Over the 4th I gave the 05 a run for it's money. Took the 28' travel trailer and 2 quads up to the mountains. Trailer is approx 6300 pounds and the quads total 1500 with rack. As I expected, the truck had to downshift and run hard (4000+ rpms) on the hills. I was able to maintain 55+ mph. I climbed from 1000 feet to 7000 feet in the course of 180 miles or so. First tank of fuel was 6.9 MPG. Second and third fill ups averaged to 9.3 and 9 MPG. Much better. Of course that was alot of running around without the trailer and no major hills to climb. On the return trip, there is one long 6-7% grade to climb. The truck setteled down to 3500rpms at 50mph or so. It wouldn't go any faster. "Capt'n, I'm giving her all she's got" came to mind. Elevation was about 4000 feet. This run lasted about 8 minutes. The guages never moved off of "normal" I did hear the fan come on. It was about 105+ degrees. Overall I'd say the truck did fine. I pushed it on occasion (hehe) Sure likes to down shift on the slightest hill. The handling was great and the brakes were awesome!! Set it and forget it. I think I can live with the performance for now. I am concerned though that when I upgrade to a 7500 pound dry 5ver(11,000gvwr) that I'll really have issues. Any tips on how to get the wife to agree to 4.56 gear swap??



I did notice a leak I guess (see pics) I'm guessing the hose clamp didn't hold and some antifreeze sprayed out??

 

a misstake i made was not listening to fredvon4 and getting 430's instead of the 10's. when towing on hills i use tow haul and have no problem towing a 7500 pound boat. but our mountains out here don't go to 7000 feet plus. my gas mpg's towing. stay around the 10 area. pretty close to what you got.
that hose clamp is a issue with the super dutys. lots of posts about them not holding or even snaping in half causing a tow job. so on the advise of many users in the 3 areas ,s.d., 6.0 and v10 i changed out all my hose clamps to marine grade stainless steel screw types and stoped what you pictured.
ask down in the v10 area. fred and wrench who do a lot of heavy towing into higher areas then you went have posts on how they did it and will responed with much more detailed information.
as to the other half problem. if you work it out please let me know as i also want to go to 56's. but then i'm a 58 year old teen ager at heart.

 

Good looking setup! Very close to my own.



I also get about the same mileage with this rig, depending on how heavy my foot is. I haven't been slowed down quite that much, but have not been to that elevation yet. How many miles do you have? They say the new 3v V-10's take about 5,000 miles to really break-in and open up.

Congratulations, nice rig.

 

V10man - Sounds like we did similar things over the holiday. I went up into the mountains on the West VA and VA line to do some trail riding with 4 wheelers and jeeps. I was towing about 6,000 lbs. Averaged around 11mpg up in the mountains and 13.5 on the way back home(interstate drving). I rarley had to use tow haul, mainly to slow down since the trailers brakes weren't working. I had a few similair uphill grades that i could cruise up and hold around 70mph. Just thought i would chime in with how the disel compairs.

One thing i did notice is how bad the turbo lag was when starting from stop going up hill, maybe about 5 seconds before it really kicked in.

-Kevin

 

V10man, I am surprized you would only hit 3500 RPM and no more. I was not quite as high an elevation but my truck in Tow/haul will just keep dropping down a gear and 5200 is nothing for these things. I have had it drop to 2nd gear scream up to 5200 , upshift to 3rd and still keep climbing in speed. I only have 4500 miles and mine continues to increase in power and mileage. Overhead cam motors like to rev and if you topped out at 3500 RPM and you still had lower gears to drop into, I would think you have some type of program error in your truck's computer. Sounds like you are happy but I think your truck should perform a lot better than it did. Won't hurt to get it checked out. Is your tailpipe jet black inside. It should be. Take care, Wrench.

 

Wrenchtraveller - Could you explain a little on the idea that the tailpipe should be jet black on the inside. Are you thinking this means a slightly rich mixture, or that its a sign of complete combustion?

 

Captchas should chime in. he is an auto wrench where I am a millwright (industrial wrench) but he had a problem with his and his tailpipe was burning clean. The rest of us all have black tailpipes and I believe now that his little throttle glitch is fixed he is the same. Something about a closed loop . He will explain.

