Towing in OD?
Frmr Ford Trans Engr
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 24,722
Likes: 2,648
From: SE Florida
What would you service to fix this?
Trending Topics
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 655
Likes: 0
From: Kansas City, KS
Change fluid & filter. Have bands adjusted (?). And yes, if it hunts for gears, by all means, put the selector in Drive, not Overdrive.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 1,227
Likes: 4
From: Washington
Hell if I know, it isn't behavior I have ever experienced. I've had destroyed front seals leaking a pint every couple miles, shifts that took 10 seconds to complete, grinding after driving for an hour and a half, etc. All while weighing 10,000 lbs and towing a trailer, but once it was in gear it stayed there.
Temporarily Deactivated
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,859
Likes: 2
These guys have it covered. If all of your switches and connections are good and your fluid and filter are clean you can tow in OD without problems. You can tow really big, heavy stuff in OD with an E4OD. A transmission cooler is good too.
Hunting for gears is more of a small engine, high gear ratio thing. With a 460 and 4.10 gears I have never had an issue with it. I do drop it out of OD to put it at the RPM for peak torque for big hills and heavy loads.
Keep an eye on your tires, brakes and wheel bearings. Check them for heat whenever you stop.
You should be able to tow your bass boat and a travel trailer at the same time.
Hunting for gears is more of a small engine, high gear ratio thing. With a 460 and 4.10 gears I have never had an issue with it. I do drop it out of OD to put it at the RPM for peak torque for big hills and heavy loads.
Keep an eye on your tires, brakes and wheel bearings. Check them for heat whenever you stop.
You should be able to tow your bass boat and a travel trailer at the same time.
Lead Driver
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 5,006
Likes: 72
From: Roseville, MN
Hell if I know, it isn't behavior I have ever experienced. I've had destroyed front seals leaking a pint every couple miles, shifts that took 10 seconds to complete, grinding after driving for an hour and a half, etc. All while weighing 10,000 lbs and towing a trailer, but once it was in gear it stayed there.
Two solutions for this are to take it out of OD (in 3rd gear the PCM never feels the need to unlock the converter and everything stays a lot smoother) or take off the speed control and let the vehicle speed drop a bit. But no trans servicing is going to help that.
Actually there is a third, and in the long run better solution, and that would be to fix the PCM programming so it didn't downshift when just unlocking the torque converter would be plenty to let the vehicle maintain speed. If I did a lot of towing in hills I'd have to do something like that. I hate automatic transmissions that shift when I don't want (or won't shift when I do want. But other than towing in slight hills my '97 doesn't **** me off, which makes it my second favorite vehicle with an automatic I've driven.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,482
Likes: 29
My 460 truck doesnt down shift soon enough. Lugs for a while and I have to give it more throttle to make it shift. That or drop od. I was thinking it was a tps deal but don' really know. What is this tugger kit that I hear about?
Last edited by humphrey169; Mar 10, 2018 at 11:02 PM. Reason: Autocorrect messed up my dumb words.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 7,868
Likes: 9
From: Rhode Island
The E4OD is fine to tow in OD as long as the engine can carry the load and stay in one gear. It's okay if it needs to downshift once in a while to go up a large hill, but if it's constantly shifting in and out of OD like very minute or so, you should lock out OD.
Frmr Ford Trans Engr
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 24,722
Likes: 2,648
From: SE Florida
The tugger kit can affect how firm or soft the shift is, but it cannot change WHEN it shifts. That's controlled by the computer.