I re-read your original post and saw where you said that you're about 2700lbs over the weight rating on your truck when hooked to your trailer. I will tell you that some of the Ford rearends on the F250's have a very short spindle. I have seen a bunch of these burn up. The spindle holds very little oil which is extremely important expecially if you are overloaded. Check your differential fluid level. Then see how hot the rear wheel hubs are after you have been pulling your trailer. If you can boil water off the end of your axle, you may have a problem.

 

What would short spindles have to do with any thing? And, can they be upgraded?

As far as temps go the factory trans guage does not move above normal. Do I need another guage for the trans? I dont have any way to read my exhast temps. What are some good guages to install and how hard is it to install a egt guage.

The tires are E which should support over 14,000 lbs and Im at about 12,700 so I dont think its that.

Would running a 3:73 rear end cause any of this, and how much would it cost to change it to a 4:10?

 

You didn't say, but I ASSUME you checked. Have you been able to find ANY indication of a leak anywhere on the engine/transmission? Look under the truck and see if you have any fluid trails showing on the inderside of the engine or tranny. It still just may be the assembly lube. Others have complaned about the same thing...and it stopped after about 10,000 ,miles....

You say you don't smell it until you stop...open hood right after you come to a stop durning a tow and see if you see any telltale sign of smoke...then follow it.

 

I wish I could get the assembly lube smell back

 

Do you get the smell if you tow a different trailer?

 

Id stick with the 3.73. I have grossed over 40000lbs and never had a problem.

 

My point is Fords recomendations are NOT law. NO ONE has EVER been given a ticket for being over FORD's recomandations. NO ONE has EVER been sued for being over FORD's recomendations.
In MI weights can go as high as 700#'s per inch of tire width up to 20,000#'s per axle. *IF* you register it for that weight.

 

[QUOTE=LDON]What would short spindles have to do with any thing? And, can they be upgraded?QUOTE]
Spindle can't be upgraded, you would have to change the axle. BUT, what it has to do with anything is that some spindles are very short. So far, Ford is the only manufacturer that I've seen with really short spindles on some of their F250's and on some of their single wheeled F350's. Their short spindle doesn't allow for much oil in the wheel hub since the inside space between the inner bearing and the outer bearing is only about an inch. Yes, they will carry the weight, but they don't necessarily allow for the proper lubrication of the wheel bearings. A longer spindle with the same bearings will allow for more oil to sit in the wheel cavity. Some people I know purposely over fill their differentials to make sure there is plenty of oil getting to the bearings. The problem in doing that is that it puts extra pressure on the wheel seal and could cause them to leak prematurely.

 

Wow, you seem pretty sure about that. Must have taken some time to research all summonses issued and lawsuits filed. As someone with a background in law, I'll stand by my previous post.

 

Actually I have been looking for a case for years. Never been able to find one. Do you have anything that would indicate I am wrong ? Other then what you think should be the law?
Go to http://www.truckingsafety.org/ . Select the "GuideBook", and see page 6.

 

Wonder if there's some kind of spray...

 

As far as weights go all 4 tires together should be able to carry over 14000 lbs. With a 6000 lb front axel and a 6100 lb rear axel equaling 12100 Im really only over by 600 to 800 lbs. No engineer or company is going to rate something at its true ultimate max. Only a lawyer would push the over weight issue if there was a big wreck. The cops arent after individuals over weight. If this was a comercial truck thats a differant story. I know guys that get busted in Texas all the time for being over wight with work trucks.

I cant see any leaks on the motor or trans. I have to pull it this weekend and I'll try to find where the smell is coming from exactlly.

On the spindle issue I wonder if installing an oversized differetial cover would help lower the temp. I could see the spindles being a problem with the rear end taking the brunt of the weight.

 

Don't really know if an oversized cover would help out or not. It should allow the differential to run a little cooler, but we don't know if that is the problem. It looks like you have several possibilities and you will have the opportunity to check them out this weekend. Let us know what you find out.

 

From the sounds of your weight statements and pulling a gooseneck/fifthwheel trailer, I'm betting that you are over on your rear tire ratings. Most "E" rated tires for an F250 are only rated for 3400-3650# each. I think your over that with 3000# pin weight.

Good luck

 

Originally Posted by 99f350sd

Your owners manual should have all your weight limitations...If you go over them and have an accident you are going to regret it big time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leader

Please site ONE actual case where this happened.

I work for the Missouri Highway Patrol (State Trooper). All state troopers (no matter which state) are certified Federal DOT inspectors (and some local/city cops as well). When one of the accident involved vehicles is thought to be overloaded (too much weight for vehicle to be operated safely under Federal &/or state DOT guidelines) with a trailer or not, the 'Motor Carrier Inspector' would be called out to the wreck and weigh the suspected overloaded unit(s) with the portable scales. If the vehicle is considered overloaded in any way (sec 396.7a), the accident is jointly at fault & you will be put into 'out of service' (I will explain later). The cop would say that 'if you were not overloaded in the first place, you would have been able to stop in time' - even if the other person you hit clearly pulled out in front of you. Also, they will make sure you are registered (in your home state) & insured for that weight class too.

Keep an eye out for weigh station signs. Some states say 'ALL vehicles (personal or commercial) over 6 tons must weigh'. Or something like that. If you pull up on the scale, and the Weighmaster says you are overweight, then you are overweight. The Weighmaster (i will admit is usually an old bitter cop with the Highway Patrol that is on the verge of retirement anyways) can & will give you an overweight ticket. It will be charged so much $/lb over (dont know the exact, never was a Weighmaster). Depending on the situation, they can put you 'out of service' (sec 396.9c). Out of service basically means that you must fix the problem (make vehicle safe/legal) right there (in this case, unload excess cargo onto another truck) or be towed. These laws do not always apply to just CMVs (tractor-trailers) only.

For years, I have been dispatched to a lot a wrecks. Seen a lot of light SRW tow vehicles like yours flipped over in a ditch. Seen fatalities due to overweight vehicles. I must tell you that you really need to have a DRW vehicle for that 15,000# trailer to be stable/safe. The truck-trailer setup you have will stick out like a soar thumb (to the DOT inspectors). Some laws vary from state to state, but these are for all 48 states.

The GVWR is not just Ford saying this, it is a very legal aspect. Just like a tractor-trailer with 1 to 2 trailers has a GVWR of up to 85,500# and with 3 trailers up to 100,000# (special permit) or 'Wide Load' limited to the permit. The DOT does and will use the GVWR as a reference number. Even if the tow vehicle has a missing weight sticker, the DOT can still issue a ticket for the justifiable cause. Basically (more to this though) if the rear of vehicle is a lot lower to the ground than the front, you are overweight. Justifiable cause is not technically a legal term used but for example: If the speed limit is 70mph and durring a snow/ice storm you were traveling at 70mph, you could get a justifiable cause ticket for going too fast for current road conditions. The officer can legally issue a ticket in this example.