OD on or off?

[darwen]

Hi folks,

Our current rig is a 2007 Ford Escape V6 and 13' Boler. Our Escape has a transmission cooler and never seems labored when pulling the boler other than incredibily large hills. This spring when having both the Escape and boler inspected my machanic recommended that I lock out my OD when pulling all the time. I specifically asked about Interstates and such, and he again said, "All the time".

Do folks here ever use OD over do you turn it off when pulling? Also, do any folks here have experience pulling a scamp 16' SD and bath or Casita Spirit Deluxe 16' or 17' with either a ford escape or forester?

Thanks, this place is great!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by darwen

Hi folks,

Our current rig is a 2007 Ford Escape V6 and 13' Boler. Our Escape has a transmission cooler and never seems labored when pulling the boler other than incredibily large hills. This spring when having both the Escape and boler inspected my machanic recommended that I lock out my OD when pulling all the time. I specifically asked about Interstates and such, and he again said, "All the time".

Do folks here ever use OD over do you turn it off when pulling? Also, do any folks here have experience pulling a scamp 16' SD and bath or Casita Spirit Deluxe 16' or 17' with either a ford escape or forester?

Thanks, this place is great!

Ford says to lockout overdrive when towing in steep hills or in areas where the transmission is shifting too often, hunting for a gear.
otherwise OD is fine to for more efficiency. read the center of the last page of this PDFand also consult your owner's manual.
I use overdrive when towing with my 2.3L Escape with a 5spd manual, and while that may seem to be apples and oranges, the offset of the gears in the manual would actually be more stressful than in the automatic.
http://www.ford.com/assets/pdf/towin...CAPREsep09.pdf

Your owner's manual gives a good explanation of how to use the automatic transmission... page 200 in the "driving" section in the 2008 manual about the same in the 2006 manual... I have no 2007 manual.

[darwen]

Thanks Floyd... Good information. I normally run with overdrive on, especially on the interstates, and turn it off as you say, when the engine seems to be searching for a gear or the terrain is particularly hilly.

I was just surprised that my machanic is recommending I leave overdrive off at all times while pulling.. This struck me as extreme, yet he is a transmission specialist so I do take his advice seriously.

Again thanks.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by darwen

Thanks Floyd... Good information. I normally run with overdrive on, especially on the interstates, and turn it off as you say, when the engine seems to be searching for a gear or the terrain is particularly hilly.

I was just surprised that my machanic is recommending I leave overdrive off at all times while pulling.. This struck me as extreme, yet he is a transmission specialist so I do take his advice seriously.

Again thanks.

We also have a Ford with Overdrive on our Motorhome and always had overdrive on except on long hills as recommended. If it hunted for gears at all I also shut OD off.

With our manual transmission in the Honda we're always in OD (5th) unless the RPMs are headed below 2000.

Norm

[Greg H]

Dodge and Chevy even Ford I think have a tow/ haul mode on the gear selector, I never turned mine off as I never play by the rules.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by darwen

Do folks here ever use OD over do you turn it off when pulling?

Darren,
Given the many hills in NB I usually leave it off while towing there, in other places where the terrain is more level I leave it on.
Keep track of your RPM's and gear hunting both towing and not, you should get an idea of when to use OD and when not to.
I back off on the gas and switch between the two as the terrain changes. I don't know if that is right or not, but expect to hear about it soon.

My Ranger is a 4.0l V6 with the A4LD tranny that has been weak since the day I bought it used about 8 years ago. My tranny guru says drive her till she goes then get a remanufactured, I think that will happen this year. She's 17 years old, with about 115K Km.

[darwen]

Yeah thats pretty much my technique as well while pulling. This is year three with the boler and I have a pretty good feel for when the Escape is searching for the proper gear by now. Oddly enough, I rarely pull here in NB, but rather make the 10 minute drive to the border and either head south in the States, or straight west across Maine to Quebec and eventually Ontario.. I always turn the OD off when pulling through the mountains of Maine and Southern Quebec, but once you hit Montreal or south of Portland the tarrain really levels out..

[Kevin K]

Lockout overdrive when towing in steep hills.

[paulw]

Do you have a transmission temperature guage? I use a Scan Guage to monitor tranny temp
My Chevy circulates fluid through the transmission, and thereby the cooler, at a lower rate in D4 (overdrive).
I leave it in 3 when I'm towing. If I forget and put it in 4, the trans temp shoots up quickly even towing on the level.

BTW - I drive a Chev Trailblazer with an inline 6 and 4 speed automatic.

[darwen]

Paul,

No unfortunately the instrument cluster is severly lacking in the escape. I've considered having an aftermarket gauge added.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by paulw

I leave it in 3 when I'm towing. If I forget and put it in 4, the trans temp shoots up quickly even towing on the level..

That is nice to know Paul,

What temps do you run at?
Typical while in OD, no trailer.
Typical while in 3, no trailer
And both above with trailer.

With the actual numbers we might all get a better understanding of what is happening and the potential for damage.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by darwen

Paul,

No unfortunately the instrument cluster is severly lacking in the escape. I've considered having an aftermarket gauge added.

If there is a car which comes standard with a tran temp gauge, I haven't seen it. If you would like to add one, however, there is a really cool aftermarket "A" Pillar attachment which can hold one, two, or three additional guages to facilitate installation and provide a nice OEM look.

[darwen]

My 87' Ford Ranger had a tran temp gauge in the factory cluster as well as a my fathers Ford Superduty.

Definitely considering an aftermarket one for the escape...

[Kevin K]

I have Scan Gauge II on my truck.I have it set to read water temp,transmission temp,volts and MPG.
ScanGaugeII - Trip Computers + Digital Gauges + Scan Tool

[paulw]

I bought a ScanGauge II just for the transmission temperature function. It plugs into your vehicle’s OBDII port and displays the data you vehicle collects…easier than adding another sensor.

From memory, my Chev runs around 185-190f both towing in 3rd and not towing in D (OD).
I don’t run in 3rd while not towing.
If I forget and put it in 4 while towing it’s gotten up to 223f before I noticed and kicked it back down to 3. Once I down shift the temp eventually returned to normal

I haven’t checked how much running in 3 impacts MPG, but I don’t seem to be hitting gas stations much more often….

[Kevin K]

My 99 Silverado (4.8 V8 Auto 2WD)when towing my 13' Scamp, runs about 180-190 degrees on flat ground. Get about 16 MPG when towing.

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by Kevin K

Attachment 35842
My 99 Silverado (4.8 V8 Auto 2WD)when towing my 13' Scamp, runs about 180-190 degrees on flat ground. Get about 16 MPG when towing.

In our heavy duty Ford Bounder transmission Ford recommends changing transmission fluid every 25,000 miles. I do it even though it never looks burnt, always a nice pink.

Norm

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Kevin K

I have Scan Gauge II on my truck.I have it set to read water temp,transmission temp,volts and MPG.
ScanGaugeII - Trip Computers + Digital Gauges + Scan Tool

I would buy one of these if I could be sure it would give the transmission temps for my '08 Highlander. From what I've read (not much but some), it appears that the device does not give this info for all vehicles with OBD2 port, only some vehicles. Something to do with cracking codes from various car mfrs I guess.

[honda03842]

I just bought the $59 version of the scan gauge, I let you know how it works.

Norm

[Dan Meyer]

What does it say to do in your owners manual?

-- Dan Meyer