iFord

I have only had one Ford truck, an inline six '71 stick shift work truck bought used... a great truck. About 3 years ago, I bought a used '96 5.7 1500 Chevy with 95,000 miles. Been a problem truck. Latest was transmission burn out. Still not fixed. I found some great looking Fords, but would like some advice first, mainly about trailer towing. I tow a 6,500 lb travel trailer, mainly in southeast (HOT) states and some mountainous terrain. How are Ford transmissions for towing? I really prefer a manual transmission, but they don't seem to be available, except maybe in rough work trucks like the old '71 I had.

Here's some I found:

1. 2003 Lariat, 43,000 miles, $12,900

2. 2005 Lariat, 4 door, 28,000 miles, $19,000

3. 2007 XLT, 4 door, 3,500 miles, $20,995

Man, these are great looking trucks!

I really like the 4 doors. But, do I need to know of any specific model year issues, etc. to watch out for? TSBs, etc. or problematic areas for '03 - '07 years? Thanks, and a great forum here!

Hokie_PhD

Welcome back.

Ford seems to have been recommending automatics for at least the last 10 years (maybe longer) for towing. If you dig up any of the towing guides the towing figures on any of the manual trucks is much lower.

6500lbs is a tough weight to tow. The thing is to make sure the truck is properly configured. A properly configured F-150 CAN tow that weight, BUT it really depends on how everything is setup. In other words, don't forget to check the tongue weight, hitch weight, etc. And don't forget to keep in mind that gross weight and empty weight are VERY DIFFERENT. And make sure the truck has heavy duty payload and trailer tow packages. Also check the gear ratio, and tire size.

I'm looking at a similar deal as I want to get a small toy hauler trailer to haul my Harley and take some vacations. The F-150 I'm looking at has 9500lbs towing, but I live in the mountains of SW Va and feel that keeping things under 7000 gross should be ok. But lighter is always better.

As far as reliability, I've seen Ford trucks beat to hell and back and keep running and running. But I'm a big advocate of preventive service. Take care of it and it'll run forever!

gnardo73

I haven't had problems with any of my Ford trucks. My current truck is an 04 f-150 lariat with a 5.4L 3v. I do a lot of car hauling and use a heavy trailer. I have hauled my dads big Skidloader a few times and the truck gets the job done for me. I change the tranny fluid every 30k miles. I know there are a lot of cars and trucks out there that never had the fluid changed in them. Most people these days trade after a few years so they never worry about it. Ford has always had a good transmission. I don't think you need to worry much about their dependability. Not knowing how new of a truck you are looking at, Ford has some crazy deals going on right now to get rid of the 08 models. With the idea of the 09s having a new body style, the used trucks are taking a hit in depriciation but I would suggest an 04-08 body style. They are good running and they have a tough chassis under them.
My Dad had a 69 with an i6 and manual tranny. It was the reason that I am a Ford Guy. That truck went through Hell and never failed him.

princejo

You should be able to tow a 6500 lb trailer pretty easily. This is about the weight of my uncle's travel trailer and he pulls it over the pass pretty much at speed.

As for known issues with the F-150, the one big drawback is the spark plug problems in the 5.4L V8. It uses a three piece spark plug that has a tendency to break in the head. Bit of a problem for the shadetree crowd that like to do this maintenance on their own, but there are some good procedures for doing it with minimum incident. Look around the site and search the threads for more information, but this is far and away the biggest problem.

Finally, as for which specific truck to go after, the Lariat is AWFULLY nice. Now that I've got a leather interior and seat heat and power everything, I don't know if I could go back...Plus, with used trucks sitting on lots for long periods of time, you can likely talk the money down quite a bit...

Best of luck!

Mod (Ret.)

Do any of those trucks on your list have the towing package? Part of this is the all important automatic transmission cooler. Crawl under the front of the truck and look for a small radiator looking cooler; located below the engines radiator. It will have hoses that run to the automatic transmission. Ford used to install (and maybe still do in some packages) an engine oil cooler as well; its lines will connect to the engine block. Heat is the number one factor in "cooking" an automatic transmission. My neighbors think I'm nuts when they see me out on a Saturday morning sniffing the automatic transmission dip stick. It doesn't get me high; I'm just checking for a burnt smell, indicating I've overworked the transmission and it's immediatly time to get it flushed. You can help prevent heat damage to an automatic transmission by doing two things: make sure there is a good transmission cooler installed (the towing package option should provide this), and have the automatic transmission fluid flushed more often than the "normal" schedule mentioned in the owners manual. Since you are towing a significant amount of weight often, I'd flush the transmission fluid every 15,000 to 20,000 miles. By flushing, I don't mean a simple transmission pan drop. That only removes about 4 quarts with a filter. Good transmission shops have a flushing machine. They connect the automatic transmissions "send" and "return" lines from the transmission cooler to this machine, and run it through the machines filtering device. After several minutes, all the automatic transmission fluid had been removed and replaced with fresh, clean fluid. The cost is around $150.00 or so, but well worth it compared to a replacement transmission that could set you back 2 grand, plus the down time of your business while the truck is in the shop.

