does when i get back later this month.

Chris

 

Some good info here since I last checked in. Thanks!

I pulled my trailer over Horseshoe Bend Hill a few weeks ago (7% grade for 6 miles) and made it over the top without overheating in the 80* temps, but it was close. Only change was that I kept the speed down to around 50 mph rather than pushing for 60. Was able to weigh the trailer before i started up and it came out to 6750 with our gear, no water... so ~2500 under my max for the 2011 eco with 3.55 (not counting passengers and gear in the bed)

I'll be pulling the hill again on Thursday... supposed to be 97* and I'll be hauling water this time. Hope she can handle it!

Wish me luck

 

Sublime, that's certainly a good test and I'm happy you made it. I think you handled the task very intelligently.

I'm interested though, in your phrase, "...but it was close." How did you determine that? The engine coolant gauge on our trucks is not particularly accurate, it reads (on mine) at the mid-point if the temperature is anywhere between 170 -220 degrees. To determine the actual CHT, I have an OBD transmitter and an app on my cell phone. Using this, I've found that doing long 6% grade climbs in Arizona while pulling my lighter trailer causes no significant change in my engine temperature.

So, what told you that you were close to limits?

Good luck on your next trip, sir - I think if you approach it the same way, you just might have the same good outcome.

- Jack

 

To answer your question Jack, I was super-paranoid and watching the temp gauge like a hawk... Just as I was about to crest the hill the needle started rising quickly from about 75% towards the top end of the scale, then dropped immediately once I was over the top. I was hoping to use my scan app on my phone but my old wifi OBD dongle gave up the ghost. New one is on order so I can hopefully gather some better information on my next run.