Just bought a 2011 supercrew Lariat with the 3.5 ecoboost twin turbo with 18,000 miles on it. I live in Evergren Colorado at about 8500ft...in the mountains. Took a trip last weekend to Estes Park, Co and everything was perfect all the way there, tows beautifully never seemed to work at all (my trailer is 24ft and weighs 4200 dry) On the way home we turned the corner and headed up (I-70) into the mountains, approx 4-6% grade. I was in tow/haul mode, trailer was empty of any water/sewer etc, so Im thinking I'm about 5,00lbs Max (1/2 the towing capacity)
I didn't get a mile and the dash starting flashing the "engine overheating" "reducing power" mode, I was doing about 60mph the rpm's never got above around 3000, ambient temp was 82, trans temp was 233, the hot/cold temp was pegged all the way. I pulled over as soon as I could and the temp came down almost immediately, but again as soon as I got back on the highway and started heading uphill again it did the same thing. I took it into Ford, took a ride with one the techs and of course it never went into the "overheat" mode but came close at about 242, the needle was just shy of the redline. We went back to the shop, he called ford and they said they weren't aware of the problem (despite what I see on-line) advised him to do all the generic things (he had already done) and send me on my way with no solution, on my way back up the hill to my house (about 3hrs later) it did the same thing again (went into overheat mode) the ambient temp was 10degrees hotter than it was on the ride with the tech. I bought this SPECIFICALLY for its towing ability which it obvioulsy has but its hard to get anywhere when you have to pull over ever time you go up a hill. This seems to be a rare problem, but a problem none the less.
Anybody that has had this problem ever find a solution?

 

Well, I haven't had that problem, and it wouldn't really be the same if I had because I have the 5.0. I'm sorry you're having that trouble, and I really don't know what to tell you to do that you haven't already done at this point.

Having said that, I believe I have finally figured out how the Ford warranty works. Unless a 'customer' experiences a total failure, their standard two answers are 'this is normal for this vehicle' or 'we aren't aware of this problem'. REALLY??

On second thought, I'm pretty sure the Ford techs have a way of pulling trouble codes and warnings that are stored in the PCM and TCM. Did he do that? If so, and he had concrete evidence on a real problem with your truck, they should have never let you leave with the truck without a fix or at least a solid plan for a fix.

This garbage about Ford's warranty 'support' is past ridiculous. I sure hope I never have to try to depend on it.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

Are you leaving it in overdrive?

You might have better luck downshifting and spinning more revs. It's counter intuitive, but lugging a motor under heavy load and low rpm will generate much higher combustion chamber temps than downshifting and revving it.

 

He's not in OD. See:

 

He also said he never topped 3,000 rpm.

I say put it in a lower gear next time, spin some more revs and see how hot she runs.

 

FWIW, there are several real world dyno charts posted for the EB on the internet. The ones I've seen show peak torque at above 4,000 rpm, and not the 2,500 rpm claimed by Ford (it does make great torque over a very wide range, though).

Heavy load with lots of aero drag, up moutnain grades at highway speeds and high elevation in summer conditions and the truck overheats, but runs great everywhere else and was given a clean bill of health by Ford. I really think it will run cooler at higher rpm where the little motor is making more power.

 

Dont know what octane gasthe OP was using but try running premium gas at higher elevations.....

Also make sure the opening to the intercooler is free of blockage and the intercooler is free of debri....

 

Ford recommends premium gas in the EB when towing, especially when it's hot out.

I recall a very detailed thread here last year about the same thing - and that poster's dealer did some pretty exhaustive troubleshooting and monitoring. You might want to try to search that thread out.

 

Thanks to all for the idea's and suggestions...It sounds like staying in a lower gear and turning more rpm's might work, it seems that when I got out of the throttle is when the needle would climb the fastest, like maybe is was starving for air, but the filter is fine. Considering adding an aftermarket air (airaid) system which I think would help but need to make sure that won't void the warranty on the motor, turbo's etc... And I have to admit, I was running 85 octane, (common in the Denver area) I have understood that living at high altitude there was no need to run higher octane, but I did see in the owners manual that running "premium" fuel will help reduce overheating in hot conditions or while towing...so of course I have changed fuels to see if that will help. Again, thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I will keep you posted....

 

An aftermarket intake will just make it worse - the air in the wheelwell is a lot cooler than the air under the hood.

I don't think I'd run 85 octane fuel in a EB at *any* altitude whether you are towing or not. It's not recommended. Run 87 when not towing and run the highest octane you can get when towing.

 

My bad...I was running 87 (midgrade) not 85...but plan to run premium from now on...thanks for the advice on the air intake...

 

Bottomline is it shouldn't be overheating regardless at those weights, find a good dealer and get it fixed.

 

He's towing a non-aerodynamic load at highway speeds, up a steep hill, at very high elevation on a hot day, and trying to do it using low octane fuel, while running in a high gear at a low rpm that is below the torque peak of his motor.

That's a recipe for overheating, if you ask me, even if he is well under his max tow weight.

Truck runs 'beautifull', has 18,000 miles, reportedly tows the same load great the rest of the time and does not overheat other times, and the problem could not be duplicated for the dealer.

You really think his dealer is missing the boat, and a good dealer can 'fix' his truck?

IMO, he needs to put in the right octane fuel and downshift next time he is in such extreme conditions (altitude, speed, temp, grade in addition to weight) and see if it overheats again. It probably won't, but if it does, THEN he should go to the dealer.

 

If your telling me my new Ecoboost cannot handle 5000lbs on a 5-6% grade at high altitude without downshifting manually and babying the engine, then well Ford will lose a customer. You don't pay $ for something to be babied or overheating at half of it's rated tow rating.

As I stated earlier, it should not be doing that period... if the dealer won't take you seriously find a good dealer and get it fixed. If they can't fix it, and it is something that is happening with every ecoboost on the road then well Ford has a serious problem, but I highly doubt that's the case.

I can tell you my Tundra has absolutely no problem pulling 5000lbs in 10,000+ elevation in Colorado as I did it this summer.

It could be transmission related, or cooling system related... either way something is not working properly if you can overheat an engine with 5000lbs of weight that is designed to tow 10,000+. Hell it could be simply something like a PCM or TCM reflash that needs to happen.

 

Downshifting the transmission and using the recommended fuel is not the same as babying the motor, but whatever.

When he tows the same load in other conditions, no signs of overrheating.

No matter how much the truck costs and what the tow rating is, high load and low rpm generates the highest combustion pressures and temps. Seems like running the recommended premium fuel and downshifting would help alot more than changing dealers.

As for it being transmission related or cooling related, the truck apparently has run flawlessly (besides this one issue) for 18,000 miles...Kind of thinking if he's got a bad tranny or cooling system, he would know.