pickfam4
Missouri
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I have just purchased a F350 single axle turbo diesel to tow my travel trailer. according to the owners book, I am to use the tow feature for the transmission only when I am going up and down hills. I towed with a Suburban prior to this truck and I left the tow feature on all the time. If I do that with this F350, the transmission temp gauge runs very hot, but as soon as I turn off the town feature, the transmission cools down. I am towing a 6100 lbs camper. Should I be in tow mode all the time or only when going up and down hills.
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ACZL
UPstate,NY
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At 6100 pounds, your truck should pull it w/o a hitch. But you didn't state what year your 350 is. To the best of my knowledge, towing with the tow/haul engaged, you should actually see LOWER temps. If your truck has the 6.0 PSD, and with your trailer, you should be able to tow w/o tow/haul engaged.
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fncampn
Gardnerville, NV
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If you have the 6.0 or later, engaging the tow/haul mode will result in higher RPM shifts as well as firmer shifts. Although you can let the engine torque through a heavy load using a higher gear, this will result in the torque converter unlocking, causing heat build up. This is probably what you are experiencing. But the cooling system should easily be able to handle the load you are hauling.
What is the temperature reading and where is the trans temp gauge sending unit installed? Oil pan or trans test port?
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SkiDood
Peoples Republic of Minnesota
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pickfam4 wrote:I have just purchased a F350 single axle turbo diesel to tow my travel trailer. according to the owners book, I am to use the tow feature for the transmission only when I am going up and down hills. I towed with a Suburban prior to this truck and I left the tow feature on all the time. If I do that with this F350, the transmission temp gauge runs very hot, but as soon as I turn off the town feature, the transmission cools down. I am towing a 6100 lbs camper. Should I be in tow mode all the time or only when going up and down hills.
What year is your truck? I had a Torqshift equiped f-350(04) and used t/h every time I had my trailer on. Worked great, never had one complaint about my Torqshift tranny.
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SoCalDesertRider
SanDiego, CA, USA
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Truck must be an '03 or later 6.0L or 6.4L and 5spd TorqShift. No tow/haul in the E40D ('97-down) or 4R100 ('99-'03) 4spds that came with the 7.3L, that I am aware of anyways.
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Adam-12
Northern CA
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Didn't some time around '04 or '05 Ford experience tranny problems with their PSD???? I thouht they had a fluid/main-seal leak problem on a large number of trucks.
I wonder if your is in that category? I'm with the others here. I think in tow/haul mode, your rpm's do rev up higher, but the torque converter is "locked up" longer, thus preventing frequent shifting. The frequent shifting, or "gear searching" is the #1 cause of tranny heat build-up.
With tow/haul, it helps to eleviate frequent shifts (locking the torque converter) and keeps the rpm's slightly higher when towing. This in turn prevents elevated temperatures from overheated the tranny.
Also, if you bought your truck used, has it had a transmission service? Perhaps the previous owner really worked the tranny by towing and the fluids and filter needs replacing. Once tranny fluid reaches an over abundant amount of heat, the fluid looses much of it's detergent and protective qualities.
Just throw'n out some food-for-thought.
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pickfam4
Missouri
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Thanks for all of your comments. I did buy this unit used, it is a 2002 with 158,000 miles and my first diesel I have ever owned, so I have a lot to learn about these units. It was used to tow horses, but this truck was maintained very well. I had it checked out by a diesel shop prior to buying it and was told it was in very good condition. I have been advised to do a transmission service and filter change and use synthetic fluid. I run synthetic oil in my Suburban but have never used synthetic tranny fluid.
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MPD56
Canada
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Pickfam4: If you want a lot of info, I suggest you try the link below
http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/
MPD56
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GGoodsell
Fairfield, CA
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If your truck is a 2002 it is a 7.3L diesel with the 4R100 transmission. That transmission did not have some of the features of the Torqueshift that arrived in late 2003. Your transmission is a four speed with an overdrive fourth gear that is locked out with the use of the button on the shift lever. It will tow fine but will run at higher revs with O/D locked out. That transmission will run synthetic transmisson fluid but really needs an additional external cooler for the transmission fluid. Adding a quality external cooler and a good transmission temperature gauge will be very helpful. Good luck.
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h2guy
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If your only pulling 6000#, then put it in drive and leave it alone.
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