Ok fellas, so a few days ago, I for the first time used my f350 to tow my jeep. Unfortunately, I was not at all impressed.

The background. It is a 97 f350 with a 460, E4OD , 4.10 gears, all stock. New cap, rotor, plugs (gaped at .045), wires, coil, fuel filter, air filter, cut air horns, adjustable FPR set at 43 psi, timing at 12*, fresh tranny fluid and filter, stock tires, headman headers, and 3 inch Magnaflow cat and straight through muffler. Only code I have is for the AIR system not functioning. This is because it is gone, and I forgot to replace the vacuum line for the TAB/TAD. I was towing my jeep on an open trailer. I did not weigh it, but my guess is ~6,00lbs total.

Off the line felt about what I would think a truck pulling 6k would feel like. 0- 50ish in good enough time. The problem was keeping speed on even slight hills and top speed. I was in the pedal the entire drive of 40 or so miles to keep a speed of ~50mph. Grade was pretty flat. I do not have a tach, so I am unsure of the cruising rpms. It never once made it into 4th gear, and yes, the OD was off. 40 to 70 was never going to happen without the pedal literally to the floor. This would make high speed merge unsafe in my opinion.

I understand that it is a 15 year old truck, and I am not looking to race 'vetts with a trailer load, but I feel as if it was a let down. Even for not really being that much of a load. I guess what I am looking to hear from you guys about, is if you think I was being unreasonable in thinking that this truck could, would, and should do better then it did?

Thanks guys!

 

Yes you're being unreasonable, the whole idea of being able to tow something like 6000lbs and merge into traffic like it's not even there is the sole property of modern diesel technology, so you know what you need to do if that's what you want.

 

Any chance the trailer brakes are hanging up?


I wouldnt expect it to get up to speed very fast but you should be able to do 55 without your foot on the floor.

How many miles are on this truck?

 

Yea somethings not right, you'll feel that weight sure the 460ies big but not limitless gobs of power.

I have a 95 with the 460, tow a 30 TT with a dry weight of just over 6K. With it loaded with supplies (wife tends bring two of everything it seems) and battery powered golf cart in the back of the truck easily at and over 8K at that point. Even at that I can cruise at 65mph not to much into the "skinny pedal" on the expressway in OD running on flat ground.

Its tall, heavily framed with near about the front third of its a slideout.

Hills or any chance of it shift hunting I cancel OD, you know how they are hit a hill it'll drop out of OD then just as you near the top drop back in only to need that little extra push over the top, drops back out. I only let it use OD if know its going to be a long flat stretch. Can go faster yea but not worth it, can run at 75 but fuel gauge can literally watch it drop like a rock. Would not pass a gas station trying to maintain that kinda speed!

Short trips say under 50 miles one way, I don't use OD at all.

Get into a good head wind? (never fails!)........ forgetaboutit time to drop back to 55 take our time.

Depending on conditions, wind/hills/speed, get between 6 and 8mph when towing it about. Gotta large trans cooler on it with its size matched electric fan I turn on via a switch in the cab, installed it for added/insured cooling when towing that trailer.

Truck has 97000 miles on it now.

You should be able to cruise at 50 with that kinda load no problem, not heavy into the pedal unless of course into something like a 30-40mph head wind that is. Or long steady or steep climb up hill.

 

I agree with these guys, somethings wrong. I hauled an Fsuperduty with an 11' steel flatbed on a gooseneck trailer with my f250 with the set up that it currently has and it would do 60 without too much trouble. And I only have a 351w.

 

I'd suspect cat damage if the AIR system has been disabled.

I'd start by replacing the O2 sensor and ditching the adjustable FPR - it is pointless. The O2 sensor will compensate for the increased amount of fuel in closed loop, and it will eventually push long-term fuel trim updates that will even bring open-loop WOT fueling back to how it should have been originally.

Also give your throttle cable a check, they sometimes stretch with age. Make sure when the pedal is to the floor, the throttle blades are actually open all the way.

Might be worth giving compression a check as well.

 

Thanks guys.

The truck has 80,000 miles. I have only owned it for 9months, so I am unsure of the PO's maintenance.

 

My buddy has an '89 F350, 460 engine, with 4:10 gears and an automatic with OD. His is even a dually! His results are about what most of you here say. He tows either a big horse trailer, or filled with hay bails, and a TT that weighs about the 5,000 lbs. He alsways complains about performance towing up hills. But he knows what he's got, and for as often as he tows, buying a big modern diesel is not worth while.

 

Conanski This i the answer I was fearing.

2007f150fx4 I did not consider the trailer brakes hanging up. This may be an idea, since when I picked up the empty trailer from my buddies house, I was surprised at how noticeable it was back there.

Leadhead The cat that I bought has the air injection tube on it as I had not planned to remove the pump when I bought it. I have questioned whether it would matter if there was no air injection, and the answer I always got was that it would not. It currently has around 1,500 miles on it from new. The O2 sensor is a good idea, as is the throttle cable. As for the FPR, I no longer have the stock one, so I'm sure it wont hurt to keep this one. I agree that compression may need a look.

One thing I also noticed today that seemed odd to me is my exhaust. It was all new stainless parts, and I noticed that the tailpipe as it goes over the axle is very well blue. I know from work that an alloy like this will blue at around 450-550 degrees. This seems hot for that far down in the exhaust. Or maybe I have just never seen proof of this before.

I guess it is time to start looking for issues, although I think Conanski is also correct. I think I may have very well been over excited about the output of the engine and abilities of the truck. At least to some extent.

Thanks

 

One of the primary features of the air-injection system is to cool down the catalyst and prevent it from overheating.

In general, if you remove the AIR system, you need to remove the cat or it will be damaged.

 

I have a '90 F250 460/C6/3.55 and and what you say sounds like my experience pulling 10K with taller gears. Even with that load the truck would do 60-65 and even reach 70 on the flat.

 

Interesting. Although I never really bothered to learn about what it is and how it works, I have always read it was to help the catalyst heat up? This may explain the blue exhaust tubes as well. Maybe there is some merit in thinking that my cat may be choking the exhaust off?

Although I'm not displeased with how my exhaust turned out, I am not really happy with it either. Not to jump the gun, but it would not upset me to much to cut it out and do it again.

I will have to do some reading on it and see what I can find.

 

I bought a brand new F350 in 96, I was coming off 67-72 highboys with built FE's. So when my truck came in and I took delivery, fired it up and headed home, about half way I turned around and went back to the dealership and said "hey I ordered a 460 in this!"

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ds-update.html

This thread may help, I know I will be talking to this guy when I am ready.

 

With a Mass air truck, you have quite a bit more cam options, but that was cali only thing

 

True but there are plenty of things you can do if you dont have MAF. I have been dissapointed with the EFI 460 as well, sometimes I think I am expecting too much from it.