I'm taking my boy to some races this weekend and to get to the track it's 5 miles of twisting turning road with grades ranging from 8 to 15 percent. I'll be pulling about 8500 lbs and I'm concerned about over heating. I have pulled long steep gravel grades before with this auto and used 4 low and all was fine. Would using 4 low on asphalt be bad? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Yeah then theres coming back down.......

 

Going up shouldnt be a problem, but 4 low and hairpin turns on asphault isnt a good idea. On steep downhills when I had my 04.5 w/ the auto I would shift into 2nd or 1st manually and give it a little throttle to lock out the torque converter and then let the rpms slow the truck a little. It did not work like an exhaust brake though, that would be the best solution.

 

were are you going jones? come get my old ford for the job. manually shift and keep the rpms up. the commonrail does well at higher rpm.

 

I would not run in 4L on pavement. This would wear out tires and put great strain on the drivetrain. 4L setup is designed to slip a little bit, which is the case in low traction situations (there is no transfer case differential, so both front and rear turn at the same speed causing hopping when traction is good).

 

I pulled our TT (@7k) up and down Skyline Drive in VA with my wife's '03 a couple of months ago, up didn't seem to be a problem. I just tried to stay @ 25-30mph and when I could I'd try to get the convertor to lock...even if it was for a short distance. The decent was another story though. I put it in 1st and "tried" to let the engine hold me back but the problem was the turns were coming too close and my brakes were fading. Anyway, with white knuckles (and the Lord) we made it down safely and will never set a Garmin to "shortest route" while towing again.

 

I too think descents are far scarier than climbs. On a climb you just slow down in the worst case.
An exhaust brake makes worlds of difference. I never touch the brakes descending up to 6-7% hills with the total rig weight of 18,500. It was $1k but putting the $20k trailer in the ditch is more expensive (if you live to feel sorry about it...).

 

Depending on what the road is like, going up just give it throtle and go up. Going down the auto does little to help hold you back. My 04 6 speed would hold my truck and camper back realativly well without a engine break. This auto I have pretymuch dont do didly squat to help hold me back. The only thing you can do is make sure that you are crawling as you crest the hill and begin the decent and have it locked down to 1st or 2nd depending on the target speed you are trying to maintain. Try not to ride your breaks and heat them up. What I do is use the tack as a referance point to maintain speed. I lock it in 2nd and try to keep the RPMs no higher than 3k. When I hit 2900 or so I aply the breaks desently hard and bring the RPMs back down to around 2500 then let completly off the breaks till I am back up to around 2900 and reapeat all the way down the hill. This keeps your breaks from getting hot and fading. It gives them time to cool between uses. One thing to remember is that its easier to maintain a lower speed than it is to slow it down after you let it get going.

 

Crewcabxlt we're going to the Powder Mountain Moto-x, the boy just got a 250f and he's excited to ride. Times like these I wish I had bought a standard. As mentioned, going up if you get warm you can always slow down or pull over......coming down thats a different ballgame, heard to many "lost my brakes stories". Guess we'll have to look at it when we get there and react as necessary. Thanks for all your input.

 

Mystery switch lock out od put in drive 2 push switch and you will see low trany temp. low egts and low eng temp.

 

What is a "mystery switch"?

 

Its a switch that you put on where you can manually lock the converter in 2nd thru OD but I believe you will need an aftermarket valve body to make it work. Also, you need to be very careful when using it cause things do seem to break if not done right.

You might want to search "mystery switch or lock up switch" and see what I'm talking about. Mine cost me $15 and I also had the tranny built for it.

 

Will work with stock tranny and vb. It is one of the best upgrade I have it really keeps temps. in check and yes if you do not use it right you can break something. Do a search and check it out you will be surprised how well it works.

 

What I do going down a steep slippery grade, is apply the manual override switch on the brake controller. I like to cycle the trailer brakes on and off. This saves the tow vehicle brakes, and keeps them from getting hot. This also keeps the trailer in line, and tells you if the trailer brakes are working properly. This is especially important if you are travelling in the rain.

 

You wish it was that simple

 

Take some good chocks with you. If you detect any fading get it stopped and then chock it and release all the brakes. I don't trust park.
Mike