Advise needed when approaching a steep hill climb

[DaveMatthewsBand]

4 wheel drive is okay in dirt. Where you don't want to use 4 wheel drive is on dry pavement. Dry pavement will tear up your transfer case.

Hahaha... no it won’t.

Where did you hear that?

The only thing you shouldn’t do on dry pavement is use a locking differential.


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[powerscol]

Hahaha... no it won’t.

Where did you hear that?

The only thing you shouldn’t do on dry pavement is use a locking differential.


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Well there is one exception to that rule. When your 16 and have a Nova SS 350 4 barrel pozi 4 speed as a drivers ed car you just got to see what is has - doughnuts in the school parking lot We had a very cool instructor - taught us a lot on accident avoidance and spin out control, With that car we definitely needed to know once winter came. It went sideways more than it went straight. Memories

[Ynot4me2]

Didn't think that using cruise and tow/haul would have been beneficial. Thanks for that great tip.
My last truck was a 6 passenger so it had 6 speed but with a column shifter. You couldn't manual shift. This truck has the console shifter with 10 speed and I read that you can lock most of the top gears also.
Yep no cruise on wet or gravel roads.
Thanks again you all.

[Likes to tow]

Keep in mind when going uphill the torque converter in your transmission may not have locked up and you are just running on a "fluid connection" which means the transmission can and will generate a lot of heat. Look in the owners manual to see what is said. In my Ram 2500 if I have tow haul on and put the shift selector in D2 and maintain 30 mph the torque converter remains locked. In this mode I can go uphill all day long and my transmission temperature gauge remains cool. If I dip down to below 28 or so it unlocks, the RPM goes up slightly and the heat starts to build. You need to watch transmission temperature when towing uphill even more than watching engine temperature!!! If transmission temp stays above 250 very long it is cooked and needs to be replaced. Also it can expand and shoot out through seals or in some cases ruin a seal. Another very critical thing to know is NEVER NEVER pull over and stop rapidly when cresting the hill or at a pull over and shut the thing down to let it cool !!!!! You have generated lots of heat, the engine needs to keep running thus circulating the fluid through the cooler until it cools down..........then you can shut the engine down!! I found out on my F250 years ago that fluid circulation does not happen in Park on the shift selector. So pulling over, shifting into park and thinking you are cooling it down does nothing.......no fluid circulation occurs unless it's in D.

I travel real mountains a lot. Living in West Virginia and taking occasional trips into the Rocky Mountains taught me a lot about how transmissions work and how to help them live a long life. Research what I have just mentioned for your own truck. Read the owners manual and get on some Internet Forums to find answers. Fordowners.com is one I believe. Some of the readers may be able to answer specific questions about the tow haul feature as it relates to torque converter lock up. Believe me I have had some harrowing experiences on mountains with transmission fluid laying all over the ground at a pull off at the top of a mountain. Your engine is small but Eco Boost is powerful. This will probably not be your greatest concern but the transmisson temperature is a major concern no matter what engine you have. Going slow thinking you are not stressing the transmission is wrong. Any time the torque converter is not locked heat will build. This even applies in Reverse gear. Trying to back up for a long distance will generate heat because there is no torque converter lock up in Reverse...ever.

There should be a transmisson temperature reading on your gauges in the dash, my son has to change menus for it to come up on his truck. Even driving in a construction zone uphill very slow can be an issue. A friend of mine had an F350 pulling a 36' fifth wheel in Colorado. Road construction/road paving caused him to go up a slight grade (can be 20 miles in the Rockies) for many miles and his transmission overheated to the point of blowing seals and fluid went all over the ground. His engine remained cool and he never thought about monitoring the transmission temp.

There is considerable danger in trying to ramp up your speed before hitting a steep grade. Depending on the road this sometimes will get you to the top easier but not always. What if there is a curve?? Just let tow haul make the decisions and try to keep a steady speed as fast as you can. Those Eco Boost engines can rev up and not destroy themselves. Remember RPM equates to horsepower. Let her rev a bit for it will not hurt anything.

