Need some advice please. Just purchased a 2000 F-150 5.4L with 3.55 rear end. Towing my boat over the weekend (not sure of the weight) 19 ft. runabout over hills, I left the overdrive on while on the interstate. The transmission never downshifted out of OD. Am I doing the right thing? The manual is not much help. I don't want to harm my truck. I love it. This is our first long ride. I turn the OD off when I get on the backroads going to the lake. Any Advice.

Thanks,


Donnie

 

For future reference, try not using overdrive going up hills. Sometimes, the trans will "search" which can overheat it. If the trans didn't do that, I would think that it wouldn't have done any harm. Personally, I have overdrive. I stick to the old C6 auto.

 

Most manuals say downshift if the tranny starts to hunt gears. If your tranny didn't try to shift and if you weren't lugging it, I would think it was OK.

My 460 with E4OD hauls an 8,000# trailer. It only downshifts on long or steep hills. been hauling with this truck for about 30K miles so I would guess driving in OD is OK for me.

Jim Henderson

 

Its ok because the torque converter should be locked and nothing slipping causing any heat build up. Drive(3rd) is still the strongest gear in the tranny because using 3rd locks the ring gear to the planets and causes everything to spin as a unit, producing a 1:1 ratio

 

I tow about 5-6k but I usually leave OD off. I get 8.5 mpg with OD off. No trailer and OD on gets me 13.5 mpg. I tried to keep it in OD but it becomes battle so I leave it off. Next truck will have V-10

 

I dug this topic up from a couple pages back. If I understand correctly, it is acceptable to trailer in overdrive as long as the transmission is not shifting in and out of OD. For a relatively flat highway it should be acceptable to keep it in OD as long as it’s not shifting too much. If there is a series of hills or an incline drop it into drive until the road levels out.

Just wondering if I was getting all of this right because a few buddies told me to always trailer in drive and never overdrive. They’ve been wrong before so I figured I’d get some more input.

 

Your 19ft boat probably doesn't weigh much more than 2400 lbs or so. I think you are fine. If the grade is very steep or long, then you may consider turning off the OD. General rule, if you need to downshift to go down the hill, then turn off the OD to go up that same hill.

 

If you are over 1/2 throttle to keep your speed up to normal then you might consider shifting out. Most torque converters unlock under heavy loads with a lot of throttle input.

 

I found that my motor was not working as hard (ie; higher vacume) when I left the OD off when towing.

 

I pull my 17K lb trailer in overdrive when I can, meaning on flat interstate highways.

 

I had a similar question about when to use the OD on/off feature. In Motor Trend's Truck Trend magainzine (Sept/Oct 02 edition), it states that for GM's (not sure if this applies to Fords or not), that "5th gear is fully functional in the Tow/Haul mode, but it may require higher speeds before engagement." This seems reasonable, such as when you're towing and going down a flat interstate.

I guess my question is, does the same apply to Fords, specifically '02 Ford rangers with a 5 speed auto tranny? It seems like it should. The goal after all is to keep from shifting as frequently and building up heat isn't it. And if road conditions allow it, why not tow at 70, where OD would be beneficial if for no other reason than to use less gas.

Everyones thoughts would be appreciated.

 

According to my owners manual, if you have the E4OD pull in overdrive. If you have mechanical OD pull in drive.

I have followed that advice and pulled for many thousands of miles 85 K (9K trailer), no problems so far. I have the E4OD on a 460.

Frank