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For your info: the '99s had relatively poor transmission cooling design. I think there was only a relatively small oil to air cooling loop. Newer models had more tranny cooling added. Bigger oil to air, and also an oil to water loop inside the radiator.
As far as running with OD on: yeah, it can contribute to heat build up. However, it usually happens when when the transmission is constantly hunting and going in and out of OD. I have an '01 and consciously take it out of OD on hilly terrain.
If you're planning on keeping your truck for a long time and want to continue towing the 5ver, I'd look into getting a supplemental transmission cooler. Do a web search on a product called a "Cyclone Fan." Great product, you'll never have to worry about overheating your tranny, even backing a trailer up a hill.
Also have a transmission temperature gauge installed. That's very cheap insurance. My temps rarely get above 200 F. When you see temps start to rise, you'll know to either change your drving style or pull over to let things cool down. If transmission fluid gets above 250F, it's been burned. The friction modifiers in it have been degraded, and you only have a short amount of time (1000 miles) that you can run with it before it results in transmission damage. If it goes over 300F you've got to change it ASAP.
Hopefully, your new replacement FORD tranny has the latest upgrades incorporated in it, but the gauge and cooler are the way to go for troublefree towing
Well it's resurfaced in the new International-designed Ford LCF Class 4-5 trucks coming out this fall.
http://www.olatheford.com/Fleet/lowcabforwardlcf.htm
BTW, International will also have a badged version of this truck.
http://www.internationaldelivers.com/site_layout/news/newsdetail.- - asp?id=563&group=heavy&name=Heavy%20Trucks
Still, I wonder if we'll ever see this V6 Power Stroke in a F-150 or Super Duty Ford?
Bob
Instead of paying the dealer an arm and a leg to add 100% synthetic, I decided that for the price of doing it myself, it equals about the same as putting in the cheap stuff at the dealer and also I know it is synthetic and not just being told it is and paying the price and getting the cheap stuff instead.
I am curious if anyone else is doing the same... I also heard that once you go synthetic, you can't change back.
I always thought that this was a joke, like you wouldn't want to go back as soon as you tried synthetic.
I've used synthetic oils in all of my gas vehicles including my Harley and don't think you can beat them for extreme temperature operating conditions.
Who out there has some experience with synthetics in diesel engines? What mileage did you start at and what brand. I read that Amsoil (sp?) claims a 25K mileage change. This sounds pretty outrageous to me since I normally go about 6K.
Oh and one last thing. I have been very pleased with the perfomance of my 2004 4X4 PSD w/auto both on and off road. avg MPG w/ 7K miles right now is 17 MPG. Hope to see it get even better and I'm a lead foot!
On other Ford sites, I've seen complaints about the 6.0 engine, but relatively few about transmission failures. There's relatively little comparison to the auto in your 24 year old truck and the new one
Kind of a jitter, if that makes sense. Not all the time, just seems to do it when I am accelerating.
After all this talk about the tranny giving out, it kind of concerns me now.
Also, does anyone else have a pop in the front end? The dealer told me this was normal for a leaf spring suspension, I guess he was referring to the front end?
Thanks...
http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/recalltsb.do?step=recall&y- ear=2003&make=Ford&model=F-250+Super+Duty&style=4dr+C- rew+Cab+XL+4WD+SB+%285.4L+8cyl+6M%29&zip=92508&synpartner- =edmunds&tid=edmunds.g..mnt.step2.8.Ford*#1
He told me it was nothing to worry about... Thank God for this site, could have been pretty tragic if it would have cuaght fire and I wasn't able to get my two kids out of their car seats...
As far as the popping in the front end - it's a common annoyance. The ends of the spring leafs momentarily catch on one another as the spring pack flexes, hence the the popping noises. As far as I know it doesn't cause any damage .
Get under the truck and liberally soak the leaf springs around the tips of the springs with WD-40 or Silicone Lube spray. The popping will go away for a week or until the first rainy day, which ever comes first. Dealer can install "spring tip isolators" - pieces of plastic (teflon? I forget) Stops the spring ends from rubbing on each other. At least until the isolators wear through after 30-40K miles. I had mine done under warranty when truck was about 2 weeks old - my springs were making some noise, but the real culprit was that the mounting bolts for my crew cab weren't torqued correctly - that made real scary noises.
That would be a 5.4L...
Thanks for the info on the leaf springs... Everytime it pops my heart skips a couple of beats.
I'll check that out.
Glad to help on springs. As far as tranny, not sure. Asked about engine, just to know which transmission you had. DIesels had different auto for your year (Torqueshift). The V8 and V10 gassers had a different one (4R100?) .
Just a long shot, you've said you had 4x4. Is it auto or manual? Could you possibly have the hubs unlocked, but have the transfer case engaged? You might be feeling the extra spinning mass of front drivetrain in that case, it may be soaking up a little of your engine power on acceleration.
