Towing a 7,400lb trailer with a 2014 F-150 w/ 3.5 EcoBoost and Max Tow Package in the Rockies. Whenever I get into the mountains and over 3500 RPMS, the engine temp begins to rise and eventually the trans temp goes up as well. Any Thoughts on what the issue may be??

 

What speed are you trying to maintain? If you've got 7k+ pounds behind it going full throttle all the way up a mountain, that is the problem. Excessive load is the only thing I can think of that would increase coolant and trans temps at the same time. If you had an oil temp gauge, you'd see it there too, but you don't.

 

To be honest, I'm just trying to get up without damaging the engine. Once I see the temp rising, I drop to 2,000 rpms to allow the engine to cool.
My last trip I went up Loveland pass in CO at 20mph at 2,000 rpms. Loveland pass is just over 11,000' in elevation.

 

Do you have a photo of the truck and trailer or at least just the trailer. Ford has specs for trailer frontal area because it's just as important as the trailer weight.

 

 

Engine temps and trans temps are supposed to rise when you're towing uphill. That's normal, unless you get to the temperature limits. What temperatures are you seeing?

 

 

That is getting too hot. Reducing engine speed will help that, as you found. Check the radiator and surrounding area for debris that might be blocking the airflow. It doesn't take a lot of debris to restrict the airflow enough to make a difference.

If it's clear, you either need to slow down, modify the cooling system, or replace the truck with a larger one.

 

Try cleaning the cooling fins by placing a garden hose right next to the fins and moving it around the entire area. I had a lot of bugs flush out of mine. Like "Mark" said, it doesn't take a lot to fill the cooling fins and then the heat can't escape.

 

So coming home from Laughlin a few weeks ago, My 2011 Ecoboost started getting hot pulling the boat up a grade. I was going about 70mph in 115 degree heat. I backed off to 60 and it cooled right down. I've read in other forums that guys have had good success with the 170 degree thermostats. I've ordered one and hope to put it in this week. I'll be heading to Jean Nevada on Saturday pulling a toy hauler and having about 1000 lbs of gear in the truck. We'll see how it does going up the grades.

 

 

Sorry man but just about everybody that tows with an Ecoboost and pulls big hills has issues with overheating. Especially in warm weather. I generally don't have issues until the temperature gets over 90F outside. Guys spend lots of money upgrading intercoolers, radiators, and so far I don't think anyone has cured the problem. I'm pretty sure the issue is the electric fans for which there isn't an upgrade.

170F stat just delays the inevitable and decreases mileage during normal driving so I don't recommend it.

I manage mine (7,500# toy hauler) by turning off the AC, slowing down (35-40mph) and keeping the RPMs up to get the water flowing and reduce boost levels. Also usually end up pulling over a few times on the long hills. One advantage of the electric fans is they can run full speed at idle, so I will pull over and they can generally get the coolant and tranny down to normal temps in about 5 minutes. Sad as the truck can pull the big 6-7% grades at 65mph but the cooling system just can't keep up.

I also reduced my coolant mixture to 40/60 as recommended by the owners manual which also helped a little bit (water transfer heat better than anti-freeze/glycol).

FYI the idiots stock coolant gauge doesn't start moving until 230F. I believe it hits red at the "reduced power" cutoff which is 254. Fans don't hit high speed until 225F so some guys have had this reprogrammed to a lower temperature. Again delays the inevitable.

Tranny gauge starts moving at 230F.

Same trailer and hill with a 6.0 superduty never overheated, turned off AC or pulled over...

 

Higher elevations equal thinner air so it's just physics that the cooling system will be less efficient.

 

I'm sure the turbo's are adding heat load to the cooling system when run under high boost for miles.

 

So I thought I'd update since I put the truck through somewhat of a torture test last weekend. I had about 1000 lbs of gear in the bed and my buddies toy hauler. We estimated it to way about 5500lbs. The ambient temperature going at the bottom of the Baker grade was 114. With the tranny limited to 3rd gear I was able to maintain 50 mph without getting hot. I turned off the A/C as a precaution but I think I probably could have done it with it on as well. I never did get a chance to change the thermostat and I don't think I will.