E450 V10?

[Jerseydevil]

06' just hit 33,000. Sat all winter, oil changed a few weeks ago. Noticed a ping, chirp, sound, etc? from engine while on recent trip. All gauges were good and ran strong. Put some 93 octane in. Will see what happens.

[DrewE]

VA-Apraisr wrote:
I'm not sure if Tow/Haul is a button to push, or just taking it out of overdrive when climbing/descending a step hill. 2003 Ford V-10 and all I have is the overdrive button on the shifter. Maybe newer units have this button?

The 5 speed and newer transmissions have tow-haul; the older 4 speed transmissions have overdrive off. The buttons are generally on the end of the shifter in both cases, but are labeled differently and cause different behaviors.

The overdrive off for the 4 speed transmission does exactly what it sounds like: it locks out overdrive, similar to how shifting from "D" to "2" locks out overdrive and third gear. Tow/haul, on the other hand, does not lock out any gear, but alters the programming of the transmission computer brain thingy to be more appropriate for heavy loads (by changing shift points, downshifting when braking on a hill, changing when the torque converter locks and unlocks to reduce heat, etc.).

[silvrsled]

I use tow mode when climbing and on flat grounds but when decending, I usually turn it off. Reason is because our's is very harsh on the downshift and it also seems to downshift way too early. I heard 5 Star tune may change the way tow mode down shifts? Anyone else have this experience with their tow mode? The tow mode on my silverado 2500 works great and is pretty smooth.

[VA-Apraisr]

I'm not sure if Tow/Haul is a button to push, or just taking it out of overdrive when climbing/descending a step hill. 2003 Ford V-10 and all I have is the overdrive button on the shifter. Maybe newer units have this button?

[T18skyguy]

Jackha1949 wrote:
You may want to add gas stablizer to your fuel tank before storing your rig for any length of time. It will prevent your gas from degrading and gumming up your engine especially your generator carb. I don't hear much about using gas stablizer in RVs, however, it is used regularly in storing boats. Hope this helps.

I use marine grade Stabil in my rig when it sits, and I make sure to run the genny so it gets in there too. The difference between the red Stabil and the green Marine Stabil is the marine is much more concentrated. Is more practical to use than the red stuff. I have never had the gas go bad in the rig or genny.

[Desert_Captain]

cross21114 wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:
"I did not use tow/haul mode except in some severe situations."

That's too bad as the non use of Tow Haul is hard on the trans {it runs hotter}, and hard on the brakes as they are needed far more than with the proper TH use. Every Class C renter {at least a dozen}, I have spoken with was never told about using Tow Haul. Just another reason I will never buy a former rental unit.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

Please explain how running in tow haul increases the trans temp. It would seem to me that the opposite is true. Certainly the engine runs at higher rpms and burns more gas. If you drive easy, you don't need to ride the brakes. I experience much better performance running my Expedition without tow/haul.
Thanks

It doesn't... Please re read my post...

I stated {correctly}, that the "NON" use of tow haul increases trans temps. Any rig that is operating anywhere near its GVWR {like most of the larger Class C's out there}, or towing anything should have the TH engaged at ALL times. When using TH on long down grades the the braking afforded by the engine/transmission nearly eliminates the need for the brake pedal and you are not burning a drop of gas.

If you had a Scan Gauge or other display that showed the trans fluid temps you would realize that you have been cooking your trans, especially on long slight grades by not using TH. Even a 2 per cent grade will drive your trans temps up 12 - 20 degrees. Engage TH and watch it drop like a stone as the Torque Converter is locked up eliminating friction/slippage that generates heat.

Tow Haul is one of the most useful, least understood and consequently properly used functions found on any motorhome/truck. It's all right there in the owners manual. Better performance comes from running the rig the way the engineers designed it for optimum efficiency.

:C

[cross21114]

Desert Captain wrote:
"I did not use tow/haul mode except in some severe situations."

That's too bad as the non use of Tow Haul is hard on the trans {it runs hotter}, and hard on the brakes as they are needed far more than with the proper TH use. Every Class C renter {at least a dozen}, I have spoken with was never told about using Tow Haul. Just another reason I will never buy a former rental unit.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

Please explain how running in tow haul increases the trans temp. It would seem to me that the opposite is true. Certainly the engine runs at higher rpms and burns more gas. If you drive easy, you don't need to ride the brakes. I experience much better performance running my Expedition without tow/haul.
Thanks

[Desert_Captain]

"I did not use tow/haul mode except in some severe situations."