 

It is possible that I didn't have it completely "to the floor" I know this particular grade is lengthy so I may have just held her steady. It has 4300 miles.

Another thing, the sound the engine was making under load would vary. It would sound like the engine was working hard then it would just quiet down. No change in rpms.

This morning, I noticed an exhaust leak on the driver's side where the pipe bolts to the manifold. It will sputter for about a minute before sealing it's self.

So far, the list of things for the dealer to fix includes:

fuel line clip recall
exhaust leak
coolant leak- they better clean up the mess
pull to the left under moderate/hard braking
rubbing/squealing sound from right rear when rolling (like a rock stuck in the brakes)
kink in the window moulding on passenger door - water can run inside the door


Link to pics: http://community.webshots.com/album/388253581LaLrFL

 

V10 man, The noise you heard was probably your rad Fan kicking in and out. That is normal. Only one way to push a vehicle to the max and that is pedal to the metal.
I don't have to floor mine on every grade but when I want to see what she's got.
WOT is the order of the day. I had a little coolant leak like yours and put a decent clamp on. My coolant mess cleaned up with a damp paper towel. I hate taking a vehicle back to the Dealer. The less I deal with Ford service people, the happier I am. Good luck with your truck and take care, Wrench.

PS , the pictures look just like my leak which turned out to be the heater hose connection on the front . I was able to put a screw clamp on behind the
original clamp. I had a few spare clamps with me. I am going to replace all those junky OEM clamps soon.

 

During hunting season, I tow about what you did this weekend. I've done it before with my old 460 and still had power in reserve. Seldom had to those high RPM's on about the same grades of roadway. Hmm... I thought that Ford had a good thing going with the V10? And I'm not trying to start a GAS sv Diesel war here, but to let you know, I've towed roughly the same amount recently over the north Cascades passes, (not to quite the same elevations), but definately the same long steep grades getting 15.5mpg and power out the cazoo from my 04' 6.0psd. Passing other RV's going up 7% grades.

"Any tips on how to get the wife to agree to 4.56 gear swap??" It'll cost you money to ask and convince, And it'll cost you plenty to swap the gears. If you don't do it yourself, then the additional cost of that modification is the difference of the price of a PSD with the ZF6spd. If you're gonna go 5vr, then seriously consider the Diesel. Stand next to a freeway where RV's travel by. Take a look at camp grounds and RV parks. Look at all the brands of trucks. There's more diesels pulling larger trailers than any gas powered version of any brand. Why? Torque.

The V10 is a good engine. Personally I don't think it's as good as the 460 of yester year yet, but time will tell. I made the switch from gas big block to diesel last year and will never go back. The difference is night and day. Now, I know, I've touted the PSD.. But have you thought of some free flowing exhaust? Intake modifications? Chip? If you travel with that load a lot, then those might be more cost effective measures than the gear swap.

-Steve

 

Well I had an 1988 460 F250 4X4 for 6 years. I bought it new and it never gave me any trouble. It never had any where near the power of my 05 V10 and ate about 40 % more fuel than my present truck. That was my biggest concern ordering this V10 was that it would get the same horrific mileage my 460 did. I went to diesels for 11 years and like many people I made the statement many times, I will never own a gasser again. Well guess what, I was wrong. I loved my 95 and 00 7.3 PSDs. I then fell for the moonroof and all the goodies in an 04 F350 6.0 PSD. Beautiful truck, terrible motor for me, stranded and hauled in twice, I ordered the same exact truck in an 05 V10 and now I still have the moonroof I love and a great motor as well and I also learned a lesson, Never say Never. Wrenchtraveller.

 

Well tomorrow is the big day for me,I will pick up my new truck (F-350 SD dulley, auto, super cab,4x4,V-10)My buddy has a 05 PSD,and it does what everybody says it does.He runs it hard in the left lane,and I sit in the left seat with a white knuckle grip on that handle.I spend my time in the right lane,just pokin along enjoying the scenery.I hope this V-10 will be ok for me,it sounds like the right engine for my kind of driving.....Ill let you guys know.

 

Wrenchtraveller, it doesn't sound like the fan. I can tell when that roar starts. It is like a deep rumble of exhaust of a hard working engine then silence. Like the fuel was cut off breifly. Odd I guess. My 99 didn't do this. It is hard trying NOT to compare the 99 vs the 05.