Expectations of my V-10 ??? and Noises under load

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03-21-2013, 05:14 PM

ctwngolfer

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Expectations of my V-10 ??? and Noises under load

So I apologize now if this post is a little unorganized and long winded. I tried to put enough information in it so that you guys might be able to help me out.

The back story is the wife and I decided we wanted to buy a truck and camper last year. After reading the reviews on sites such as this one, we decided that the ford v-10 would suit our needs just right. We ended up buying a 2001 F-250 CC 4x4 automatic with 3.73 gears(68,000 miles when we purchased) and a 2008 30ft Sunset Creek camp trailer as a package deal last July. The truck has a cold air intake, modified y pipe, flowmaster 50 series exhaust, 285*70*17 tires and a 5 star tune.

I love the truck but am trying to figure out if it is running correctly or if my expectations of how the truck should tow the trailer (approx. 9,000 lbs loaded) were too high. And maybe it’s a combination of the two. I figure that there is enough collective knowledge around here that you guys can set me straight.

I have 2 concerns that may be related but would like some wisdom from the group.
1. When I get into the throttle and have a load on I get what I would describe as pinging. It sounds like a coffee can with nuts and bolts in it on a paint shaker. When this happens the truck does not seem to run any different but just makes a lot of extra noise. This noise only occurs when the truck is towing and only when going up a hill. Unloaded or loaded in the flats I cannot recreate the noise. Seems to be the worst at about 3700 rpms and trying to accelerate.
After countless searches and hours of reading on this forum I assumed it was detonation and started through the checklist of potential fixes.
I have run higher octane fuel- no difference
Retarted the timing with my 5 star tuner 2 degrees- no difference
Returned programming to stock- No difference
Replaced the fuel filter- it was dirty but still no difference
Cleaned the MAF
Cleaned the air filter
Changed spark plugs with new motorcrafts- old plugs looked good

Cleaned the throttle body
Ran Seafoam through multiple tanks of gas

After doing all of these things and not seeing any results I figured it was beyond my mechanical ability and broke down and took it to a reputable mechanic that works on a lot of ford v-10’s. They ran the truck through the ringer checking O2 sensors, MAF readings, fuel pressure while towing a skidster and could not find a mechanical reason for the truck to be making this noise. They tell me that they ran one of the fleet trucks on the same route they ran mine and it made the same noise so that must just be the way they are. I didn’t really like that response so I took it directly to Ford to see if they could update the PCM and maybe it was a computer issue. Ford looked the truck over and told me they couldn’t find an issue and they couldn’t reflash the PCM as there isn’t an updated program for my truck. This too seems a little off. While talking to the Service Manager he suggested that my issue must just be a bad Cat and I should take it to an exhaust shop to have it tested. Well I did that today and the Cat passed. Now I am just at a loss for what the issue could be. Maybe it truly is just the way this truck is… I don’t know what else to do.

2. I was expecting more performance out of this truck when pulling my camp trailer than what I am getting. Where I live there is a hill that’s 6-7% grade on my way to most of the spots we like to camp. When I start up the hill I manually shift the truck into 2<sup>nd</sup> and wind it up. Try to run in the 4500 rpm heading up. The hill is only a few mile pull but even getting a run at and keeping the go pedal to the floor we hit the top at 3000 rpms or less and doing about 45-50mph and losing steam. I know that I have the 3.73 gears and slightly larger than stock tires (285*70*17) don’t help my cause but still thought that I should at least be able to hold my momentum going over this hill. I have researched swapping gears but due to my issues mentioned above I can’t justify investing in new gears until I can stop the obnoxious noise when under a load.

Does anyone have any suggestions of something I might have forgotten to check that might eliminate my Pingging? Are my expectations to high on how this truck would handle a 9,000 trailer? And/Or issue number 1 potentially causing issue number 2?
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03-21-2013, 05:48 PM

gfl

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I cant help with the noise but can tell you that you're not alone!

When I traded into mine (a year newer, similar mileage, and crazy enough, the same mods) I had a toyhauler in the same weight range as yours. I traded the weekend before a camping trip so I pulled with it right after I bought it, up a hill just like you describe, and yes, I was disappointed, 2nd gear, 35ish...

I read a thread that said something like "3.73s are ok to 7-8k lbs, above needs 4.30 or better", which I have to agree with, I pulled the same hill with a smaller (6k) camper after a header install, and although i couldn't carry 3rd, I was able to accelerate in 2nd all the way up it. Mine seems to like the 4k+ rpm territory, Im still getting used to that.

With all that said, earlier today I ordered some 4.30s to go along with the LS unit that I originally intended on installing. I know the feeling of not wanting to throw good money down a hole with possibly no return, but I really think 4.10s should have been the base gear for us, and the 3.73s are the killer for heavier loads. I'll find out in a couple weeks.

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03-23-2013, 09:08 AM

pappy19

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If I were you I would also install a Transgo Tugger Shift kit in that POS tranny. That's half your problem, the 3.73 is the other. The 4.30 will help alot and with the shift kit installed, you will feel a big difference.

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03-23-2013, 10:34 AM

rvpuller

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Your lack of power on hills is the 3.73 gears and larger tires. The ping can be a lot of things one of them may be your modified Y pipe, the 2V V10 is very picky when it comes to the Y pipe believe me I know. I'm not sure what you are using for gas but I have had a lot of trouble with fuel when traveling in our area and west to the coast. One thing to try is run a few tanks of 10% ethanol through the truck and see if that will make a difference, it does make a difference when it comes to preignition or ping if that's what you have.

My truck rarely pings but in certain areas of the country it will, Alaska being the worst and most of the west coast a close second, Florida is about as bad as the west coast. You also have to be careful in the higher altitudes because they sell 85 octane (altitude blend) instead of 87 octane and it will ping when we get to lower altitudes every time.

Denny

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03-24-2013, 09:49 AM

ctwngolfer

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Thanks for the responses guys.

gfl and pappy, a gear set is the 2nd thing on my list of upgrades for this truck. It was number 1 until I got more concered about my engine noise. I have already been to a local drive train shop to price them out. He has done several v-10's and doesn't recommend putting anything less than 4.56's in them if you are going to spend the money to do it.

gfl, in your post you mentioned that you are putting a limited slip in when you change your gears? The drive train shop recommended that i do the same but i guess i don't understand why. What is the advantage to limited slip?

Pappy, I have the 5 star tuner for the truck and that alone has made a drastic difference in how the transmission functions. I dont search for gears any more. Does the shift kit you are talking about help that much more? Guess maybe i should do some more research on shift kits so that i can understand exactly what they do.

RV Puller, thanks for the idea. I had not considered that the Y pipe could be causing this noise. I might have to start looking at salvage yards to see if i can find a stock Y pipe for a reasonable price.

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03-24-2013, 10:59 AM

rvpuller

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ctwngolfer

If you change the Y pipe you want to make sure you use a late 01 Y pipe, the 99, 00 and early 01 had a problem with resonate sounds in the pipe that sounded metallic but it was just the pipe making noise.

Denny

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03-24-2013, 09:53 PM

gfl

Tuned

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After the header install i found my rear tire spinning pretty easily, and putting the camper back into storage i found myself spinning tires on flat ground just moving my camper around. Some of the places i like to go, traction is a must to get your rig back out and on the road. If you're mostly on pavement, its a judgement call.

I'm cursed with not being able to leave well enough alone with anything, so don't do anything i'm doing thinking its absolutely neccesary

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Expectations of my V-10 ??? and Noises under load

Expectations of my V-10 ??? and Noises under load

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