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Streamer1 · 11-09-2006, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trea

Not being an automatic owner but knowing a little about alot. My under standing is when towing you should have the overdrive off, even when not towing if in town it should also be off. One thing that is of help with folks that have automatics, a transmition temp guage is highly recomended. The last thing you would want to do is over heat your trans.

Larry and Nicole

So when do you use overdrive - on highway, not towing perhaps?

Streamer1 · 11-09-2006, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy_2

I am on my 3rd F250 6.0L. Ford gave up on trying to fix the other 2 and replaced them. They were 2003's. The one I have now is a 2005. It, along with the other 2 have had continuing oil leak issues. The 05 has 37000 miles on it and has been in 4 times for repairs. The first time was 13000 miles. If I had my way I'd stay away from any 6.0L. Either find a good 7.3 or wait for the new 6.4 which should be on dealer lots in January 2007.

If you decide on a used vehicle ask for the Oasis report. It will give you a history of any work that a Ford garage has done on the vehicle. 6.0's that are used and 2 years old or newer could be buy backs that Ford had repair issues with. In any case the the Oasis report is very useful.

Never even knew it existed (Oasis Report). I have a used 06 in mind as a possibility. Will ask the dealer about this report. Thanks for the info.

ALANSD · 11-09-2006, 07:54 AM

also good links for info and more are
http://www.powerstrokeforum.com/forum/
http://www.dfuser.com/mfg/powerstrok...erformance.php
http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/

trea · 11-09-2006, 08:58 AM

You would use the overdrive on the highway, even when towing as long as your transmition is not shifting back and forth. Then you would want to take overdrive off or down shift. I think even as good as the new auto. transmitions are you would want to pay attention to the shifting mode so you do not over heat the trany and down shift if need be.
This is why we like the 6 speed manual, it has alot more pulling power off the line and you are the one in control of shifting so less likely you will burn up your transmition. We have a chip in ours and we can pull a hill with a loaded trailer and not loose to many rpm. The down fall of a manual is you have to shift when in any kind of traffic. Which can be a pain. We live pretty far out in the country and this is not much of a problem but when we go to the city and are stuck in traffic, it sure can be frustrating.

ROBERTSUNRUS · 11-10-2006, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trea

Not being an automatic owner but knowing a little about alot. My under standing is when towing you should have the overdrive off, even when not towing if in town it should also be off. One thing that is of help with folks that have automatics, a transmition temp guage is highly recomended. The last thing you would want to do is over heat your trans.

Larry and Nicole

Hi, no you don't want to overheat anything. As for the overdrive missconceptions; I explain it this way. Your transmission knows when to shift and how to shift. For the most part you don't need to do anything. People say, "turn off the overdrive when going slow" well if you are going slow enough, it will not shift into overdrive. So why turn it off? If you are towing and going up a long steep grade, you may want to turn off the overdrive and / or manually downshift to hold a good steady speed and engine RPM. Now going down the other side of this grade, you should do the same thing. turn off the overdrive and or Manually down shift to let the engine help slow you down and save your brakes. [another frequently overheated item.]

Overdrive Test: Set your cruise control at 65mph and let it go. It will downshift if necessary to climb that hill and up shift when done climbing. And you can manually downshift while going down hill to save your brakes.

Bob

Streamer1 · 11-10-2006, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALANSD

also good links for info and more are
http://www.powerstrokeforum.com/forum/
http://www.dfuser.com/mfg/powerstrok...erformance.php
http://www.intellidog.com/dieselmann/

Hey ALANSD, great links to the diesel-ford websites! Thinking I should hold off till the 6.4 08s come out early next year. Sounds like they tried to completely redesign to avoid the problems of the 6.0 PSD. Also I like the F150 type interior of the new Superdutys.

tpi · 11-10-2006, 09:59 AM

I have a 99 F250 and it has been very good. No problems to report with the 7.3 engine after 108,000 miles. The paint and interior have held up very well.

If I were in your shoes, I'd either go with the last 7.3 engine trucks in the '02 or '03, or the very latest 6.0 engines in late '06. If used, find one with a clean repair history and one which has been well cared for.

Personally I'd wait a year or two on the new 6.4s. The 6.0 was supposed to address the "issues" of the 7.3 and we all know what happened with the first couple years of that engine.

Streamer1 · 11-11-2006, 06:44 AM

Good point TPI.

wahoonc · 11-11-2006, 07:10 AM

I think the OD on off argument comes mainly from the smaller gas engined vehicles. People were towing over, at or very near capacity on these lighter cars and trucks that were not really designed for towing. In many of those cases they did destroy transmissions by overheating. In the case of my PSD if I turn the OD off I would be limited to a maximum of 55mph towing because of my RPM range. My V-6 F150 was a different story, the manual called for the overdrive to be turned off when towing. That truck was equipped with the factory towing package which included oversized radiator, auxillary transmisson cooler and oil coolers.

Aaron