Originally Posted by Laramieskibum

Not much for hills in Ontario (barely above sea level?), or even in between, but roads like you see in the Smokies are the norm for every trip in the mountain west. I'm am looking at a 1ton if further improvements to this truck don't pan out but not due to lack of braking power from the engine but overheating while towing at altitude our steep grades. Towing here starts at 4-6,000' and ends at 9,000' for us at the end of the climb, inside of a 2 hr drive, usually the last 30 minutes of the drive, every trip. Normally aspirated engines are pigs here compared to their sea level breathern and I cannot yet justify the $10,000 additonal cost in a diesel....yet...slowly wearing down as the heat issues with the ecoboost continue to surface and I"m not the only one, many of us in the mountain west with ecoboosts are having problems but not with transmissions breaking due to engine braking. See thread in 2011+ forum on this site. Forced induction is high on my list, and the options are limited - ecoboost, ecodiesel, or hd diesel....

I'm not willing to give up on the F-150, this truck pulls like a no other gasser in the high alt valley floors and even on the hills, just needs some help in the cooling department. If I can't solve it, cummins bound in a few years...

Not sure I understand how this is any harder on the tranny? 40mph down hill vs 40mph on the high way should be seeing the same loads and speeds inside the transmission? So long as it remains cool, which it does when engine braking like this. Maybe in tension rather than strain? If every person in the mountain west just used their brakes and did not engine brake there would be alot of work for the brake monkeys.

I do not agree that engine braking at below redline RPM's adds any statistical engine damage. In other words 10 minutes at an average of even 5,000rpm is probably nothing compared to the trucks lifetime damage from sitting idling in the drive way / stop lights / traffic / ect, or in my trucks case:

50,000miles of 80mph interstate driving
15,000 miles of 65mph highway towing
<500miles of steep grade towing, of which 250miles are engine breaking down hill, on the high side (assumes 4-5 steep trips per year)

So 1-2% of its miles are spent at high rpm, with no fuel being added, and sufficent cooling to keep temps down, all the while receiving good cool oil.

Originally Posted by brulaz

All I remember is when I tried first gear on that slope, the tach went closer to the red than I'd seen it before, so went back to 2nd and the brakes. Maybe first gear for a little while to let the brakes cool would be fine, if noisy. But then, instead of slowing everybody else down (it's usually pretty crowded), might just as well pull over for a bit. We'll see how it goes next year. It's becoming an annual challenge. Try 1st at <30mph. Pulling over is required in places here and also alaska. More than 3 or 4 behind than you pull over. I'd rather that than change warped rotors/pads every other trip.

Have spent a fair amount of time out west with this rig (picked it up in B.C.) and others, but mostly on the major roads and never had the problem. Probably the same as the Appalachians, if you stick to the main roads there's not much of a problem. It's the smaller, winding and steep back roads where it's more of an issue? yes exactly. I actually have to use 4x4 low on dirt on steep grades if I want to make it without chancing limp mode. Or marathon grades on interstate i80/i70 at speed will do it.

Didn't know the EcoB had an overheating problem out west. But I know it can get hot out there, and it sounds like you're pushing (or pulling) at the truck's limits on a regular basis, so I can see it. Hope you can work it out. I too have looked at the diesel alternatives, but they're either way too much truck (don't need 2x the torque of the EcoB) and too expensive, or not enough truck (RAM EcoD has low payload, low HP).

Originally Posted by SkiSmuggs

I just use Tow/Haul and let the truck figure it out, but 45-50 in 2nd is not uncommon. I use the Jcain braking method. These engines are red lined at 6000+ RPM so 4500-5000 engine braking is not going to hurt them.

Originally Posted by brulaz

Usually Tow/haul works fine for me too.

But not on this one slope where the max speed is 35mph and the multiple hairpins are 20mph. You need first or second gear only. Tow/haul would go to 3rd gear and way over speed between the hairpins requiring much more braking.