07 F150 4x4 Tow Vehicle
 

Any one use one of these to tow with? I have it with the 5.4L 41000 miles. Level kit with 33" tires on it. Pulling to the local lake it does fine. But I like going to another lake that has some hills to get to and my truck really struggles pulling the boat up the hills. Like to the point where I can't get over 38mph. any one else have this issue? if so do you run stock or do you have performance mods?

I run with
AFE Cold air intake
Flowmaster Exhaust
Bully Dog Triple Dog GT Gas Gauge

new gears will solve that problem.....do you know what you are running?

5.4L in a F150 is a gas engine right? What gears do you have in it? That would be a great way to get improved towing.

I am not sure on the gear ratio right now....I will check when I get home. You guys both use SUV's to tow. Do either of you go to higher elevation area's to go to the lake? How do you SUV's handle?

Also I am having my truck go in to have the valves checked out cause I get some pinging when I start it (not the usual ping that you get while your valves re-lube themselves) and also during acceleration and am wondering if that has something to do with the towing power.

those tires decrease your towing capability.

Mine tows great although I have a 6.2L with close to 400hp an a little 400tq as well as a 6spd trans.
Those tires are hurting you a lot, that's why gearing is mentioned first. Doesn't your truck have about 260hp?

Get blown. You'll have plenty of power.

Must be geared wrong.

Tires, Tires, Tires. If your going to put over sized tires on a truck, you'll need to change the gearing. I've got a 05 Expedition with the 5.4 and I pull my boat just fine. In fact I pulled it from Cali to Utah and there are a lot of big hills in between.

Ya the gearing is what I was thinking. Anyone every re-geared their truck....how much did that run you?

Brian, did you see what gears you are running? You can check by opening the drivers door and looking on the VIN sticker there will be an axle code there. If you get me that I can tell you what gears you are running. If they are 3:73's then you really should be fine. I have towed several times with the same truck over the Cascades with no problem but always with 3:73's. 33's aren't that big for that truck at all but yes they do reduce performance some. If they are 3:73's then the problem could be somewhere else.

Oh and re-gearing isn't very expensive I wanna say sub $500 but its been a while.

I got a 06 with 5.4 6" lift and 35"s and don't really have any problems towing my LSV. It might not tow like a diesel up the hills, but it isn't that bad. Mine came stock with 3:73's and that is still what I got on it. I got a quote for a re-gear and it was was right around $1k for both front and rear. I think eventually I will re-gear mine.

Ya I have the 373 gears.... I am wondering if it is something with my programmer I have. I am taking it off this weekend to see how the stock set up pulls. Then if that is not it....Taking it to the dealership and having them figure it out.

Got to re-gear. You're tearing up your transmission.

Ya, somethin don't sound right. I would suspect that you have some sort of driveabilty issue if you can go no faster than 38 mph. I pull hills 75-80 all day long with mine. And your boat isn't that big. hose things are rated to tow around 9500 pounds. I don't think your 33's are to far off causing you to lose that much power.

Bawshogg you got a nice set up there by the way. Yours is a little bit more powerful then mine if you have the roush. But I agree I should be able to hold on the hills a lot better then 38mph. It is like is just wont downshift. I have the peddle to the floor and my speed just decreases down to about 38 then it downshifts and revs up to 5500 rpm's (going off of memory) takes me back up to about 42 then shifts and I loose the speed again. You don't think that could be the programmer causing it do you?

MOST Roushe trucks are just appearance packages but not all ;) Bawshogg is right the tow rating is 9300lbs on the 4x4 crew.

you said you have a programmer most of them advance your timing and you have to run a higher octane fuel. the pinging you describe sounds like too much advance in the timing coupled with the taller tires . take off the programmer and see how it does.

I agree, download your factory tune back into the truck and atleast get a baseline for what is going on. It will be easier to diagnose without the programming thrown into the mix anyway if it's not the programmer. Sounds to me like you may have a fuel delivery issue though, IE: fuel pump, filter restriction, ect. You could possibly have a restricted exhaust system or contaminated mass airflow sensor, happens frequently with aftermarket cold air intake kits that have a oiled filter media. Just a few things to look at. My truck has nothing Roush appearance wise. All go. 4:56 gears, Custom tune. 500hp, 550 ft.lbs. So we are not comparing apples to apples, but you still shouldn't struggle that bad.

Ya I have set my truck back to the stock tune to see if I still get any issues. My CIA is a dry filter kit so that shouldn't be the problem but I am not counting anything out yet. Exhaust....unless someone shoved something up them it shouldn't be the problem. Other thing I have wondered about when I hit about 18,000 miles the torque convert had to be replaced due to some chip that cracked the case on it causing it to leak. Every since then I have felt that the shifting just has not been the same....I have complained to the dealership multiple times of this and they have checked things and just say nope everything is fine. I am out of the factory warranty but the dealership I purchased the truck from has a lifetime warranty on the powertrain as long as I have kept up with general maintenance. But I really don't want to use that dealership anymore due to distance away from me know and just haven't liked them that much. I have been trying to talk to them about getting it in but they are taking forever to figure out anything.

Exhaust systems don't get restricted from things getting stuck in them. Usually what happens is an overly "rich" fuel condition causes overfueling to the cat. converters. The cats overheat and melt form the excessive fuel. Could be an issue with a modified tune, but most likely you would have other indictaors. CEL, ect. They may have installed the incorrect T.C. also, wrong stall speed for your engine. The 4.6 models use a slightly different T.C. , but the only way to tell would be to pull the trans and look really. You should still have the balance of you 5/60 powertrain warraty from Ford that is good at any dealership, but with what you are looking, chances of what you have goin on being covered are slim. Eliminate as many possible causes as you can onyour own and go from there. Shop around to differnet dealerships if needed.

Hey Bawshogg does that 5/60,000 transfer? I purchased the vehicle with 6,000 miles on it from a dealership.

Yes, it stays with the vehicle on our powertrains.

Good! I feel a lot better now. I took my brothers Tahoe this weekend and it was night and day difference. The Tahoe made it seem like nothing compared to the F150....part of me thinks it is the torque converter issue. Like it just isn't getting the torque it needs to make it up the hills. I don't notice it during just my city driving cause I am not hauling anything and it is all flat where I live. Calling up my local Ford Dealer tomorrow to see what they can do for me.