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i bought a 2010 f150 4x4 5.4 back in Oct. First PU and first ford since I drove a '40 in high school in the 60's. Dealer decoded vin and said that I have a 3.31 and some kind of tow package. Not HD or Max tow. It will get 19 mpg highway which I am quite happy with. Is that about avg for this truck?
About a month ago, I bought a 5000# dry 26' fifth wheel. We are headed to Moab, Ut with 4 other campers from southern Wy in two weeks for our maiden outing for the Easter Jeep Jamboree. Friends have 2 jeep rock crawlers and assorted side by sides and 4 wheelers on 2 more trailers.
I question the programming and "hunting" that the tranny does. In tow mode, it seems to pull way down (too low) before it shifts. Loses to many rpms and speed. If it could be manually shifted between 4th, 5th and 6th, it would keep the engine in a better torque range. maybe between 2200 to 2800 rpms ?. Lots of 6% and 7% long grades across the Rockies. Just wondering if a manual controller exist or how you guys handle this.
Is this transmission a 5 or 6 speed plus o/d and/or lock up converter? Does the tow mode lock out o/d and/or 6th gear? Just wondering. Thanks for your input. Jimmie
Last edited by Fried Okra; 03-09-2016 at 01:04 AM.
I have had a 2011 Eco and now a 2014 5.0, so I cannot say with complete authority, but I do believe you have the same 6 speed trans that both my trucks have had.
The electronics for the Tow/Haul mode should also be the same. In Tow/Haul it will not lock out 6th gear, it simply limits the slip of the trans and also keeps gears longer so you may see higher RPMs. If you wish to lock out gears, on the shifter should be a + / - buttons. You can select - and lock out any gears you like. When I go to pass on the highway, I will usually lock out 5/6 so I don't have to wait for power when I hit the fun pedal.
I usually haul a rather light 2,500 lbs. pop up trailer, but those times I have borrowed my fathers old 4,000 lbs. flat bed to help friends move, it tows just as easily. Even loaded up with a friends truck one time just for fun, it towed like it wasn't even behind me. Then again the 3.5's and the 5.0's have a bit more horses than the 5.4's, so YMMV.
Frequent shifting of the automatic transmission causes increased transmission temperature, which is BAD for your transmission. The Tow/Haul mode causes the transmission to stay in a gear longer on upshifts and downshifts to preserve your transmission. If you want your transmission to downshift sooner to keep the speed up, take it out of Tow/Haul mode and live with the consequences of higher transmission temperatures. The newer transmissions have manual gear selection available, in my case via buttons on the column mounted shift lever. The alternate is to trade for an Ecoboost and tow up those hills in a higher gear with less shifting.
This from my owner's manual:
Last edited by atwowheelguy; 03-13-2016 at 08:38 AM.
You have a Ford 6R80E transmission.
The 6 = 6-speed
The R = rear wheel drive
the 80 = max of 800 lb/ft torque it can handle.
The E I'm not sure, but I suspect it means electronic (computer) controlled.
It's probably not a "select shift" tranny with paddle shifters, so you cannot row your own the way those with 2011-up F-150s can.
Have you read the Owner's Guide where it explains how to use the tow/haul mode? Mine works great dragging a 5,000-pound TT up and down the mountains. I have select shift with paddle shifters, but I don't need the row-your-own mode so I don't use them.
It sounds like your tow/haul mode may not be working as designed. I would have a Ford dealer check it out and determine if maybe an update to the PCM (computer) software is available, or if it has set any codes that indicate a transmission problem.
I wish that it had the +/- select shift transmission. That would really solve the issue that i have in it pulling down to far before it shifts. I have an '04 Cadillac SRX that has a 5 speed with lock up and it has the option to lock it in a gear with the +/- feature. . It is useful in mountain driving so that you can down shift to utilize engine braking.
I think that when it starts to lug down to far in tow mode that I'm going to try to force it to shift earlier by taking it out of tow mode. If this +/- feature is available on 2011, maybe it can be adapted to my 2010.
.... It is useful in mountain driving so that you can down shift to utilize engine braking.
Your tow/haul mode should do that automagically if you simply tap the brakes when the trailer is pushing you down the mountain at a faster speed than you want to go. So taping the brakes when in tow/haul mode acts like clicking the minus paddle on a select shift tranny.
However, unlike the select-shift tranny in manual mode, in tow/haul mode the tranny will automagically upshift as soon as the computer senses that the trailer is no longer pushing you down a steep grade.
I think that when it starts to lug down to far in tow mode that I'm going to try to force it to shift earlier by taking it out of tow mode.
That sounds like you changed the subject from engine braking to mountain climbing. But I'll assume you're still discussing engine braking.
If your tow/haul software is working as designed, then you can force a downshift by simply tapping on the brake pedal while the trailer is pushing you down the mountain. If that doesn't work, that's why I suggested you have the PCM flashed with updated software.
I'm not sure, but I don't think tapping the bakes will cause a downshift while the go pedal is being mashed. Each time you tap the brakes under the right conditions of trailer pushing on you, the tranny will downshift another gear until you get to 2nd gear. I've never seen mine downshift all the way to first gear, so I don't know if the tow/haul mode will downshift all the way to 1st gear. So try coasting down a grade then tap the brake pedal and see if that doesn't cause a downshift. You don't have to mash hard on the brake pedal, just tap it hard enough to flash the brake lights. That's the technique I use to get modest engine braking without resorting to use of the paddle shifters.
I've towed trailers that extremely overloaded my F-150 across the Hill Country in central Texas. With the tranny in tow/haul mode and climbing a hill, I've never felt like the tranny needed to downshift to a lower gear than the computer chose to climb that with that load behind it. The computer is a lot smarter than I am, so I just leave the tranny shifter in D with the tow/haul button mashed, and let the computer decide which gear I need to be in to climb the hill.
That sounds like you changed the subject from engine braking to mountain climbing. But I'll assume you're still discussing engine braking.
I guess that I'm just annoyed that you can't select a gear whether going up hill or down.Truck and trailer are both new to me and I've only pulled it from Longmont to Cheyenne. That's about 75 miles and a gain of around 1200 ft. No down hills. It did down shift maybe 5-6 times but it was losing too much speed and rpm's IMHO before it shifted. When it did finally did down shift, it would pick up speed going up hill. My preferred scenario would be just to maintain speed, not to lose then gain.
We're gonna tackle this Friday on the way to Moab.
I guess that I'm just annoyed that you can't select a gear whether going up hill or down.
You bought a 5-year-old F-150 with the 5.4L engine. If you had bought a 4-year-old F-150 with either the regular tow or Max Tow package, then you'd have the Select Shift tranny behind a better engine for towing, and probably be a happy camper. But that's water under the bridge.
03-09-2016, 12:59 AM
Just figuring out what I've got
