427AC

I have a 99 quad cab 4X4, with AFE intake, 4 inch exhaust, Superchips tuner with BD's boost fooler, and BD fuel pump The tranny has been built and I had a billit torque converter installed, The truck has 3.55 gears and 25585R16 tires. today I put 8000 pound behind it and headed west out of Denver on I-70. The truck could not hold 60MPH and the temp gauge climbed to 220 degrees. If I had not backed out of it the truck would have overheated. Heres the sad part. My buddies stock ford pulled the same load at 65 with out any problems. This is enough to make me sell the truck and buy a Duramax.

RickCJ

Problem! gears/tires/bad fan clutch!

big jimmy

A diesel with 3.55 gears and 255/85 16 tires that can't pull 8000 lbs has something else going on with it.


Big Jimmy

w.tx iceman

Not enough boost? check for oil on back side of radiator from crankcase vent. my 2001 started getting hot and the back of radiator was covered in sludge. Also had a bd boost fooler that went bad,dont know if you need it with programmer.

BigBlue

I agree. Something ain't right there at all. Try and find the problem first before you sell the truck.

bkrukow

I have pulled that same strech of road a couple times with this truck. The 1st time I was just short of 20K gross and it would pull it at 75-80 in 5th no problem just ran out of rpms to go any faster. Wouldent pull 6th. This was with the box turned off running bone stock. The second time was pulling a 29 foot camper and 2 ATVs on the back of the truck.(see pics) A few thousand pounds liter and even less of a problem. I would think with the mods you have done that you should have been able to run at least 60+ with no problems. Sounds to me as if you have a problem. I am not gona even guess as to what it may be but something is wrong. On the other side of it those arenet exactly small mole hills your going over on the west side of Denver. Over the road trucks are lucky to average 30mph or less on that strech. There are several 8-10% grades at up to 8 miles long each for 60+ miles. You dont stop climbing till you hit the Eisenhower Tunnel at the Continental Divide.

RickCJ

How many of you guys have towed west on 70 out of Denver?? That is 1 heck of a long steep grade!
I have 235/85/16 tires and 3.55 gears and usually pull that grade in 3-4 with my stick or 2-3 in the auto, have to keep the rpms up. So with his 255tires the performance seems about right. The overheating is a bad fan clutch if he can't hear it kick on or clogged radiator as mentioned.

RickCJ

HAHAHA BS you can't pull 20k up that grade!!! not at those speeds!! You have to remember a 99 only has about 150 rwh stock!

Cummins66

I'm inclined to agree that at 20k you wont see those speeds with a stock truck. My sig. truck pulled about 15k gross up the eisenhower at 65 without hesitation, but that wasnt without extra cooling and running the egts were they arent supposed to stay. Not sure if you were riding with your friend in the ford, but unless I was there, it may be a big fish story. Not saying he didnt, but be sure your talking about the same "hill". Pulled an 01 with about 15k over it and best i could do with an edge ez was 45, but that was purely temperature related. The dern things will just get hot pulling that hard that long.

cumminsdriver635

You defintley have a major problem... I took off on a hill(fairly long and steep) with 18k lbs in valet mode and was going at least 50mph when I had to turn off half way up the hill. EGT's no past 1150*(WOT), and engine temperature not hot. This is from a dead stop. How does it pull if you take the programmer, and boost fooler off ? If you have gauges, do your EGT's get hot? You just need to find the problem(easier said than done).

Eric

RickCJ

I didn't realize KY had 10% grades 5-10 miles long!

cumminsdriver635

Id also like for you to point out where I said that in my post if you dont mind. Im just saying the hill was fairly long and steep for around this part of the country(about 3/4's of a mile long),and that my truck got to 50mph or so just from the bottom to mid way up the grade, and that his truck should be able to do a little better than its doing. I appreciate you trying to be a Mr. Know it all, but Ill send you a cookie right out in the mail if you can show me where I said that.

Eric

DSjockey

I also think you must have a problem with your truck, I pulled my 5er (rig scaled at 16K) up to Idaho Springs and back and did the speed limit both ways in 3rd (started in OD but too much trafic) egts at 1150, water warmed up a little but nothing to get worried about

RustyJC

In addition to the other suggestions, was the torque converter locked up during this pull? If not, you're generating lots of heat with fluid shear in the torque converter that gets dumped into the coolant.

I had similar problems with my previous Ram 3500 V-10/47RE/3.55 truck until I added additional transmission cooling (that's back in the days before I knew about transmission controllers, "mystery switches", etc.)

My truck runs about 195 degF towing on the flats with the original 190 degF thermostat - on long, steep hills, the fan clutch will kick in about 200 to 205 degF and the temperature will drop right down.

Rusty

RickCJ

Well, not trying to be a know it all, but after 25yrs. of working on and Bombing these trucks I know what they will and will not do! I see several post on here from guys in their teens trying to act like they know it all though!
427AC has 255/85 tires and 3,55 gears trying to pull 8k out of Denver, I think 50-60 mph is very good, ofcoarse he could run the **** out of his truck and maybe do a little better up.