There's nothing funny about being high centered. Trust me.

 

And apparently not doing a very good job of it. I wouldn't really know since we don't get enough snow here to high center my lawnmower.

 

I got high centered on my lawnmower once.



Not my pickup, me. Wet grass, slipped on the step just as I was swinging my other leg over, and whamo, high centered right on the gear shift. Fortunately, my ********* broke my fall.

























Now that is being humorous.

 

And doing a much better job of it.

 

It must be nice to have a problem on one hill and trade the truck. I'm guessing you had a few problems before. Get a run at the hills next time and put the extra couple grand in the bank imho. If your still ready to get rid of it just compromise on a V-10, you wouldn't regret it.

 

PM me your address, I've got plenty here, will be glad to ship you a few dozen tons!

 

Why don't you hold on to it for me. I'll just come over and pick it up.

It's only supposed to get to 72 here tomorrow. Can't wait for things to warm back up.

 

You hear them too? I thought I was the only one. Well thats good cause that means Im not the only crazy one.

 

alright just what ihave read, there are some VERY misinformed people here. Horespower, does NOT alway win. Any REAL gear head knows, that torque is what gets the wheels moving. If gassers pulled just as good as a diesel, then why would EVERY semi i have EVER seen be DIESEL powered, wouldnt it just make since to power it with gas and just get rid of diesel all together.

As for the 1st post, i would say your transmission either did not engage into 1st gear, and was actually in second, or the transmission was slipping something terrible. Yes the 5.4 CAN tow loads, but hook up the same load to a diesel and you will never know that you were pulling anything. I speak from expierence and common knowledge.

 

Horsepower wins when you're wound up... 7.3 wouldn't have had to!

That being said, how many replacement 5.4s can you buy for the price of one replacement diesel? Sorry oil-burners, durability doesn't add up when you do the math. A modular will last 200,000 miles or more as well.

I agree... tranny is shot!

 

My math doesn't match yours. I've spent more money on maintenance & downtime on the 5.4's than I have the 7.3's or 6.0's. I usually end up phasing out the gassers around 180,000 miles due to repairs/downtime.

Also if you want to tow with the 5.4 you should consider the 4.10 rear end.

 

So maybe you have... but add in the additional cost of the diesel before figuring that up!

I would consider that to be bare minimum... 4.30s would be more like it!

 

The questions are, "How fast do you want to turn those wheels?", or, "How fast do you want to get that trailer to the top of the hill?" That is where power comes in.

What is actually important is rear-wheel torque, and for purposes of this discussion, that is generated either by:

a.) A fast-turning, but lower-torque motor, geared down significantly to drive the rear wheels, or;

b.) A slower-turning, but higher torque motor, which doesn't have to be geared down as much in order for the rear-wheel speed to be appropriate.

In either case, HP = (ft/lbs*RPM)/5252

Simplified, "torque times speed equals power". So if the gears are correct for the respective motors, power is the limiting factor. And a poperly-geared 250 HP gas motor will generate the same amount of rear-wheel torque as a properly-geared 250 HP diesel.

With regard to the OP, it's probably not worth it to go out and buy a diesel if you only pull a stock trailer to the top of a short steep hill once a week. The 5.4 will get the job done, but it will make more noise and use more fuel, which you don't care about if you are only doing it once in a while.

But, if you are pulling a stock trailer 100+ miles a week, on relatively level ground, a stock 7.3 would make for a much more pleasant and economical experience than a 5.4.

On the other hand, if you are going to pull a heavy trailer up big hills a lot, I don't think you would be happy with either, I think you would need a 7.3 modified for more POWER, or a 6.0, which starts out with more POWER.

When I switched from towing with my aforementioned 330 HP GMC, to my current 250 HP Ford, I was disappointed the first time I pulled the trailer up a big hill. It slowed down way more than the GMC did. But, on the flat level ground, it sure was nice having a motor that was turning 1700, as opposed to 2800+


If the torque of a diesel were the answer, why do semis have so many gears?

The high torque numbers of diesels accomplish one thing; they move the horsepower peak down to an rpm range that is much more pleasant and efficient to use. But it is not the "torque" that is doing the job, it is the horsepower.

 

physics definition of torque- rotational force or measure of force causing rotation. The force that is used to crank the wheels to move a load is the torque. the number of gears needed in a semi are a result of an extremely heavy load that any motor that size needs motors that big to move a gas motor would likely need twice the gear.

your right hp is more how fast you want to turn the wheels as compared to torque which is about how much force there is turning the wheels.

torque's goal is not lower the hp peak it is increase the force that will rotate the crankshaft that in turn will create more force turning the wheels to move the load.

the greater amount of torque can partially be attributed to the increased compression of diesel.

 

The other factor is the lenghth of that torque curve on a diesel vs gas.