can someone tell me aprox. what rpm's should be when towing? I recently bought a new (to me) F350 automatic and am a little worried looking at the tach. at 3000 rpms when towing about 6000 lbs at 65 mph. my old truck was a standard, and pulling the same wt. would be about 2200 rpms.
Should I be concerned about this?
this truck had a new transmission put in 30,000 miles ago.
Posted 2006-11-08 9:35 AM (#51259 - in reply to #51249) Subject: RE: rpms?
Veteran
Posts: 238 Location: West Coast
The two Fords in my signature both run at around 2100 rpm, with our trailer. We do use overdrive when towing on flat ground with the auto transmission, we turn the OD off if going up and down hills.
Posted 2006-11-08 10:58 AM (#51260 - in reply to #51249) Subject: RE: rpms?
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391 Location: Columbia, KY
this truck is a '97 F350 diesel duelly. it does have the button to take it out of overdrive and I was told it's recomended to do that for hauling. I tried both with and with out it. the rpm's are lower w/ the overdrive on but the truck sounds as if it's changing gears a lot more. I'm hauling pretty much on the flat here too. should I be worried? is 3000 too high for just going 65 or so on the flat? this is a beaufiful truck.. conversion pkg, all kinds of fancy things inside... but if I can't tow safely I sure don't want to keep it.
I"m also having trouble getting used to the automatic. I HATE it! don't feel like I've got the control I did w/ my old truck like being able to downshift for stops and slowing down.
the guy I bought it from was hauling a 4H gooseneck w/ LQ and said it towed very well. I'm not sure what to think at this point. thanks for any advise!
Posted 2006-11-08 1:43 PM (#51265 - in reply to #51249) Subject: RE: rpms?
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
Anita, I'll bet you haven't checked your fuel economy yet either. At 3,000 you'll be sucking fuel like a runner slurps Gatorade. The older autos like you have drive waaay different than a manual. You'll feel like it won't ever get going, and then you have no engine braking at all. All you can do is get used to it. On the O/D, i'd leave it on all the time, except when you're in town @ 45 MPH or so & it tries to lug. But with careful use of your right foot you can coax it to change gears when you need it to via throttle pressure. If it's chugging, apply a little throttle until it shifts. If its too hign, let up the pressure & it'll shift down. I did put a Superchips in mine and was much happier with how it shifted after that. I try & keep my PSD at 2000 RPM for longevity & decent fuel economy. Just my .02$
H1
Posted 2006-11-08 2:44 PM (#51269 - in reply to #51249) Subject: RE: rpms?
Regular
Posts: 95 Location: Nashville, TN
You are seeing a difference in RPM based on the overdrive button. I have a 97 F250 and it will run about 2200 rpm at 70 in overdrive. I haven't looked closely but would guess it would jump to 3000 or above at that speed out of overdrive.
Pulling the weight you described, a 4:10 rearend should do just fine in overdrive on flat terrain. I run through some hilly country in middle TN in overdrive and never downshift, but I'm watching my exhaust gas temperature gauge pretty closely.
Posted 2006-11-08 2:50 PM (#51270 - in reply to #51260) Subject: RE: rpms?
Expert
Posts: 1719 Location: PA
Ok, I think I know the problem. Turn your OD button off when starting out till you get up to about 55 -60 MPH. At around this speed, your rpms should be around 2200 - 2500 (this is probably the rpm range where your truck wants to shift to a higher gear. You can safely cruise at 55 mph and up without the OD on. Push the OD buuton off if you are going up a hill, losing power, and the rpms get to about 1500 - 1800. This is where the engine wants to downshift. Keep the OD off and let the engine work (rpms will be around 2500) to get you up the hill. Don't try to floor it up the hill, try to keep the rpms at about 2200 - 2500 so that your engine works but isn't screaming at you. For long downhill stretches, slow your truck to about 55 or less and take the OD off so that the engine sort of holds you back a bit. Using the OD like this will save your tranny from searching for gears and keep your engine from screaming. It's sounds complicated but it's really easy to do. It's almost like shifting without the having a clutch because you are controling the engine speed. Clear as mud, huh!
Posted 2006-11-08 3:39 PM (#51274 - in reply to #51249) Subject: RE: rpms?
Veteran
Posts: 238 Location: West Coast
Our main concern is engine longevity and fuel mileage, if you are running your engine at 3000 rpm's with the OD off, you are protecting your tranny, but you are probably putting more wear & tear on your engine. As for your transmission, what is very hard on it is frequent shifts, that's why we turn the OD off, on hills. Also, if you turn it off going downhills, you'll get a little engine braking.
Posted 2006-11-09 9:14 AM (#51298 - in reply to #51249) Subject: RE: rpms?
Member
Posts: 17
Location: Stockport, Iowa
I have a 97 F250HD with the PowerStroke/Automatic transmission (same engine and tranny as yours). I pull a Kiefer Built X-440. I alway pull with the overdrive ON. My truck has 175,000 miles on it and hasn't had any problems. The only thing I have done to mine is to put a Banks TransCommand on it.
rpms?
