Hi I have a 2004 4x2 automatic super duty v10 with 3.73. The travel trailer I am pulling is at about 8000 lbs loaded what I am wondering is will using the 3.73 gears hurt the engine or trans. I will be going out to the west coast from fl this spring. I will be doing some mountain drivingduring this trip which will take me about 7 months on the the road traveling and the same next yr after that most of the driving will be hauling the trailer up north to wisconsin for the summer then back to fl for the winter. Would it be worth the cost to change to the 4.30 gears? what should it cost to make the change? would the 3.73 gears get get me by? I have pulled my new trailer about 1800 miles so far all in north fl it pulls fine in flat land country but not sure how it will handle mountain drives any info would be great thanks.

 

I have a 2005 E350 V10 with 3.73's and my impression is that I will be fine. it pulls my 8000 pound trailer without batting an eye. if you were hauling 12000 lbs then the 4.x gears would help but with your current weight you will be fine.

On moderate hills I seem to keep speed (65) just fine at under 2500 rpm so have lots of room to tow up bigger hills.

Seems like a gear change is around $1500 for a good shop to do it p&labor.

Peace!
rw

 

I pulled a Coachmen travel trailer with a pulling weight of around 8500lbs with my V10, 3.73 geared Excursion for 4 years. It pulled pretty good considering the trailer does not pull well behind anything. I put 94000 mile with about 24000 pulling trailer. I had a torque converter weld crack at around 46000 but Ford covered it evne though it was out of warranty. I would disconnect my negative battery terminal after driving daily just before I would pull my trailer to reset my computer to factory defaults. It seemed to pull better and I averaged around 9 mpg. I pulled along the Florida, Miss. coast and throught the mountains in north Alabama and Georgia.

 

thanks for the quick replies. I think the 3.73 will be ok for what I am doing. I am getting 8.50 average when pulling the trailer and around 11 in town not pulling and around 12.50 to 13.50 on the hwy with no trailer. I got a great deal on this truck from toyota used cars I gave 15500.00 for the f250 with 35ooo miles on it. the trailer is a 2005 cougar 302 double slide out I poped for the hensley hitch she tows realy good no sway from passing trucks or winds anyway thanks for the info.

 

what exactly does disconecting the battery do for the truck? Is this only for the new trucks, (newer than 1999)?

 

The computer that controls the ignition and automatic transmission "learns" driving habits by analyzing the last so many driving cycles. I.e., if you drive hard and shift hard it will begin to anticipate your style of driving. Problem is, if suddenly decide you want to conserve gas, the computer still thinks you want to party...... By unplugging the battery, you can force the computer to reset to factory settings and forget your bad habits!

 

Hmmm thanks BareBones. I gotta feeling that my battery will be disconnected. LOL
All ya have to do is reconnect and good to go again. Is this some thing that u do over night?

 

People generally do it overnight just because its convenient, even half an hour would probably work though. On the other hand, I really don't know whether '99's are affected - you can try it and see if you notice a mileage or performance difference.

 

I have basically the same truck, and I can load my gooseneck stock trailer to 9000# and run 80 mph in the hills. At 65 I can do the same thing and still average 12 mpg. I haven't pulled in the mountains with this truck, but my guess is you'll get along just fine.

I may have to try that computer trick... I know I can tell a difference in how my truck runs according to the way I've been driving it - if it's been pulling on the highway (for awhile), it'll still scream when you unhook the trailer, but if I've been just puttering around it'll be doggy when I first hook onto the trailer.

 

I had an '00 F250 with 3.73 a 5spd manual and V-10.

I pulled a 7,000 lb rated trailer with a jeep on it across the contry over the mountains near Denver. Truck did very well. I could have maybe used a little more gear over the mountains but it is not worth doing a gear change for only a little more gear. Stick with your gears and enjoy your trip. You'll like your 3.73 cruising flat and rolling roads.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who unhooks my battery before and after I pull my camper. I thought I might have a little O.C.D. but now am glad to know their are people out there that pay attention to the details too. My truck is an '01 crew cab long bed 4x4 with a V-10 w/3.73's. I just got back from Florida with the 8500 lb. camper in tow. My average fuel milage over 2200 miles was 7.1 mpg BUT I kept the speed up around 72-76 mph (and some 80's too) though. The transmission wouldn't let me put much pedal in it in O.D. so most of my trip was in Drive which makes me glad I do have the 3.73's. Never run out of power in Drive and if as long as I kept the engine above 3000 r.p.m. (70 mph) I could put gas pedal clear to the floor and the transmission would not kick down. Seems to me the lower ratios (4.10 or 4.30's) would not yield as good as mpg in Drive at the same speed as the 3.73's because the engine would be running faster. Another reason I ordered the 3.73's is I don't believe the lower ratios would pull the camper in O.D. as their would only be a few hundered r.p.m. difference in the 4.30 to 3.73, not enough for what seems to be a very sensitive transmission. Maybe the lower ratios would make it easier on the engine so the mileage would inturn go up but was afraid that the truck wouldn't pull it in O.D. then I'm pulling in Drive with 4.30's and the tach showing 3000 but only running 60 mph. Anyone had experience with this. I should just go with the manual transmission next time then I could pull in overdrive, I would just have to keep an eye on the engine temp though. Another thing to remember is that the V-10's are a high rpm engine, so don't be afraid to let it make a little noise. I read on other forums that 4500-5000 rpm won't hurt them at all and that's what their designed for.

 

Hi and thanks for the info I just came back from ga went for 4 days at west point lake great place to go drove a total of 724 miles 224 miles was with out the trailer hooked up we got a whopping 9.06 mper gal average but the truck did great I realy love it we had 20 to 30 miles per hr head winds on the way up I am sure that did not help the miles per gal but anyway its only money thanks again

 

on the last trip I drove from fl to ga and back I run at 60 most of the time . I will have to give the unhooking the battery thing a try and see if that helps thanks again bill

 

Windshadow, the only difference in our trucks is my truck is a 03 4X4, pull a 8,000 5er. The truck will pull your load fine. I normaly pull to Fl or the Smokeys so should be the same conditions. Last year went to the keys pulled great got 10mpg. A friend has the 4.3 gears he may tow better in realy steep grades but all around my truck is fine. I only have 95,000 on my truck and it has towed every thing I needed it to (TT, 24' boat, Bobcat ) good luck Rick

 

thanks rr I think the rig will do fine from everything I have read so far.my tt fully loaded is at about 8200 and have about another 800 lbs in the truck its self that includes passengers to thanks for the input.