After reading just about everything in all the forums, I was psyched to buy myself a F350 DIESEL truck. (I'm planning on pulling a 10,000 lb 5th wheel for an entire year.)
I took one out for a spin, heard the racket it made and went, "you mean people actually LIKE to ride in these things?" Reply: "C'mon! You're a GUY! ...BEER! ...SPORTS! WHAT noise?
I think I'll enjoy listening to NPR and having a quite converstion with my girlfriend in my BIG, HONKIN' V10 TRUCK!! GGRRRR!!!! (sorry, got carried away there) :-)
Anyhoo...I found an 1999 F350 4WD V10 that I'm in love with. (Way low mileage!) It has the stock 3.7 axle. I'm planning on pulling a 10,000 lb + 5th wheel all over America with this (possible) truck. You guys convinced me I want the 4.3 axles, but what if I DON'T find a truck with 4.3's and go with this one?
* Just how horrible will towing a fairly heavy 5th wheel be?
* Will it be more strain on the engine if I have 3.7's? (I thought the engine revs faster with the 4.3...doesn't THAT wear out the engine sooner? (Note the ignorance in that question.)
* What's the worst peformance I should expect? (Example: "Oooh, you'll be sorry when you hit the Rockies pal...YOU'LL BE SORRY!!")
* What if I'm not a lead foot? I drove a 29' Class C motor home half way up the east coast and I didn't go over 60. I don't mind if anyone passes me with a Chevy...I won't take it personally. :-)
The 3.73 will pull that trailer just fine as long as you stay at 10k (of course you're gonna be one of the slower folks out of the gates). Your fuel milage will probably run between 6-8 mpg if you keep the speed down (more speed = more fuel). I recently pulled a 9000lb travel trailer through the foothills of the Smokeys for about 300 miles. Very tall trailer in a headwind (Thanksgiving weekend 30+ mph wind), and averaged about 5.5 mpg. Note that I run 285/75/16s which reduce my ratio to about 3.55s.
You also have the option of changing the gear ratio. If the deal is sweet enough on the 99, it may be well worth it.
I've pulled trailers all over with big gassers. Last gasser was 460 with 3.55 rear end. It really did well - at lower elevations. The only time I hated that truck was when we'd head to the mountains. Its power dropped noticably at 6000 ft, and at 9000+ feet, it was wheezing up the hills in a low gear.
I'd guess that the 6.8 with 3.73 would be a good puller for a 10K trailer unless you plan to spend lots of time in the mountains and then a turbo (diesel) would really be a better option.
F-250 and F-350 SD trucks equipped with the PSD or V-10 and 4R100 AT and built before February 6, 2000 were equipped with a single ATF cooler, an oil-to-air (OTA) model located low and between the main radiator and the A/C condenser.
It seems that the single cooler architecture used on the early trucks just wasn't enough to properly manage the ATF temperature. Excessively high ATF temps apparently led to many early AT failures, and Ford issued a TSB to retrofit the additional cooler into early trucks. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]
F-250 and F-350 SD trucks equipped with the PSD or V-10 and 4R100 AT and built after February 5, 2000 are equipped with two coolers. In addition to the OTA cooler, there's an oil-to-water (OTW) cooler located inside the cold bottom tank of the main radiator. These two coolers are plumbed in series. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
Nonetheless, low forward speeds and heavy use of reverse gear, such as summer stop-and-go traffic or jockeying a trailer into a campsite, can elevate ATF temp in a hurry, even with the two cooler system. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]
If you decide to go ahead and buy the ’99, you may wish to install at least an ATF temperature guage, and perhaps an additional cooler as well.
HTH,
crewzer
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Article No.
00-24-4 TRANSMISSION - 4R100 - FLUID OVERHEATS DURING SEVERE DUTY - AVAILABILITY OF UPDATED FLUID COOLER/FILTER KIT - VEHICLES PRODUCED BEFORE 2/6/2000
Publication Date: NOVEMBER 14, 2000
FORD: 1999-2000 SUPER DUTY F SERIES
2000 EXCURSION
This article applies only to 1999-2000 Super Duty F-Series vehicles equipped with a 6.8L or 7.3L engine built 1/5/1998 through 2/6/2000, and 2000 model Excursion vehicles equipped with a 6.8L or 7.3L engine built 7/1/1999 through 2/6/2000.
ISSUE:
Some vehicles, equipped with 4R100 transmissions, built prior to 2/6/2000 may benefit from additional cooling during heavy duty use conditions (i.e., snow plowing, towing, carrying heavy loads.) A revised transmission Fluid Filter/Cooling Kit has been developed to aid in fluid cooling.
ACTION:
Replace radiator, cooler lines, and hoses for transmission fluid cooling system with current level parts on vehicles built prior to 2/6/2000, ONLY WHEN transmission hardware confirms customer condition of inadequate transmission cooling. Refer to the following Service Procedure for details.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
If vehicle requires service, repair any transmission damage as required.
If inadequate transmission cooling is suspect:
Replace radiator, cooler lines, and hoses with current level parts. The radiator has an internal transmission fluid cooler.
For removal, refer to appropriate model/year Workshop Manual.
For installation, follow procedures listed in the appropriate model 2001 Workshop Manual.
Once the transmission fluid cooling system has been updated, install the Transmission In-Line Filter Kit (XC3Z-7B155-AA) per TSB 00-23-10. Follow the instructions included with the filter service kit.
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