[Ynot4me2]

Keep in mind when going uphill the torque converter in your transmission may not have locked up and you are just running on a "fluid connection" which means the transmission can and will generate a lot of heat. Look in the owners manual to see what is said. In my Ram 2500 if I have tow haul on and put the shift selector in D2 and maintain 30 mph the torque converter remains locked. In this mode I can go uphill all day long and my transmission temperature gauge remains cool. If I dip down to below 28 or so it unlocks, the RPM goes up slightly and the heat starts to build. You need to watch transmission temperature when towing uphill even more than watching engine temperature!!! If transmission temp stays above 250 very long it is cooked and needs to be replaced. Also it can expand and shoot out through seals or in some cases ruin a seal. Another very critical thing to know is NEVER NEVER pull over and stop rapidly when cresting the hill or at a pull over and shut the thing down to let it cool !!!!! You have generated lots of heat, the engine needs to keep running thus circulating the fluid through the cooler until it cools down..........then you can shut the engine down!! I found out on my F250 years ago that fluid circulation does not happen in Park on the shift selector. So pulling over, shifting into park and thinking you are cooling it down does nothing.......no fluid circulation occurs unless it's in D.

I travel real mountains a lot. Living in West Virginia and taking occasional trips into the Rocky Mountains taught me a lot about how transmissions work and how to help them live a long life. Research what I have just mentioned for your own truck. Read the owners manual and get on some Internet Forums to find answers. Fordowners.com is one I believe. Some of the readers may be able to answer specific questions about the tow haul feature as it relates to torque converter lock up. Believe me I have had some harrowing experiences on mountains with transmission fluid laying all over the ground at a pull off at the top of a mountain. Your engine is small but Eco Boost is powerful. This will probably not be your greatest concern but the transmisson temperature is a major concern no matter what engine you have. Going slow thinking you are not stressing the transmission is wrong. Any time the torque converter is not locked heat will build. This even applies in Reverse gear. Trying to back up for a long distance will generate heat because there is no torque converter lock up in Reverse...ever.

There should be a transmisson temperature reading on your gauges in the dash, my son has to change menus for it to come up on his truck. Even driving in a construction zone uphill very slow can be an issue. A friend of mine had an F350 pulling a 36' fifth wheel in Colorado. Road construction/road paving caused him to go up a slight grade (can be 20 miles in the Rockies) for many miles and his transmission overheated to the point of blowing seals and fluid went all over the ground. His engine remained cool and he never thought about monitoring the transmission temp.

There is considerable danger in trying to ramp up your speed before hitting a steep grade. Depending on the road this sometimes will get you to the top easier but not always. What if there is a curve?? Just let tow haul make the decisions and try to keep a steady speed as fast as you can. Those Eco Boost engines can rev up and not destroy themselves. Remember RPM equates to horsepower. Let her rev a bit for it will not hurt anything.

More great advise. Thanks again.

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[Buckskin]

You need to be very familiar with your trailer brake system. Going up is the easy part but going down you want those trailer brakes holding trailer back and not your truck. In mountains I always boost my trailer brakes up to brake more then back them off on flat roads. I installed good ceramic brake pads on my truck and they help some in mountains but rotors still heat up.

[Ynot4me2]

You need to be very familiar with your trailer brake system. Going up is the easy part but going down you want those trailer brakes holding trailer back and not your truck. In mountains I always boost my trailer brakes up to brake more then back them off on flat roads. I installed good ceramic brake pads on my truck and they help some in mountains but rotors still heat up.

Thanks, that's next on my list to learn. How to adjust the trailer brakes. Oh my,

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[Ynot4me2]

I have that feature and I think it is unique to Ford at the moment. Got to play around with that.

