Hello, My dad bought a 1992 F250 4x4 ext cab lwb 7.3. We bass fish in a 19' Ranger with 200hp Merc and tandem axle trailer. My question is, should this engine have any trouble pulling the boat out of the water? It has to turn over 2k rpm before it even starts to move. It sounds like it is really laboring. Is this normal for the non- turbo engine or is there a possible torque converter/trans issue? Thanks.

 

Do you know what tranny you have?

 

i am assuming it is auto if it is it has a E40D i have the same truck it shouldnt have a problem pulling a 19foot bass boat mine was used to pull a 28 foot steel cattle trailer it wasnt the fastest thing around but it pulled it no problem loaded i have a 20 foot fiberglass runabout that i pull with mine and it dose it no problem again it isnt the fastest but it dose it at the launch i always use low range i just dont lock the hubs in so it is 2 wheel low

 

It is an auto

 

You can also throw it into 4 lo for the really steep boat launches, and if you have manuel hubs then don't lock them in and you will then have 4 extra low gears for moving around the parking lot in 2wd.

 

i just said that haha i might be making a 100 mile trip tomorrow to pick up a 22 foot cabin cruiser if i do ill let you know how it pulls

 

Sounds like you have transmission problems.
Not shifting into low gear or torque converter kind of problems.

You should not really even notice a 19 foot bass boat is behind the truck even if it had twin 200 HP Merc's.

 

I can hookup to my 32ft enclosed gooseneck car hauler with a 4000 pound car in it and sail on down the road, no worries. You should barely feel that 19ft boat back there. Heck, I used to pull and old ( read that heavy )15 ft tri hul runabout with a 3cyl evenrude behind my 93 Volvo 940 ( little 4 cyl car ) with no problems.

Could be that some misguided soul thought they were hot rodding the thing and put a high stall torque converter in it. That can help a gas burner to wind up to pull a load out of a hole ( it;s kind of like slipping the clutch on a manual to get the rpms up to get moving ) but it puts you a bit far into the effective torque range on a diesel . They are usually only used for competition on diesels. If that's' the case, a stock or fuel mileage type converter would take care of the problem.
First check for any error codes in the tranny, barring anything wrong there, take a look at the fluid, if it smells a little burned or looks even slightly dirty, change it ( personally, I'd flush the tranny fluid anyway if it's service life is unknown, and personally, I would run a treatment of Auto RX through the tranny before flushing the fluid, I've had that stuff do wonders on some of mine and many customer cars ) but if the fluid is broken down it doesn't provide the needed resistance to the impellers in the torque converter and you will get that slipping effect . An autobox runs off fluid pressure and when the fluid is worn out, the entire tranny no longer functions as it should. and if it's towed heavy in traffic in the heat without an external cooler, there's a very good chance that the fluid is hammered

A few bucks spent at a good tranny shop for a diagnostic would be able to tell you. as in don;t go to some big chain for a free check, they'll just try to sell you a rebuild. Go to an independent tranny shop and tell them up front that you will not be buying a rebuild from them and you are going to do it yourself,, especially if it's shot ( you could buy a mighty nice tranny from BTS that has one heck of a warranty for less than a lot of local rebuilds, and who knows, if the guy treats you right and you really don't want to fool with it, he might get the install job, but don't tell him that ) but you would like to pay the standard hourly rate for a diagnostic. This way the temptation for the ol, "it's shot, you need a new one, it's gonna cost ya X" is eliminated. An honest shop will not have a problem with making a few bucks this way, the crooks don't want to waste their time because they want a rebuild out of everything that comes in the door.