I have done some of the normal mods to my 02 F250 Chip exhaust intake, tc lock, anyways we have been going camping alot lately and pulling our 24 ft. 5ther. I live in AZ and it seems that avery where we go is up hill. Getting to my point, some of the bigger pulls here in AZ I have to pull in 2nd gear at 40mph. My trailer inst that heavy and I could do the same thing with my 79 460 F250. I do get a little better gas mileage but man I thought this diesel would do much better than this. I seem to have more power but unable to use it because my EGT's get to hot. So am I expecting to much? What can I do to kill these hills. Thanks FOr the help.
JC

 

How hot are your EGTs getting? What kinda boost #s are you seeing? How many miles on the truck? How does it run unloaded? 2nd gear seems kinda low at 40, what kinda grade and what is the weight of the 5er?

 

Yep, I agree, something is deffinately wrong. A healthy chipped PSD should be able haul its Max GCVW at least 55 up nearly any hill, any where. Within reason anyway. Like Tenn said, findout the numbers, and this will tell you where to look next.

 

I have a 25 foot Acrtic Fox Camp trailer and we can maintain 60 mph going over the casades mountain passes and i am still in over-drive.. so, i would say also you have some power problems..

 

wow, sounds like a boost problem. Do you have gauges?

 

Don't forget about elevation, I pulled over the Adirondacks in Up-State New York and experienced the same sort of thing. My truck ran good over the mountains pulling 11000# 5'ver but it just had no go. Everywhere else on my trip to mid-coast Maine I was fine, my 7.3L just didn't like the elevation.

 

My PSD doesn't seem to mind the rockies, it runs pretty much the same anywhere I take it. I've hauled Cottonwood Pass @12,126 feet, Berthoud Pass @12,490...granted I am just hauling a bunch of toys and not a 5th wheel. Highest I've taken the stroke was the top of Mount Evans at 14,264 feet, but didn't have the trailor. That's not a fast drive, though. Not a good road to make a mistake on.

 

7.3 is right, some of midwest and eastern mountains just don't see the elevations we do here in the southwest. Albuquerque is a mile high. Traveling I-40 in to Flagstaff we hit almost 9,000 ft. That last climb does nearly 3,000 ft in about 20 miles. Some of the hight mountain passes run at over 12-14,000 feet. Doing that unloaded is one thing, doing it with a heavy load is another. With that said, I agree you have some problems. You really need to start looking at your boost and EGT numbers.

 

Perhaps also check the Baro sensor in the PCM against actual ambient to be sure it is functioning properly.

 

well i would have to agree with you guys that something doesnt seem right but this past weekend I followed my dad who has a 99 with a six speed and he was pulling the same amount of weight and we where dead nuts the same pulling these hills. Now, these hills are like 7 to 8% grades some a couple miles long. Boost runs about 22 pounds and I can melt the motor down if I wanted to. I keep the EGT's below 1200. Outside air temp was around 95. When we got to the white mountains area (higher elevation) man it really sucked pulling but I assumed that was due to elevation. The 5ther weighs in the ball park of 8500#'s

 

any more help guys

 

I just returned from AZ visiting relatives in Munds Park, 18 miles S of Flagstaff. I found that I had to put the programming back to stock so I didn't have to worry about EGT's. Boost and EGT kept shooting up at the slightest incline that I was getting worried about cracking a piston. Once that was done I didn't have to keep looking at the guage to make sure the needle stayed out of the red zone.
I have a 4.88 rear axle so I didn't lose any hill climbing ability one bit. My truck is more limited by the gearing than anything else. The only change was a drop in EGT's. I could maintain 65 mph on any hill up to a little shy of 4% grade, then I had to shift down. Once that happened I was limited by the low gearing and would set the CC at 50mph and watch the world go by.
On the way down we crossed Cedar Breaks pass (9910 ft and 8% grade) in third gear, 35 mph with no trouble.

 

I guess I said all that to say that if you are towing the trailer, reduce the programming and see how it goes. If you add a lot of weight to the drivetrain, it loads up the engine, which in turn causes the turbo to spool up a lot more and help the engine work harder.
You may be surprised at how well it performs stock with the weight of the trailer behind you.
My truck is a completly different animal when hitched vs empty. Turbo whistles like made at the slightest provocation and it pulls like a freight train.

 

ok well it seems that we are pulling about the same way. I want to pull these az hills at 65 70. But thAT might not happen without alot of money.
How did did you like az Kwik, lots of good hills uh?

 

Yes, a lot of hills. If you want to go 70 up the hill, buy a KW.