toytech6466

So all this is where I am with my truck wanting to over heat pulling hills with a travel trailer
I have a
2012 F-150 Eco crew cab FX2 with 3.55. I have Wagner intercooler, flowmeter muffler, Full Race upgrader radiator(60% water/40 coolant with water wetter), PCV catch can system, Redline fluids in engine, trans, diff and 5 different tunes from 5 star.

I am also a 25 year master auto tech that goes to multiple classes a year to stay up on my knowledge!

My old trailer was a toy hauler that was between 7 to 9,000 loaded, my new trailer is between 6 to 7,000 loaded(wants to over heat with both). I liven NorCal and have to climb a lot of hills in the heat.

My truck wants to over heater when the temp is 90 plus with any of the tunes running 91 octane. Even the 87 tow tune with 91 octane.

As soon as I retune to stock tune it does not over heat. I have talked to multiple people that have knowledge on these trucks and have found no answers!

My last step is to add a stand alone Derale trans cooler so the radiator does not have to cool the trans fluid too.

I will update once the cooler is installed and I do my next trip in October to Redding which may to be 90 plus there!

Blown F-150

Sorry to hear that issues continue even after so much work. I can only offer a few suggestions that may be worth a look into.

- Tunes, since the truck doesn't seem to have a issue stock, is it worth it to buy a tune or two from MPT? you already have the tuner, so it would be relatively inexpensive. I've had very good luck with my MPT tunes, but unfortunately all my heavy towing was this past winter so I don't have a direct comparison for you. But I was towing 7500-8000#'s in the Canadian Rockies without any issues, reagardless of speed.

- Independent Water Temp sensor, there have been reports of sensitive coolant temp sensors spiking when they get to the upper end of their temp range. this may help trouble shoot it being a sensor issue vs. actual issue.

- Is there a way to monitor the E-Fans? I'm curious if they are going to max when needed. It may sound silly, but you could go to something aftermarket like Flex a lite e fans. They move a lot of air @ 5500 CFM, but I'm not 100% sure of the stock e-fans rating. They are obviously made for replacing a traditional fan, but I installed a set in my buddies '06 Lincoln Mark LT truck when we installed his Rousch blower and it was a very "universal" install.

Here are the ones we installed. They are still kicking 7 years later.
https://www.flex-a-lite.com/direct-f...blackwood.html

There certainly seem to be a few Eco's with this issue, but there are many that are fine. All the hard parts are the same which leads me to believe that something is up sensor wise, but just a guess.

Best of luck!

osris

Are you taking about those little black "flaps" that are on either side of the radiator?

carbinereloaded

Well, I had this same problem towing a 6500 pound travel trailer this weekend from Texas to AZ.

Any type of grade and I was stuck at 55mph at max. Had a few 7% grades that would cause me to overheat at speeds between 20mph to 55mph; I tried locking gears, high RPMs, mid RPMs, etc.

Truck is a '14 eco with NO mods other than Roadmaster Springs in the rear. Had wife, kid and 2 dogs in the truck (with not much else in the bed). I have the "tow package" (not max-tow).

During the 8 hour drive, I had to pull off the road and let the truck cool off 4-5 times not including gas-stops. Ambient temps were 95-103 degrees during the trip. Truck has 45k miles.

I'm NOT happy.

(Edit: just saw this thread was almost a year since the last post... oops)

papa tiger

just burn 91 octane or higher gasoline with the Ford tow tune.

DNA Dan

I just bought a 2012 FX4 SCREW Eco, 3.73 rear with max tow and I am overheating towing ~7000 lbs. Seems like the truck is completely gutless when towing up the slightest grade. Is this how it's supposed to be? I ran 91 octane from 76 last week going over lookout pass on the ID/MT border. I had to drop into SECOND gear and rev at 4000 rpm for about 2 miles to make it over the pass. I can do better towing this with my Sequoia! I bought this thing believing all the posts and videos you see of people pulling 10K at like 65 mph up grades. I'm just not seeing anything remotely close to that. The kicker was my MPG, after a full tank, 6.5 MPG!!! What is wrong with my truck!!! I have been to two different dealers and they both say the truck is operating fine. They can see the overheat codes, but nothing else. My problem is identical to what others have described. 100+ degree heat, heavy load, hilly/mountainous terrain = overheating, struggling truck.

I know this thread is old, but it's really my last resort. Help me Obi-Wan, you're my only hope

papa tiger

Usually the 1st problem is too high a concentration of antifreeze. Check it, thats the simplest/cheapest fix so look closely to the cooling system next. Water pump/thermostat stuck ( they do stick partly closed.) odds are it is the transmission (torque converter) if you bought it used.

Feathermerchant

I have had thermostats stick partially open. Symptom was the faster you drive the hotter the engine gets.

DNA Dan

Thanks for the suggestions. A little history since I purchased it. Had 1 coil and all spark plugs changed by a local dealer. I drove out towards Oregon and it actually overheated to go into limp mode while I was towing over the pass. This was my first tow with the truck so I was unaware on how to drive it (Gear down, high RPMs). I just had it in "D" and apparently the stock shifting did not drop down soon enough and I hit the overheat condition. I didn't realize at the time that I could shut off the key or clear the code with a scanner to get out of limp mode. Anyway, I ended up dropping the truck off at a different dealer in Pasco, WA and they saw the overheat code, but nothing wrong with the truck. Just for grins I had them do a thermostat change and a radiator flush. It drove back "better" but I was still suprised I had to dip into second gear and keep RPMs high (3500-4K) to pull my 7000lb load. Is this typical? I mean what do guys pulling 10K have to do? use first gear? I have never owned an ecoboost before so it's a little different from my driving habits and I'm not quite sure what to expect out of it. Otherwise the truck drives great in town and in the hills, un-hitched to anything. No rough idle, low idle or stalling issues. It actually runs great. Towing was just a surprise to me. Is this normal for the vehicle?

Feathermerchant

Have you weighed the trailer? It may be more than 7,000 lb.