95 FORD E4OD TOWING QUESTION

[JAYCEE]

My Forida non-resident concealed weapon permit just came in! I will now take a trip from East Texas to Northern Virginia to pick up some household items I have in storage there. I have a few questions about the E4od automatic transmission.

It's a 95 F-150 I-6 w/ E4od. All equipment has 181K miles on it. No problems that I know of with anything. Engine will have fresh 15w40 conventional with an auto-rx treatment (second clean phase) just before I leave.

Transmission/Torque converter drained at 179K mi. New trans filter installed at that time. The old fluid contained Auto-rx (1677mi treatment)

Cooling system was flushed at 179K. New coolant was installed.

The trailer has a dry weight of 900lbs. (Uhaul 5x8). It has a max weight of 1800lbs.

I will carry an empty trailer out (1200mi) and bring it back with weight on it (another 1200mi). I will put some lighter items in the truck bed.

I tried this same trip earlier this year with a much larger trailer (6x12, 1800lbs dry) but I broke down halfway there. I took the overdrive off near some hills in Little Rock and one of my fuel pumps went out. I assume that the higher rpms caused this. I dropped the trailer and came back home. A new fuel pump replaced the bad one and I'm ready to try again, with a little less trailer this time!


Can I pull this rig both ways in OD without harm? (Not through the mountains of course.)

How can I know that I have too much load for OD? (Searching, jerky shifts, etc)

I plan to run the heater with the windows down for the added cooling of the radiator. (I do not have an aux cooler.)

Thanks!

 

[unDummy]

You should be able to drive in OD on all level surfaces and downhills.
If you have too much load on the OD, it will downshift by itself. If it does that, keep it in 3rd until the road levels off.

Sometimes fuel pumps quit beacuse they are working too hard against the fuel filter. Change it if you haven't already.

 

[teamDFL]

Check you owner's manual. I know that my friend's Suburban explicitly cautioned against towing in OD. Maybe your Ford is the same.

 

[tmorris1]

That weight is nothing for that truck. I made a trip to Kentucky with my 90 F150 (E4OD and I6). My truck had 175,000 miles on it. I pulled a trailer with about 2000 lbs along with another 500-600 lbs in the truck bed in OD the whole way. I never had a problem with it shifting a lot or anything. If it is shifting a lot and hunting for gears then shift out of OD like the previous people said. That is pretty much what the Ford owners manual says. Those I6s are like tractors anyway.

 

[Big Jim]

Don't use overdrive at all when towing. The weight is only part of the paroblem. The bigger problem is the shudder or chatter that is amplified when towing. That will tear up the trans. It is not wise to tow in overdrive even on level ground.