If you're that worried about transmission, have a transmission temperature gauge installed. That's the best bang for your buck as far as being able to protect your transmission. Heat is the biggest enemy - if you keep it cool (<225 degrees) then you should avoid most common transmission failures for a long time. If you do tend to run hot (your 5.4L probably hunts for the right gears more than my 6.8L), you can also add a supplemental transmission cooler if need be. Although, after '00, they increased the cooling from the factory, so unless you're towing I kinda doubt you'd need it.
I probably should install the gauge, because I do tow a trailer, only about 4K total...
The slip is probably in my mind... If it isn't I will probably find out in the near future... LOL!!
Thanks cpe
This is interesting. I'll have to think on this one. It sounds electrical to me.
THANKS GARY
Off road and regular diesel are the same thing. With one important exception! Off Road fuel is missing a key ingredient to make your life run efficiently. The off road fuel doesn't have any Highway Taxes in it. This is a very important part of the fuel and while it doesn't help your truck run any better or worse - it could be very important to your legal health.
Off road fuel has a red dye in it. It's perfectly fine to run in your farm tractor, log skidder etc. because they don't run on the highways. If a Motor Vehicle inspector checks out your on-road registered truck (for whatever reason) and finds the red dye in your fuel system you will receive a summons for evasion of taxes. I have no experience in this, but from hearsay, the fines are supposed to be quite hefty, and more than make up difference in the tax you were supposed to have paid. I've also heard that in some states if you're caught you could also forfeit your permission to buy any more of the off road fuel as well, but again that is from annecdotal evidence.
Supposedly the red dye is very persistent. If you run a tank full, it will take several tanks of regular diesel to wash it all away.
This problem is not impossible to find. It may just take lots of experimentation to isolate the problem to only one or two sets of circumstances.
Thanks
bdm1
My engine has been almost perfect (except for a small amount of exhaust flutter). Some of the '01s had "exhaust flutter." Basically a funny noise that was caused by a resonance in the y-pipe exhaust header at ~2000-2500 rpm. Not an issue, just an annoyance. FOrd changed header pipe in '01 and lessened flutter - it was much worse in '99, & '00.
Only other potentially serious thing that I know of - some V10 Heads have been known to spit out a spark plug, because the plug was torqued too tightly and stripped out the threads in the cylinder head. Not a real common problem, but an expensive one to repair, and it can easily be avoided. There's only about 5-6 threads worth of holding power in the cylinder head (don't know why they didn't make it thicker). You need to make sure plugs are torqued to the proper spec, and don't over torque. Also, even though, they're supposedly 100K plugs it doesn't mean that you don't have to touch them for 100K miles - you'll be much happier (sorta) if you pull em, use a bit of anti-sieze on the threads and then put 'em back. Happy is a relative term, as plugs toward the back of the engine can be knuckle busters to take out even if they aren't stuck in the head.
V10 in '01 had power increase over previous years. Plenty of power for towing, though towing gas mileage (while better than the old 460 engines) is still pretty abysmal. If you tow an awful lot - think about a diesel. All things considered, a V10 was a wonderful choice for my needs.
Do a search on it in the archived Ford forums.
The problem I am having is the sensor that is in the area where the original air filter sits.
If there isn't air flow passing this sensor, the engine stalls out...
I have a 99 F-250 super duty 4x4 with a V-10 and an automatic transmition. When I drove the truck this morning, it shifted hard from first to second and from second to third, only those gears, drive or overdrive seem to be fine.When I checked the trany fluid it was just below the low mark on the stick so I added fluid but it still shifts hard. At the same time the service engine light came on , and the abs brake light came on. And now I notice the speedometer and odometer are not working at all. I have not noticed any problems at all before with this truck. It has 71000 miles on it. Could all these problems be related?
Ford changed out the whole speedometer section.
I know I have an electrical short in my truck, but I am to busy to give it up.
If it burns to the ground, I guess they will have to give me another truck?
The service light just popped on today as well... Good luck...
40 degrees is not cold! So do you know about differences in winter and summer diesel fuel? How about anti-gel fuel additives.
Once it does get cold, then wait the full time for the glow plugs to warm up. Once it fires up, waiting 'til the idle slows down is fine. It's not going to hurt the engine to start driving, just be nice and don't push it too hard for another 5 minutes.
Also, in my opinion, if you're using the block heater when the temp is in the 40's all you're doing is making your electric meter spin around a lot for benefit of the electric company and almost no benefit to your truck. (Unless you want the cab to warm up a couple minutes quicker) I wouldn't even bother plugging in the truck until the mercury is well below freezing.
Block heater probably won't make a difference in starting until you're down in the single digits or worse. Had a stretch of -10 to -15 last January. Buddy of mine (w/ 7.3) was able to start every time without using block heater. He had to cycle the glow plugs an extra time or two, and took an extra 10-15 seconds more cranking, but the truck always started. (His reason for not using the block heater: He forgot to take the extension cord off of truck and ripped the plug off the side of the house as he drove off, and as an added bonus he re-arranged his passenger side mirror into a work of modern art too!)
Helpful Hint: If you the need to use the block heater, get a heavy duty appliance timer that can handle 1500 Watts or better and set it to turn on 3-4 hours before you leave in the morning. The motor will be warmed up by then, and your electric bill will be noticebly smaller too.