what's the worst that can happen ??

[Willie]

If I am pulling a load with my truck, no turbo , up an incline and the truck slows down to 30 mph but my egt's are under 1000 what it the worst that can happen besides a bunch of pissed off people behind me ?? Would the truck actually stall or something assuming the engine and powertrain don't give out first. Or could it chugg-a-long for miles ?? If I had all the time in the world to get there would I be doing the truck any harm ??

[91diesel]

Take O/D off when towing ANYTHING heavy. Keep the RPM's up around 2600 or so to prevent overheating. Keep it from lugging! Manually put it in 2nd or 1st if it lugs too much.

You dont wanna experience what happens when you max out your temp gauge. When i first got mine, didnt know squat about towing and neither did brother who was driving...we had a 7000# backhoe on the back on flat ground drove it like normal, black smoke billowing getting the trailer black and goin along "seemingly" fine. Dont remember what RPM's were..they were LOW though being as i turn 1500 at 55-60(we were going 45 or so. He asked if "this" was a problem...I looked over and temp gauge was pegged. Pulled over for 5 mins let it cool. Damage was already done..trans got a little hot from hot coolant and the front pump seal killed itself. Tranny fluid pouring on ground quickly and rentalmart people got mad at me for using offroad diesel because i asked for a wrench to tighten an injector line.LOL! No other damage besides a half full overflow reservoir. Took a lot of work to fix, through.

[Willie]

Thanks for your experience, I am just trying to decide if I should Turbo this truck before Turbo units are hard to get. I pull heavy once or twice a year. Maybe in the future I'll take the plunge and by a newer truck for towing but currently I luv this truck as is.

[85Hauler]

Before my '85 was turboed I'ld be loaded heavy creeping up the hills at 20-30 mph for many miles. Geared down to keep the rpm up of course. As long as all your temps and pressures stay in safe ranges it will pull like that all day long.

Used to pull a '50 3 car wedge up Donner with out a Turbo, glad those days are long gone.

[Mr_Roboto]

As long as you downshift to keep the RPM's up you are OK. You definitely don't want to do 30 mph in direct gear with the pedal on the floor.

[RLDSL]

Just remember to use your four way flashers below the minimum speed if it's required in your area. In the US, it's usually, 45mph on the interstates. I don't know if they have that requirement up there

-----Robert

[skunk]

Originally Posted by Mr_Roboto

As long as you downshift to keep the RPM's up you are OK. You definitely don't want to do 30 mph in direct gear with the pedal on the floor.

does this mean that thoes of us with a c6 should switch from D to 2nd to keep the rpms up? why is that? and how does one instal a rpm gauge? well it know how to mound the gauge its self, where do the wires attatch?

[xtremefreerider]

When I ran the E4OD I never had any trouble with it trying to pull to high of a gear. It would kick down when under a load, if anything it would stay in first our second when I would have liked second or third. As for water temps, the stock idiot gauge doesn't tell you much. If you are going to be pulling much look into an aftermarket temp gauge. On mine one letter on the gauge, right of R to left of A of NORMAL accounts for the movement from 175*-212*.

The turbo will help your milage and speed however as for the life of your motor as long as you take it easy you should be fine either way

[Bill1013]

Originally Posted by skunk

does this mean that thoes of us with a c6 should switch from D to 2nd to keep the rpms up? why is that? and how does one instal a rpm gauge? well it know how to mound the gauge its self, where do the wires attatch?

With a C6 tranny, (it has no OD) you don't have to shift out of OD, the tranny will shift down or up as needed. Of course on a long pull it's best to shift into the gear manually that keeps the RPM up for power.

Not familiar with a 88, thought all diesels had tachometer's. Google diesel tachometers. They are expensive about 115 bucs up , plus senders are seperate purchase, they should have installation instructions.

Doesn't your IP tower have a sensor or a plug on the top side, sensor has two wires coming out it if there is one.

[pontoonrob]

Originally Posted by skunk

and how does one instal a rpm gauge?

Google Tiny-Tach for an easy way to add a tachometer to your diesel--- Rob

[Bill1013]

Just got back yesterday from a 1300 mile trip mostly over mountains in N & S Carolina , Virginia, W. Virginia and the Smokies. Pulling a 7200 lb. load on GN trailer, total pulling load was 12500 , with a 7.3 IDI no turbo E4OD. Lots of long pulls up at 30 MPH 2900 RPM in1st gear just screaming engine. Temp didn't exceed over 220* at anytime, sender is mounted by #8 cyl. in the head. Ran most all the way in OD, just shifted down manually when the RPM's would go below 2000. Built Ford Tough

I BLACK SMOKED most all the way, truckers were really chatting about me, got a lot of friendly one finger waves.

k Pic

[hesutton]

The big thing to watch is your pyro. As long as you keep your EGT's below 1100, and you're not boiling over the radiator, it will be fine.

Heath