That's too bad as the non use of Tow Haul is hard on the trans {it runs hotter}, and hard on the brakes as they are needed far more than with the proper TH use. Every Class C renter {at least a dozen}, I have spoken with was never told about using Tow Haul. Just another reason I will never buy a former rental unit.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV

:C

[Jackha1949]

You may want to add gas stablizer to your fuel tank before storing your rig for any length of time. It will prevent your gas from degrading and gumming up your engine especially your generator carb. I don't hear much about using gas stablizer in RVs, however, it is used regularly in storing boats. Hope this helps.

[cross21114]

We just finished a 1,000 mile trip in a Cruise America 30 with the V10. Despite the noise I was impressed with the engine (86,000 miles). We averaged just under 9mpg and I think the tank wasn't quite full when we got it. Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Sedona, to Phoenix so some mountain travel. I did not use tow/haul mode except in some severe situations. Only used 87 octane except one tank in Utah (I think) which was 85. Did not notice any pinging.

[fourthclassC]

Just my experience here.. When mice ate the air filter element and the paper crumbs stuck to the mass air flow sensor, the vehicle would not run. After I cleand it out and determined the heater failed on the sensor, the vehicle ran ok but had very hard shifts and would ping slightly, premium gas helped some but not completely. New mass air flow sensor - no more ping with regular gas.

[carringb]

I'm with Desert Captain.... The V10 should not need higher octane, except to buy time until the proper repairs are made. Besides a contaminated MAF, a intake or vacuum leak can also cause it.

I've been running 89 for towing (22,000 combined) because I had intermittent pinging from a vacuum and/or EGR leak. Because of my high miles, I just had everything gone over at once, and I'm fairly confident I'll be able to tow with 87 octane again. At least until the temps rise. Above ~90F I still need 89 octane, because the program I run is fairly aggressive with the timing advance.

[T18skyguy]

What that engineer is saying is absolutely true for a new engine, not an old engine. He doesn't go into that, so I'll address it the best I can. So how does an engine change over time?

" So, if you put in a lower octane fuel, and then go drive your car hard, press the accelerator quickly, it is possible to experience heavy knock, and possible engine damage." Here he admits that knock can produce engine damage. This is how engines get there.

Lets say that a new engine from the factory is set with a compression ratio of 8.5. You usually won't hear any knock from a new engine with 87 octane fuel. But as engines age, they experience what engineers call "octane creep". This happens because the combustion chamber, valves, and the top of the pistons, get covered with combustion deposits that get thicker over time. When this happens, because the piston pulls in the same amount of air(roughly) it raises the compression ratio because the reduced area results in a higher pressure than when the engine was new. It typically starts at about 30-40 thousand miles, just like the op is complaining at 33,000 miles. So you start off with a new engine that runs fine on 87 octane, and a few years down the road you scratch your head and wonder why it's knocking. That engineer said that engine timing is set. The purpose of a knock sensor is to back the timing(and hurt gas mileage and power) to stop knocking(at least it use to be). So you start with a compression ratio of 8.5, but with the deposit build up it now 9.0. There are only two ways to address it; reduce the load, or go to higher octane. Myself, I don't want my engine knocking. A gasoline engine that knocks is trying to be a diesel, and it's not built for that. When fuel ignites in a combustion engine it burns, but when it knocks, it explodes. There is a huge difference in temperature and pressure when this happens. The real culprit is the poor quality of today"s fuel. Sometimes even 93 octane will not stop it. Myself, I give the engine what it asks for. This is especially important with the greater load our rigs impose on the engine. Myself, when my engine "talks" to me, I listen.

[Harvard]

Clicky

[Desert_Captain]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:

Nice to see that the myth of using higher octane to solve mechanical problems is still alive. :S

30+ years of automotive engineering disagrees with you.

I qualified my response by saying "ping" from pre-ignition can be cured by higher octane. Why the pre-ignition is occurring is hard to diagnose, but likely it is from carbon build up inside the combustion chamber.

Higher octane fuel will not ignite until a higher in cylinder temperature is reached, such as an actual spark event nor just a "hot spot".

In my case, anecdotal evidence proves I am correct.

Nice job cherry picking my quote. "Ping" in a V-10, if in fact that is the problem, is not caused by running 87 octane gas. The V-10 was designed and engineered to run perfectly on 87 and running 93 is merely a waste of money misdirected at a problem that has not been addressed. The source of the problem needs to be identified and dealt with and buying 93 octane gas is at best a band aid solution. Like I said, Google it.

I did and here is an interesting article by a Ford engineer on the real impact of using the wrong octane:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-real-impact-of-using-wrong-fuel-octane-1785829176

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C