F250 v10 tranny slipping?

[jtstromsburg]

Pulled our 34tbok to the campground and thru looking for a spot. Pulling up a steep incline, truck seemed to loose power or skip, but not the tires. Rpm's stayed at 3K, even with gas pedal floored? I'm not vehicle mechanically inclined, but can usually figure stuff out. Lil help please. Guess I'm looking for things to check or maybe it was the truck protecting itself?

[JFM-jr]

Any warning lights on the dashboard? Engine can go into "limp mode" for many reasons over heated transmission, over heated motor just to name a few. Did you get a Check engine light? Also what gear was the shifter in? Sometimes on the Ford F350 I drive at work if the shifter is in 2nd gear thats the gear it will start off from a light in.

[jtstromsburg]

No warning lights or check engine lights. I was just in OD with t/h enabled. After I unhooked, did the same hill empty, and it seemed fine? I got on it a bit on the main road and it seemed plenty powerful then. Maybe, hopefully, it was just the engine protecting itself or my mind playing tricks on me.

Thanks!

[Dave_Monica]

I haven't experienced what you described with our V10 but I'm only towing 8500 lbs. I suspect that what you found is the power needed to pull 11500+ lbs up a steep incline.

Dave

[jeeplj8]

Originally Posted by jtstromsburg

Pulled our 34tbok to the campground and thru looking for a spot. Pulling up a steep incline, truck seemed to loose power or skip, but not the tires. Rpm's stayed at 3K, even with gas pedal floored? I'm not vehicle mechanically inclined, but can usually figure stuff out. Lil help please. Guess I'm looking for things to check or maybe it was the truck protecting itself?

what year is your truck? It may be an electronic transmission thing.

The tow haul mode is enabled because some trucks (the newer ones anyway) determine shift points through the computer. It is possible for the computer to make a mistake (shocking I know ) and attempt a shift at the wrong moment. At times it will disengage the torque converter etc.

A cheap OBD scanner will tell you if there are latent codes that did not trip a CEL. Do a search here for bluetooth scanner (assuming you own a smart phone). 15 bucks tells you a lot.

And also think about when you last changed the transmission fluid.

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

I haven't experienced what you described with our V10 but I'm only towing 8500 lbs. I suspect that what you found is the power needed to pull 11500+ lbs up a steep incline.

Dave

X2...think OP felt TV's limits with that weight going uphill

[jtstromsburg]

Definitely know on that hill, I'm at my limits. My truck is a 2005. It did seem like the torque converter, or something, was slipping. Kinda sounded like something slipping too. I know very little about transmissions and torque converters. Fluid is good. This was at very low speed, in the campground. At hwy speeds, I have never experienced anything like it. Sure, with the gasser, sometimes I hit 4K on the tach, but it'll pull up any grade I've thrown at it, usually in 4th. Its a 4 speed with OD.

Thanks again

[PHS79]

Unless it happens again, I wouldn't worry about it.

The lumber yard that we get our materials from delivers with mostly F350's and rolloff goosenecks, a couple years ago we had a job at the top of a long steep hill. We could see the truck (V10 powered) about 1/2 way up the hill but he was stopped, the driver said the motor would rev but the truck wouldn't move, but he also had somewhere between 16,000-20,000 lbs on the trailer. He put it in 4-low and crawled the rest of the way up the hill, after that they always sent one of the diesels out. As far as I know they haven't touched the tranny (in the V10 truck) since this happened, as we usually see the truck once or twice a week, except when a spark plug popped out, we didnt see it for a couple weeks when that happened.

[09grizzly1]

With the total weight of the truck and trailer and the steepness of the incline,I would say you were at the stall speed of the torque convertor and at the max power of the engine.This is a normal condition.If you have a 4x4 you could shift the transfercase into low range for the extra torgue.If the oil doesn't smell burn't,I would say your transmision is ok.The transmision oil should be changed every 50,000-80,000 km(30,000-50,000 miles).