I have a 2000 F350 PSD that I use for mostly towing a 35' Gooseneck. I usually weigh in around 22K-25K (truck, trailer, load). The truck has 216,000 miles on it's 7.3 with auto tranny and nothing major done to the engine.
My question(s) are:
1 - I am looking at getting a 3 gauge "A" pillar setup but am curious which gauges to get and why?
2 - I manually upshift/downshift at acceleration or decelerations. This is my second truck of this engine/tranny configuration (same amount of towing) and I haven't had any problems. Am I lucky or is it because I am not relying on the clutch packs in the tranny to do the work?
3 - Is there something I should be looking at doing, given the high mileage, as preventative maintenance?
4 - Should I be running Rotella 15w-40 in the mild to nice weather & 5w-40 the rest of the year?

Thanks guys,
Eric

 

HI Powderctr, since you say you pull a 35' GN, I would go with a temp gauge for the tranny oil, and a temp gauge on your exh. Then I personaly like to watch a turbo boost gauge move'n back and forth. I like temp gauges because the trucks gonna be working hard and i dont want to cook anything. But if you got over200k on it you allready know what it can and cant do!

You said you havent had a major work done to the engine, hows the tranny? I got a 2000 with 325k on it, I think it shifts hard does yours do that?

 

She shifts hard if I let it downshift under load (e.g. if I am pulling a hill and it bounces out of one gear down into another). If it shifts up, it usually is pretty smooth.
Ford usually tells you NOT to pull in O.D. because the constant battle between O.D. & 4th could cause higher tranny temps. but I have found that there aren't any problems as long as I am constantly aware of where the RPM'S. For instance, if I am pulling a hill and the RPM's start getting down around the 1,700 range I know that it will probably downshift on it's own so I will feather out of the accelerator, press the button on the shift lever and allow it to drop into 4th. After I have felt it go out of O.D. I will get back into the accelerator and it seems to be just fine.
That said, I definitely want to put a tranny gauge on the pillar so I can verify that I am not cooking the fluid by allowing it to do that. What have you heard about this? Am I flirting with disaster by doing this?

Also, do you have any insight into the type of oil to use in the different climates (Rotella 15w-40, 5w-30, etc.)?

Any other input to my other questions?

Thanks,
Powderctr
P.S. I used to own a powder coating business and now I sell the equipment to powdercoaters:-)

 

Powderctr, I would also go with tranny temp, & pyro. The boost gauge is just kind of gee-whiz info but is useful to tell how hard she's working. As cando said, it's fun to watch.

It sounds like you exercise caution & common sense or your tranny wouldn't have lasted this long with all that heavy towing. I follow almost your exact shifting strategy, trying not to let shift under a load & so far mine seems strong & healthy with 88k on it.

 

Powderctr, your thoughts on using 15W40 most of the year and 5W40 in cold weather are spot on. 5W40 is thinner when it's cold which will make for easier cold starts. Not necessary in mild weather, though.

As far as manually shifting your transmission, you are still using the clutch packs. The only difference between manually shifting and leaving it in drive is who commands the shifts. Whether you command the shift or the PCM does, I don't see it making a difference in the life of the transmission.

I, too, suggest EGT and transmission temperature gauges.

 

Thanks for all the info:-)
I think I will go with a Tranny temp gauge, a Pyro & a Boost gauge in the tri-pack. It sounds like a boost gauge by itself is a borderline frivolity for what I expect out of the truck (I don't enter pulling or drag races and basically use the truck to get a heavy load from point "A" to point "B" without much concern for the acceleration rate) but may prove useful should I ever detect a problem with the EGT, etc.!
Is there a specific type of Tranny temp, Pyro or Boost gauge that I should get? I'm interested in something reliable that works good, not something that simply looks good yet may not work right all the time.

Thanks again for all the great info, looking forward to hearing any additional comments:-)

Eric (Powderctr)

 

Ok I dont keep up with the smaller diesels but i have worked on the bigger stuff for over 30 years, Kenworth Peterbilts etc: and i've always found the boost gauge aka manifold pressure, to be one of the more useful gauges when it comes to performance and troubleshooting. So a guy comes in with a low power complaint and first thing i ask him is how much his boost dropped while in a hard pull. It just kind of a starting point of how bad a performance issue we're having here. Just my 2 cents

 

diesel-man1 - Thanks for your input! Given your experience, is there any other information (gauges) that you think might be useful?

 

Eric,

I know that others here will steer you towards the higher priced gauges, but take a look at the GlowShift brand... I just installed mine and have been running them for a few weeks now and I am in love with them... We have a lot of other members here that run them also, and haven't had any problems.

Here is a link to the thread I started in our 7.3 forum: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ml#post8152395

And also a link to their website.... you really can't beat the price of them. Mine were under $200 shipped and they ship fast!:

99-07 Ford Superduty Custom Gauge Package

Also Welcome to FTE!!!!

 

Powderctr go with the gauges you already mentioned and you'll be well covered