I did a "test pull" with the new Excursion last night after hooking up the trailer brake control. The main goal was to get my LD hitch setup and the controller adjusted. I did a short highway run on pretty flat ground gradually working my way up to around 65mph. I started with the overdrive swithed off, but noticed at around 60mph this thing is taching over 3000rpm so I tried switching OD back on. It would not, and I mean WOULD NOT shift into OD under any circumstances while the trailer was on. Is there something about having a trailer pigtail connected that automatically dissables the overdrive?

 

I've towed my 9000# TT 5000 miles since installing the 4.30's. I've towed a very high percentage of those miles in OD at 65mph...

In fact...since you are from Indiana...you can appreciate this...I can pull on I-69 from Fort Wayne to Andersen in OD the WHOLE WAY at 65mph (~75 miles)...now that is with cruise OFF and me controlling the throttle...

joe.

 

My 01 v10 with 3.73 gears will go in to OD - I don't believe that the pig tail being connected has anything to do with it.

What year is your X? Did you try starting from stop with the overdrive off, then getting up to speed and see if it goes in to OD? Did the OD light flash or anything?

 

Well my TT doesn't weigh in anywhere near Mark and Joes but I also tow in O/D lots so I'd say you have an issue somewhere. I got 3.73 also (soon to be 4.30 BEFORE Montana '09 right Joe )

 

Sad fact is, that these days, so many functions in modern cars and trucks are computer controlled. PERHAPS an OBD II device could tell you what is wrong. I personally got lucky and have an Excursion with a total warranty (until 2011). However, even if I had to PAY the high prices, I think if my Excursion started "acting up", I'd take it to a Ford dealer. They have the sophsticated diagnostic equipment to figure stuff like this out.

As a side note, the only low mileage "cream puff" Excursion I could find, was a '05 V-10 Limited. As many of you know, there are some VERY puzzling things that Ford did with that vehicle. Supposedly, it is a one ton truck equipped for VERY heavy towing. Which is exactly what I wanted.

Can you imagine my surprise when I found its rear spring "rate" is so soft, it completely "bottomed" when I hooked up my boat trailer ? (yeah..it is a heavy one..but that is why I wanted a one ton truck for in the first place..!) Of course the handling was dangerous, which, as I have noted before, makes me wonder what was Ford thinking when it deleted the rear sway bar ?

Also of interest - they put a 3.73 ratio as the standard ratio ? And on TOP of that you get a over-drive ? To pull FIVE TON loads ?

I cannot afford to change the front and rear axle ratios. But..those of you with V-10's and 3.73 ratios take heart. Yes, I "lock out" the over-drive when I am towing my motor yacht (about 11,000 lbs "give or take", of boat and heavy duty three axle trailer). No, I cannot keep up with the diesels and their lower axle ratios on the long grades coming up from California to the high country of northern Arizona. But so what ? On a ten hour drive, so I am about an hour behind the diesel guys. I can live with that.

As another side-note, I notice you guys keep referring to a "lie-o-meter". I think you guys are confused by what that guage is. It is simply a computer read out of your fuel flow guage. Of COURSE you are going to see WILD flunctuations. With a stiff tail-wind, on level ground, in over-drive, with NO loads, I have seen over 18 mpg. indicated, provided I dont go over 60 mph. I have seen as much as 50 mpg..going DOWN grade with my boat pushing the rig !

Pulling the long up-hill grade out of Lake Mead's Temple Bar Marina, with the boat, (oh..let's say...around 3,500 rpm) I have seen FOUR miles per gallon.

The point is..what you guys call a "lie-0-meter" is simply giving you an AVERAGE fuel burn for a short period of time. On LONG trips..if you just leave the thing alone, and PROPERLY do a "full to full" fuel check, you will find the thing is dead accurate.

 

Its a 2000. I first turned off the OD when I was pulling out of the driveway. I headed out of town for maybe 5 miles and pulled over to adjust the hitch. I never shut the truck off during that time. Once I got back on the road headed for home, I pushed the OD button again, this time to turn in "on". I didn't notice the light flash at any time.

I backed off the throttle slowly on a flat section of highway till I was eventually coasting and it still wouldn't shift into OD.

I unhooked the trailer last night and drove the X to work this morning and it shifted fine.

Perplexed.

 

I drive a 2000 Excursion with the 4.30 axle and our old trailer weighed in at 7500lbs ...drive with OD on on flat ground. No issues with shifting or restricted shifting.

Our new trailer will be in the neighborhood of 9000 - 9500 lbs, but on flat ground I'm still anticipating that will be able to run with overdrive on.

Sorry that I don't have any great suggestions for what's going on. I'd agree that if you could get your excursion hooked to a computer to see if there are any error codes would be a good starting point.

Let us know how things go.

 

Not in my truck.

I keep a log of every fill up, the gallons and odometer reading at that fill up. I put the data into Excel.

The gauge is *consistent* but it is not accurate. In the city when we get 10.5 on a tank, the real mileage is always right at 10. Towing, getting a readout of 7.5-8mpg, the real mileage is almost exactly .5 mpg less. Highway tanks unloaded produce more error - about 1 mpg off of the 15-16mpg indicated. The gauge is ALWAYS optimistic in my truck. Maybe it's me, but I don't consider 5-7% error "dead accurate". My `03 Suburban was within 3% of my Excel data. It had 2 gas mileage gauges, one of which I never reset to see if it agreed with the cumulative average in the spreadsheet. The other got reset every tank.

The gauge does give you the average gas mileage until the gauge is reset, not for a "short period of time". A buddy who owns an `05 super duty never resets his and thinks that he gets great gas mileage on his infrequent towing trips because his gauge never drops. Additionally, the only way to get the instantaneous gas mileage is to reset the meter while you're moving, which of course destroys your tank average data.

Doug

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh ignorance is blissss

 

I drive a 2000 F-350 6.8L V10 and pull a 10,000lb 5th wheel. I was told to always haul with the OD off, even tho it will go into OD when I'm up to speed - 60mph, 2000rpm - 2500rpm when OD is off. Is it right to assume if the truck goes into OD then it is okay to use OD? Unsure which rear end ratio I have.

bryana2639

 

bryana,

I believe if you read your manual...you should find that Ford recommends USING the OD as long as the trans is not "HUNTING" for a gear...meaning shifting in and out of OD...

Some mfgs do infact recommend shutting OFF the OD...Ford though for the 4R100 (our trans) is not one of them that does that...

joe.

 

O'really?
A one-ton Excursion?

 

Thanks Joe - next step as usual - read manual in glovebox.

Bryana