Turbo Surge?

[mstreeter]

Help!
Purchased a 2004 Ford F250 turbo powerstroke diesel super duty.
:Pulling a 2008 Montana 3465SA 5th Wheel. (Love it)
When pulling a uphill grade of 5 miles I experience an engine surge but my tach shows no increase in revs. From what I've read this could be turbo surgeandnot my engine? Any ideas? I always make the pull but have to slow down to 45 mph to finish the last mile. The noise goes away and I have no problem returning home. That is the only time I hear that noise. I have't contacted Ford yet. I really hope someone out there can advise me on what that sound is and what I can do to fix the problem. My Transmission showsno sign of burnt fluid or metal shavings and the temperature on the trans is always where it should be.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Signed,
Never owned a diesel b4

[Trailer Trash 2]

Can yu look at the turbo fan blades an see if they are chiped or show signs of dusting. I was told by a turbo mechanic that a turbo work or it dont, he said " if you go up a grade and you start sliding backwords the turbo is not working" go up 3 feet and fall back 4. I will post a picture of a blade dusting in a few.



See the tips and edge of the fan blades.

TT2

[SlickWillie]

Any chance that might be the cooling fan kicking in? I'm not familiar with the Fords, but I know the fan on the Duramax makes a hell of a racket when the clutch kicks it in. Seems my son told me the F350 bucket he drove made a lot of noise when the fan came in. A 5 mile grade would probably do it.

[Ozz]

I was just going to post the same as Will, I bet that's it.
Mine does that as well at times.

[steves]

The noise could be the fan engaging. Or it could be whats called turbo surge. I had the turbo surge on my 2001 7.3 (it had a lot of after market stuff on it - chipped, etc.) There is no such problem on my 2006 6.0 and the only noise I ever hear is the fan engaging. My S-I-L owns a diesel truck/equipment repair business and he installed a ported turbo housing on my 01 to eliminated the pressure build and the subsequent noise. Each noise is distinctive and can be easily be identified if you know what each sounds like. The cooling fan engaging sounds more like from the motor area and the surge noise is more like an alarm sound. If you have after market gauges on the water temp you would actually see the water temp going down when the cooling fan engages. From your description of the sound....I would guess it to be simply the fan coming on.

Hope this helps...Good luck! Let us know the resolution. You picked a good truck to pull your Montana.

[ehmcfarl]

I too would bet it is the cooling fan on the radiator locking the clutch up. My 2008 F250 diesel makes a much louder noise when the clutch locks up since it is pulling much more air through the radiators. When you are in a long pull the temp goes up and causes this clutch to lock up.

[sreigle]

Mstreeter, our 2003 F350 with the 6.0L did the same thing. The dealer flashed the computer with an update that fixed it. It was a very noticeable surge, towing or not, when climbing a hill. That was about 2005 that happened. You might check with your dealer about that.

[mstreeter]

Thank you all!
I'm taking the same route this coming week end on our way to Gatlinburg TN from Nashville. Have never pulled that far before. I will let you know how things pan out. I guess I need to experience the increased revs to see if it is just the turbo fan kicking in on a long pull.
Mike