OVERDRIVE On or Off? - Montana Owners Club

maximo · 10-12-2011, 07:53 AM

Ford F250 diesel 7.3 auto trans. When I am pulling my trailer in hill country the overdrive is always off. When I am in real flat country I some time have the overdrive on till I hit hill country. Had a shop mech say the overdrive should be off ANY time you are pulling a load over 2,000 lbs. He said the transmission is reading you have a load even pulling on flat ground. What do you do?

Frank

BB_TX · 10-12-2011, 08:07 AM

What does your manual say? I would follow those guidelines rather than opinion.

Interestingly, my '07 F350 6.0 does not even allow turning off the overdrive. It does have the tow/haul mode though, which restricts the upshifting/downshifting somewhat. If I am towing on relatively flat road, it will usually go into OD around 65 and stay there until I start up an grade enough to cause a downshift. Once the road flattens out, it goes back into OD.

LonnieB · 10-12-2011, 08:41 AM

I learned this lesson the hard way. Two transmissions in a 1997 F250 and one in a 2003 F250. I was doing the same as you, off in hilly country and on in the flatlands. I have a manual transmission now.

HamRad · 10-12-2011, 09:17 AM

Frank,
Like Lonnie I learned the hard way. Had to put in 3 trannys in my 2000 250. Interestingly I now have the same engine and tranny in my 450 and have had zero problems. I do have a different rear end. Instead of the 3:73 I have the 4:88. I tow in OD all the time and the tranny never starts the "hunting" process. Of course once I start up a grade I drop out of cruise control as well as OD. I am really happy with the way this setup works. I sure would like to have the Tow / Haul feature but they didn't come out with that until the year after I got the 450.

If I was still in the 250 I'd definitely stay out of OD when towing. Even then don't know it that would be enough to make it work. Good luck. Dennis

Art-n-Marge · 10-12-2011, 09:19 AM

When I had Fords with on/off overdrive, it was turned off while towing, period. Just like the book says.

My last two Fords have Tow/Haul instead. This gets turned on and stays on when towing and I have also used it when not towing and I'm in up and down hilly areas. Works great. Otherwise it stays off.

moutard2 · 10-12-2011, 09:19 AM

OFF for sure!

bigred715 · 10-12-2011, 09:47 AM

I had a 2001 F-250 with the automatic and I took it out of overdrive when in the mountains. Was told by a transmission specialist that those transmissions were not good and almost all had to be rebuilt after 60,000 miles. A weak point for Ford from 1999 to 2003 or 04. Good engine, but bad transmission.

**DQDick** · 10-12-2011, 11:26 AM

This may be no help since I have a Dodge, but my manual says to only use the tow haul when I'm dealing with hilly terrain and not to use it on the flatter roads. I almost never use the tow haul even with the Monty on the back and the hills we have around here. The truck doesn't seem to care. With my old Dodge Dakota I had to use the tow haul even with a xtra light TT so I do know what it feels like if the engine is straining.

jackel1959 · 10-12-2011, 04:49 PM

With my 2002 F-250 A/T I always kept it in OD when towing. If the truck starting hunting for gears, which was rare, I would shift it out of OD. I traded the truck at 140K miles and never had a problem.

Jack

klash · 10-12-2011, 05:15 PM

I know that it is not proper to say one truck is better than another. However this is why we like the GMC (or Chevy) with the Allison transmission. You simply cannot kill them. Our 2955RL Monty dresses out at 12,500 lbs road ready and we have a 2011 GMC 3500. I do all the towing in cruise control and just let the engine and tranny work it out by themselves. I do take the cruise out when we are doing the 7% grades up and down, and with the new trucks we just love the exhaust brake for going down hill. Just to get the feel of it, I have used the manual shift capability with the Allison. You select "M" on the selector and then with the button you can go up and down 5 gears. I have found I can take most of the mountains in 4th and then pop up into the two overdrives, going 5th first and then 6th when the roads flatten out.

awaywego · 10-12-2011, 05:45 PM

I have the 2001 F 350 with 130,000 miles. The only time I take it out of OD is when it downshifts and I have a long grade. I turn it off until I top the hill but I really do not need to because as long as it is pulling it won't drop back in to OD until I reach 45 to 50 speed again.

Bill-N-Donna · 10-13-2011, 12:00 AM

I really like the tow haul mode that our F-350 has. The truck seems to work the best whenever I simply turn it on and set the cruise. However, if I feel that it’s in too much of a strain I will kick the cruise off and back off a little. Like Art-n-Marge, I use the tow/haul mode whenever I’m not towing in hilly country.

The Weekenders · 10-13-2011, 01:36 AM

Last 4 years of towingwith my 04 F 350, I have always left it in OD with never a problem. A buddy has gone 7 years towing a 15,000# SOB fiver with OD and no issues for him.

Pete Hanson · 10-13-2011, 03:24 AM

I have an '04 Dodge and use OD only when on the highway on flat terrain. When the going gets a little hilly I switch over to the Tow/Haul function to keep the tranny from hunting up and down a lot. I keep it in the tow/haul mode when on secondary roads with speeds under 55 mph.

Delaine and Lindy · 10-13-2011, 03:37 AM

Don't have a Ford but drive 2012 Chevy 3500HD. I use the Tow Haul in heavy traffic and when on the open road I turn off the Tow Haul and have less RPM's. However I have a excellent exhaust brake so the Allison does the rest. Never ever had a issue with the Allison. I do believe the Allison is almost bullet proof. With the computerized Allison it takes care of the drive train... I can also manually changes gears with the Allison but again the computer will still take control. Happy Trails...

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