"2WD Low"
 

Someone in a previous thread mentioned easing the strain on an E4OD by pulling heavy low speed loads in low range. How fast can the truck run if the t-case was set to 4-Lo but the hubs were left unlocked? Could heavy wagons be moved down the road at a reasonable speed, say 25 mph, in low and save some tranny wear or would that poor old diesel be wound out trying? If not, is there a way to get heavy loads rolling in low range and then move to 2wd hi for down the road pulling? Its the '92 in my sig... thanks for the feedback.

Low range is not very fast at all.

Probably do more harm going 25mph in low than in high.

25 would be fine in low gear. Just dont keep it in first.....
Ive driven on the street in low, just watch you tach.

Wont do any harm as long as your not going too fast. Really depends on the truck, gears, and tranny. You wont gain much more (if any) pulling power in 4high either.

its a diesel. Its made for work. just run it in 2 wheel drive high range. Run it in low range off-road if it seems like you are lugging it too much. drivin down a paved or gravel road pullin a load should not require low range..

Seems like a F350, 7.3L and 4:10 gears shouldn't have any problems to start with. What are you wanting to pull?

There's no reason you couldn't do it, I have resorted to taking off in low with my 6.9 before, something about 20,000 lbs of towed load behind the truck made it really not want to take off in high... 20mph or so should put you into drive in low range, and is definitley not going to hurt anything.
I won't suggest it to anyone, but, I haven been known to take off in low and shift to high on the fly... It's actually easier to to with the 205 in my Dodge(drove it 2 months with no 3rd or 4th gear, take off in 5th low, shift to high on the fly at about 30...) than it is with the BW case in my Ford... LOL

25,000lb forage boxes... One of the roads we haul down has a pretty moderate sized(for Wisconsin) hill that requires the 6.0L chebbys on the farm to rev to about 3k in first or second gear. I don't see why the old International couldn't do it also, they're about the same torque #'s:-duel1. I just wan't to make absolutely sure that I'm doing everything in my power to minimize excessive strain on the transmission while still being able to work with it. Its not a pretty truck, theres plenty of rust, but the transmission is a FoMoCo reman with about seven years/30k miles on it which when bought was on the near side of $2500. I got it for free 'cause the torque converter seal was leaking and dad didn't want to tear it apart again, he obviously felt he got his moneys worth out of it.

CAn't hurt anything to try. Stop and shift into hi if it's revving too much.

i dont see a 7.3 having that much trouble with 25000 # that it need low range? it will put stress on the tranny but you wont be doing this every day for the rest of your life so i seriously doubt it will hurt anything either way...i know that ole IDI will pull it, those things are beast, i want one!

and on the plus side if your tranny goes slap a manual in there than you will really have no problem pulling it with a zf and granny low gear!

I had the opportunity to pick up a ZF for $300 but I was seriously short on cash and I figured I could goose some more miles out of the E4OD. I think a bad tach sensor caused it to go into failure protection mode causing the seal to blow. If so, that sensors been bad since the day dad got it seven years ago which would explain why it shifts so damn hard and the tach reads zero when coasting and idling. Everywhere else I read the E4OD shifts to softly causing clutch slippage... this truck sure ain't ever had that problem! If the auto ever did go out I would almost want to find a T19, there supposedly pretty indestructable, and that 6.somethin':1 granny gear with 4.10's would really move stuff!

yeah that would be nice also...get a np435 and a torque splitter from advance adapters then you make that 4 speed a potential 8 speed with granny gear AND OD. LOL

I don't know about you guys, but 25mph is just about as fast as I ever want to take my truck in low range. It revs REALLY high.

But I guess as TheTinian said.. Really depends on the truck, gears, and tranny.

Speaking of tranny, your not trying to pull that load with overdrive on are ya? Make sure thats off. Hit it with speed. I suggest 90-230 mph. ;)

When we go wheelin the tow rig, trailer and wheelin rigs hit about 32,000 pounds. We pull it down the hwy at 70-75 with the cruise control on. (Its an auto) personally I would leave it in highrange. If it has to shift down into first gear who cares. Its not like your starting out from a dead stop on that hill.

Max speed pullin one of these things is 25mph anyway, they don't have their own brakes!