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[DaveMatthewsBand]

You need to be very familiar with your trailer brake system. Going up is the easy part but going down you want those trailer brakes holding trailer back and not your truck. In mountains I always boost my trailer brakes up to brake more then back them off on flat roads. I installed good ceramic brake pads on my truck and they help some in mountains but rotors still heat up.

This is what the exhaust brake is for.
I barely touch the truck/trailer brakes at all.


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[sande005]

Keep in mind when going uphill the torque converter in your transmission may not have locked up and you are just running on a "fluid connection" which means the transmission can and will generate a lot of heat. Look in the owners manual to see what is said. In my Ram 2500 if I have tow haul on and put the shift selector in D2 and maintain 30 mph the torque converter remains locked. In this mode I can go uphill all day long and my transmission temperature gauge remains cool. If I dip down to below 28 or so it unlocks, the RPM goes up slightly and the heat starts to build. You need to watch transmission temperature when towing uphill even more than watching engine temperature!!! If transmission temp stays above 250 very long it is cooked and needs to be replaced. Also it can expand and shoot out through seals or in some cases ruin a seal. Another very critical thing to know is NEVER NEVER pull over and stop rapidly when cresting the hill or at a pull over and shut the thing down to let it cool !!!!! You have generated lots of heat, the engine needs to keep running thus circulating the fluid through the cooler until it cools down..........then you can shut the engine down!! I found out on my F250 years ago that fluid circulation does not happen in Park on the shift selector. So pulling over, shifting into park and thinking you are cooling it down does nothing.......no fluid circulation occurs unless it's in D.

I travel real mountains a lot. Living in West Virginia and taking occasional trips into the Rocky Mountains taught me a lot about how transmissions work and how to help them live a long life. Research what I have just mentioned for your own truck. Read the owners manual and get on some Internet Forums to find answers. Fordowners.com is one I believe. Some of the readers may be able to answer specific questions about the tow haul feature as it relates to torque converter lock up. Believe me I have had some harrowing experiences on mountains with transmission fluid laying all over the ground at a pull off at the top of a mountain. Your engine is small but Eco Boost is powerful. This will probably not be your greatest concern but the transmisson temperature is a major concern no matter what engine you have. Going slow thinking you are not stressing the transmission is wrong. Any time the torque converter is not locked heat will build. This even applies in Reverse gear. Trying to back up for a long distance will generate heat because there is no torque converter lock up in Reverse...ever.

There should be a transmisson temperature reading on your gauges in the dash, my son has to change menus for it to come up on his truck. Even driving in a construction zone uphill very slow can be an issue. A friend of mine had an F350 pulling a 36' fifth wheel in Colorado. Road construction/road paving caused him to go up a slight grade (can be 20 miles in the Rockies) for many miles and his transmission overheated to the point of blowing seals and fluid went all over the ground. His engine remained cool and he never thought about monitoring the transmission temp.

There is considerable danger in trying to ramp up your speed before hitting a steep grade. Depending on the road this sometimes will get you to the top easier but not always. What if there is a curve?? Just let tow haul make the decisions and try to keep a steady speed as fast as you can. Those Eco Boost engines can rev up and not destroy themselves. Remember RPM equates to horsepower. Let her rev a bit for it will not hurt anything.

Thank you for the tip on tranny temp! My F-150 has that readout, and no other gauge or "idiot" lights. No one at two different dealers could tell me what temps were bad. Of course there is a time factor, also...but now I have some kind of number to judge against.

X2 on what others said about the EB being able to sustain high revs on downhills. I did a lot of true mountain driving out west - 6-9% grades, 15 mph max, with hairpin turns for many, many miles. With a big trailer pushing, keeping the tranny in 2nd (and in a few occasions even just first!) did make the engine scream, but no harm. I also upped the brake controller, so the trailer brakes tended to come on first when going downhill. If there were to be any brake fade, I'd want it to be the trailer before the truck. But, with attention to all the techniques, never had an issue, nor even what anyone would call premature wear.