I've heard that you can really mess up an auto tranny if you don't use the throttle correctly while towing. Anyone care to share the correct way? I'm new to towing and I've got a F-350, 7.3L PSD that I really don't want to mess the tranny up on. Thanks a ton.

 

Just try to be smooth with the throttle, and the brakes as well. Ease into the throttle rather than mashing your foot to the floor to get the truck moving. When driving in traffic, maintain long following distances, operate in a lower gear, and use coasting to slow down instead of going from gas to brake to gas to brake. Also, when driving out on the highway, if the tranny is hunting between gears, which usually happens on hills, (tranny shifting itself alternately between 3rd and 4th or 2nd and 3rd), manually drop into the next lower gear and keep it there untill you are finished climbing the hill or the grade lessens and you're able to pick up speed and upshift without lugging the engine. You'll also save your brakes and reduce the possibility of a brake failure if you drop down a gear or two when going down long hills and let the transmission/engine hold down the truck speed instead of riding the brakes to slow it. On some auto trannys (my old Chevy was like this), manually shifting the gears when pulling off from a stop makes the tranny stronger due to engaging additional clutches and also allows you to control when the upshift occurs. Just take it easy and don't be in a hurry when you tow the trailer and you should be fine. You have a very capable truck .

 

SoCal is right on the money drive that way and with proper maintenance you will have no problem. to give you an example a few years ago I was coming across the Salt Flats in a high wind a Minny Home with a car in tow passed my a gave my that get that piece of S*** moving, well coming out of Salt Lake City there is a very long grade and I'm sure his foot was still to the floor, about 3/4 of the way up he was along side of the road with a lot of fluid under his RV (transmission area) I just smiled an pulled right on by. Just remember towing is not a race even if your on the longest race track in the US ( Bonneville Salt Flats)

Denny

 

An automatic, when not in lockup mode, generates a lot of heat in the fluid from the way a torque converter works. Learn to watch your tach, and even if the trans does not downshift, but does come out of lockup on a grade (you will see the rpms jump) manually select the next lower gear. Ease back on the throttle a little, and it should go right into lockup mode again.

A question for you diesel guys. Is it true that a diesel has no compression braking on downgrades unless you buy some kind of aftermarket device? Does Ford size the brakes bigger than the gas models to compensate?

Jim

 

No, it isn't true. Diesels have less engine braking than gas engines, but they do have engine braking. The 6.0L has a variable geometry turbo that can close when engine braking is needed. This engine does not need any aftermarket help for braking. The 7.3L engines do brake better with an aftermarket exhaust brake.

The brakes on diesel trucks are the same as the brakes on gas trucks of the same model.