Another thing to do is to have the truck you are thinking to buy inspected by a mechanic before you buy. Never trust the word of the seller as to previous maintenance unless they have proof (receipts of work done such as oil changes, fluid repacement, etc). That's another good "money spent" piece of advice.
Also, have your engine cooling system inspected and flushed anually (radiator coolant). And replace the thermostat at the same time for insurance.

KAH

"..After several minutes, all the automatic transmission fluid had been removed and replaced with fresh, clean fluid. The cost is around $150.00 or so, but well worth it..." Quoted from the very well written Bucko's post above.

QUESTION: I have been hearing about automatic transmission flushing and have been told that there are differences of opinion as to
what this consists of. The variations follow:

1. Disconnect both inlet and outlet lines from transmission and flush
thru a filter. You get back probably most of your old fluid but now it is
cleaner as it has been filtered.

2. Disconnect outlet line and flush fluid thru a filter and feed it back
thru the automatic transmission filler line.

3. Disconnect inlet line and similar flush and return as in # 2. This supposedly runs the fluid backward thru the filter ( screen, not really a filter ) and gets that crud out.

But whatever way you flush, nobody seems concerned about the dense crud that sometimes lays in the bottom of the transmission pan.

Comments, please.

Ken H.

Mod (Ret.)

My fault for not making it clear that the transmission shop will drop the pan, replace the filter and pan gasket before they replace the fluid back into the transmission. Part of the flushing sequence. Awhile back, "TWO GUYS GARAGE" on the speed channel had a show where they took a vehicle in for this. They did a great job on explaining how the unit worked. Too bad 90% of the folks that drive automatics don't know about such a thing.

The fluid is new as well, at least on the shops I've used. They capture the old fluid in one container of the flushing station while new fluid is replenished from another container within the unit.

The reason for requiring a "flush" nowadays is because most new vehicles do not install a drain plug in the torque converters of an automatic transmission. It used to be you could remove the lower torque converter cover, spin the flex plate/torque converter (with a screw driver and transmission in neutral) to position the torque converters drain plug down. Then it's fluid could be drained, which accounted for about 75% of the automatic transmission fluid. The other 25% would be in the pan. For some unknown reason to me, they stopped installing these drain plugs. My wifes BMW uses a so called "lifetime" transmission fluid, which I know (and the BMW service techs as well) is a crock. No such thing as "lifetime", unless you consider its "lifetime" was met when the transmission gave up the ghost! Even the techs at BMW recommend flushing their trannys no more than 70,000 miles using the synthetic "lifetime" fluid. The cost of a BMW automatic? About 5K, plus labor. A lot cheaper to pay for a flush. Here's the funny part; no BMW shop has a flushing unit. The service adviser will tell you its "liftime fluid". Talk to a shop tech. They will show you the way to the nearest transmission shop that's equipped with one.

Or buy a standard transmission.

Maulerman

One more important point that has not been mentioned yet although it you all know it already. WHEN TOWING TURN OFF THE OVERDRIVE! Overdrive will reduce the gear ratio to a point where the converter will start to slip. Converter slippage generates most of the heat in the trans. Just ask a drag racer how hot his trans gets because of his high stall speed converter.

iFord

Whew, thanks all! Great advice here, and appreciated. Ford guys are friendly for sure, and helpful... An update on the Chevy: the shop in Orlando that fixed it put in a torque converter that is not good quality, at least according to the local transmission shop where the truck is now. He is putting in a Precision brand I think it was. Orlando shop is paying.

While towing my trailer to FL, it went out. Had to have it repaired there. The shop man here in my hometown (Augusta, GA) said my truck (C1500 5.7 Chevy) is not strong enough to pull my trailer! Anyway, I have not been happy with this truck, and want to get a Ford next, hopefully soon.

I don't know if the trucks I listed above have the towing package or not, I haven't had time to actually see them except online at local dealers' sites. I hope to test them out this week. Bucko, I am familiar with transmission coolers, and the heat issues. My trailer is a 25' Aerolite, empty weight, 3,200 lbs. We load it pretty heavy with clothes, books, etc., so probably up to about 5 - 6,000 lbs. that we tow, plus hound in truck, etc.

Now, will the F150 handle this? Or should I check out the F250? My budget is not too high, so limited. If my CFO gives the okay, I'm good to go... a big if! She wants a new car! Go figure - a car of all things! Hmm... maybe if I get her in one of those Lariats with leather... just might persuade her.

Thanks again, all - y'all are great on this forum!

Weldman0730

I guess it kind of depends on how you drive, if you drive nice and easy on it it wont be so bad with a f150, if I were in your shoes though I would be tempted to get a F250. I know when I lived GA, I worked with a dude who was always towing a trailer, which was probably 6000lbs, and it was hard on his F150, but it always held up. Sometimes though you have to look at the pro's and Con's and see how they stack up.

The F250 for sure will be able to handle it and more, it will have a little rougher of a ride with the solid front axle and it will get slightly less fuel economy(maybe 1 to 2 mpg).