[Larry202br]

When I pull a trailer with my F-250, on the highway at 65 -70 with the cruise on, it will unlock and downshift at the slightest hint of a hill. That's really annoying. I'd prefer the engine lug a little, and grunt on down to the torque band around 2000 RPM.
In my old F-150, I would lock out OD to stop this. Can't do that on the 250.

I really don't want to turn off the cruise.

Tow/haul mode doesn't seem to make any difference, maybe even makes it a bit worse.

Is there any way to get the thing to quit downshifting until it's really needed? Will disconnecting the battery and letting the tranny re-learn help? Are there any tuners that address this problem? Or is my truck unique, and others don't act this way?

Thanks,

Larry

 

[kphn]

I have a 2005 . The manual that came with my truck says not to use cruise control when towing.Also most trailer tires are not rated for 70 MPH you are pushing your luck.
Ken

 

[Casey_1]

The only way to change it is a custom tune. Disconnecting the battery won't help at all. The trans doesn't learn when to shift. It only learns how long a shift takes from when the computer tells the trans to shift until the shift is complete.

 

[cmirabile]

Make sure you are in Tow/Haul all the time when your towing. It is bad to tow with O/D on so use Tow/Haul to eliminate the O/D and have it hold the gears out longer. These engines require more revvs to do the job, so if you were to hold it at around 2000 you might be loosing speed.

 

[barrelhorses]

I have to disagree about O/D for towing. It is fine to tow in O/D. It is not good for the transmission to hunt gears, but if you give it enough go pedal it shouldn't be hunting anyhow. Put the truck in T/H mode and let the computer determine the best gear for the situation. The T/H mode does not eliminate O/D. The T/H mode does delay upshifts somewhat to assist with pulling. It also gives you some engine braking to assist with stopping or just maintaining speed down hills.

BTW, many on this site have talked about lugging the engine being bad. These engines like to rev up some. Don't be afraid to step a little harder on the skinny pedal once in a while.

 

[cmirabile]

Towing in overdrive is somthing I have always been told not to do. As far as Tow/Haul goes, when I connect the data logger to the computer, I always see the overdrive switch status from engaged to disengaged once Tow/Haul is pressed; so I am fairly certian it completely eliminates it as part of the strategy.

I searched a little and found this about O/D and towing

[ QUOTE ]
Don't use Overdrive
When towing a trailer do not use overdrive. Towing in overdrive can cause the transmission fluid to overheat and break down into a fluid so thin it can leak out through the transmission seals. Overheated transmission fluid is the primary cause of towing-related transmission failure.

[/ QUOTE ] Found here

There were a couple others, but since they were many that were posts from other forms, I decided against posing them.

 

[barrelhorses]

No offense intended, but the F & S article was written to cover a lot of different vehicles. Not the Ford superduties. T/H does not eliminate O/D, at least not in my truck for sure. The owner's manual says nothing about eliminating the O/D. And my RPMs are the same at highway speeds when I am in regular mode or T/H mode. I seldom kicked my 2000 PSD out of O/D when towing, usually only doing so when descending hills to help control speed. These trucks are fine for towing in O/D.

 

[Casey_1]

[ QUOTE ]
Towing in overdrive is somthing I have always been told not to do. As far as Tow/Haul goes, when I connect the data logger to the computer, I always see the overdrive switch status from engaged to disengaged once Tow/Haul is pressed; so I am fairly certian it completely eliminates it as part of the strategy.

I searched a little and found this about O/D and towing

[ QUOTE ]
Don't use Overdrive
When towing a trailer do not use overdrive. Towing in overdrive can cause the transmission fluid to overheat and break down into a fluid so thin it can leak out through the transmission seals. Overheated transmission fluid is the primary cause of towing-related transmission failure.

[/ QUOTE ] Found here

There were a couple others, but since they were many that were posts from other forms, I decided against posing them.

[/ QUOTE ]
There is so much wrong with this, I don't even know where to start. Usually I only quote the part of the post I'm referring to, but the whole quote above is so wrong I had to keep it intact.

Tow/Haul does not disable overdrive. It does push out the shift schedule to a higher speed, so you need to be going faster to get to overdrive.

The switch was named overdrive switch before tow/haul was invented. The people writing the software must have reused the same software that detects the switch and what to do if it is pushed, and not bothered to change the name so it would be easier for you to see what's going on in the software.

And as for quoting Field&Stream as experts on how to use a transmission....that at leasts explains that ridiculous quote that you inserted above. There is NO truth to it.

 

[Larry202br]

I've read my manual thoroughly. It clearly states that all gears, including OD are used in the tow/haul mode. It does suggest not to use speed control while towing. Sounds like the best recourse is to use tow/haul, don't use cruise, and just let the speed drop off on hills. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that with an engine that has this much torque. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/depressed.gif

 

[07HEMI4ME]

When in Tow Haul, at ~60 MPH it cuts out and will go to OD with TQ converter lockup, meaning above 60 MPH turning T/H on or off has NO affect.

My truck (see Sig) would not pull my 30 ft, 10K lbs TT at highway speeds and would not want to stay in OD with TQ converter lockup, which is the best mileage, at 70 MPH truck is running at ~1880 RPMs.

Took truck into Ford after my 1st trip on the highway with the above happening, (got 7.67 MPG) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif Diesel Mech. and I went for a ride with trailer hooked up and his PC plugged into the truck. Truck was running fine but Load % was running between 92-99% on flat (Florida) highway @ 70 MPH (1880 rpms)and would not stay in 5th with TQ converter locked up, kept wanting to downshift and run at 2500-2600 rpms. If would stay locked if I drove at 80 MPH with RMPs at 2100, but that is Too fast to pull the trailer safely, but had to try.

After me and dealer kept going back and forth with Ford about this problem, they (Ford) finely told us that this is normal with 3.73 gears, and they were closing my problem.

So after talking with the Mech, which said I should prolly get a tuner to fix this (I was thinking the same thing) I went and purchased one, and guess what, it fixed my problem. Took truck and trailer for a spin on the highway and NO MORE downshifting (only on the larger hills)

Now truck drives the way it should.... Thanks Ford.

 

[Larry202br]

Guys, thanks for all your replies! I think that 06PSD4ME has the "final answer"! it's not what I wanted to hear, but it is pretty much what I expected.
I would consider this thread closed.

 

[barrelhorses]

Your dealer's service department absolutely sucks. You are now at risk for having your engine warranty voided because of the tuner. I bet the service manager and the tech will be the first to tell you that you SHOULD NOT have installed a tuner when you go back in for some type of engine or transmission problem and they give you the good news that you get to pay for the repair. Personally, I would call FMC or at the least the dealership's general manager and tell them that their tech advised you to install an aftermarket tuner that will probably void your warranty. Of course they will probably not claim any responsibility because the owner's manual tells us that after-market performance-enhancing products (tuners, chips, intakes, etc.) will void the warranty.

Your problem had to be the stock program. The tech should have reflashed your truck. I responded to your previous posts and so did several others. My 6.0 with 3.73 tows great and stays in O/D until I am going up a pretty significant grade. It certainly never kicks down on flat land unless I hammer down on it to pass a slow poke.

I would encourage you to remove the tuner and drive it awhile and take the truck to another dealer for diagnosis and repair. Your stock truck, with correct FMC programming and no mechanical issues, should have no problem towing your outfit.

Sorry for the rant, but I just hate to see you get screwed like you are.