I truly hope you're not monitoring your tranny temps, while towing your TT, using only your factory gauge.

Stewart

 

I can tell you from personal experience, the stock transmission oil temp guage WORKS !

Some months ago I noted that the first time I put any kind of "towing load" on our "new" '05 V-10 4wd, that I'd just purchased ( it is a "cream puff - can tell from close exam. of the receiver it NEVER had a hitch in there ! - had 14,000 mi. on it) the transmission failed.

It failed because some #($$*# at the factory never put a clip on the hose for the trans. oil cooler - so the hose blew off. Since the vehicle was both at speed and under a heavy load ( pulling the "grade" leaving the Prescott, Arizona, area to the north) the fluid was completely gone in a few seconds. It all happened so fast - and yes, the trans. temp. gauge responded immediately.

As a side-note, our Prescott Ford Dealership management had no trouble with the factory warranty adjustors over this (probably because it was only too clear why the failure occured).

Point of all this, was to note that I had a discussion with the transmission shop foreman, about whether I should add "after-market" oil coolers and an "after market" trans. oil temp. guage (the guy is a car buff himself with a "tricked out "150 pick up). He was VERY insistant that the tranny in the V-10 (tho apparently not as rugged as the one you guys with the diesels have) will handle just about anything we can do to it absent abuse, AND that the temp. guage is VERY accurate. He says that since the transmission is already adequately cooled when it rolls out of the factory, there should be NO change in oil temp. unless you are REALLY "loading" the transmission.

By using the transmission, I avoid more than 1/3 throttle under normal towing loads, and avoid more than 3/4 throttle when climbing grades. I have yet to try sustained FULL throttle loads. Under those conditions, my trans. temp. guage hasnt moved from the "center" position.

 

I installed an AutoMeter trans temp guage a couple of months ago because I don't have the factory guage. I was glad I did. Turns out the trans was getting up to about 225 degrees under the most severe load and that was hotter than I was comfortable with. So I added an aftermarket trans cooler, a stacked plate type, and found that my temps dropped about 25 - 30 degrees as a result. I don't know about anyone else, but I feel much better now knowing I have that extra margin if I ever get REALLY hot when towing. Everything I've read says that at about 240 degrees, the trans fluid begins to varnish and it's effectiveness is greatly diminished. Now that I'm running constantly under 200 degrees, I feel quite confident in changing fluid only once per year.

I just got back from Yellowstone pulling a 10,000 lb toy hauler. With some weight distribution adjustments, the vehicle was very stable at even 75 mph. I was watching the trans temps closely as I climbed some very steep grades at 4,500 rpm in second gear. The temps maxed out fairly quickly and recovered on the flat or back side of the hills.

 

another data point:

stock V10 with 4.30 towing a 7000lb enclosed trailer, just did a round trip over the Grapevine in Socal (pretty big hill). Ambiance temp was 90-95F, for the most part the tranny was around 165-180F (Autometer gauge, sender in test port). In 2nd gear at 4200rpm, it slowly crept up from 180-210F, maybe total 5 mins from 200-210F. It dropped back to 165-180F range as soon as it crested the hill. Also averaged 9.0 mpg round trip going "with the flow of traffic".

 

I didn't imply your factory gauge didn't work. I implied it wasn't accurate enough to properly monitor transmission temps while towing.

Ok, where is that line drawn? When does it become "REALLY" loading? At what grade percent, towing how much weight, and in how hot a temperature?

How hot was the tranny temp at that time? How hot was it outside when you were towing a weight you consider a "normal" towing load? Was it 10 degrees lower when you were towing a little less than what you consider "normal"?

There's no way for you to know because your stock gauge didn't "move from the center position".

Do you see how subjective your view is? How inaccurate the feedback is provided by your OEM tranny gauge is? With an aftermarket tranny temp gauge, all subjectivity is removed and the temp is what it is. It's completely objective and reports in accurate measures exactly what the driver needs to know, in order to make a well informed decision regarding his rig.

But hey, it's your transmission. You can trust yourself and your gear, or you can trust some tranny shop foreman who has a "really tricked out F150".

Stewart

 

good point - I agree - a HIGH quality aftermarket temp guage would, no doubt, give me VERY accurate readings in terms of actual degrees.

I am going to rely on the transmission shop foreman that the vehicle's trans. and oil cooler set-up is, as factory installed, o.k. for my purposes. I cant loose - this was a so called "Certified" car purchase, meaning, it is TOTALLY warranted for several more years. So it's FORD's problem, not mine, if the vehicle proves inadequate.

I am getting CONFLICTING info. on how much "better" the last ones built are, compared to the very early V-10's. I am hearing horror stories of spark plugs literally blowing out of the cyl. heads, inadequate trans. oil cooling, etc..etc.

From the VERY little I know about Ford products in general, and Excursions in particular, it SEEMS that this vehicle is ideal for the towing loads I am putting on it, and the driving comfort I want in a tow vehicle.

As a side-note, admittedly not relevant to this "thread", I am a bit disappointed to this extent - I had been towing it with a '91 2500 Series Suburban (the 3/4 ton version) with a standard "mouse" 350 cu. in. engine. The additional weight and power of my Excursion dosnt seem to make a dramatically better tow vehicle.

Since 2001, when I sold the "Sub", I'd been towing my boat and "toy" trailer (not at the same time...!) with a 6500 Series GMC (that's a 28,000 lb GVW vehicle - with a 7 speed Spicer trans. Was a "dualie" of course, with "10 hole Budd 24.5 in. wheels. That thing weighed 13,500 lbs, had a Cat. 3216 "B" diesel. Of course with a rig like that, I couldnt even TELL when I was running empty or with one of my trailers on the back. And I could "run with the big dogs". But the ride was so rough, my wife and I just couldnt stand it. That's why we got the Excursion.

 

I can't comment on the trans oil cooling issue, but the spark plug launching is not just a V-10 problem. It happens to all the Ford modular engines, 4.6, 5.4, and the V10's, up through the '02 model year.

Only having 4 threads per spark plug hole was the problem.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/ford_spark_plugs.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/ford_spark.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/01/ford_truck_engines.html

Starting with the '03 model year, Ford started putting more spark plug threads in the cylinder heads to fix the problem.

Most Lightning guys (like me) check our plugs every 6 months or so.

I just make sure I install my plugs on a warm-to-the-touch engine, torquing the plugs down to 12 to 13lbs, and I've never had any more problems (yes, I launched a plug).

Shoulda got one with a 7.3L PSD!

Easy V10 guys, I'm kidding! I just wanted to a little!

Stewart