2016 F250 tranny

[Sportsmen]

Still trying to figure out the 6 speed in my new to me 2016 F250 gasser. I put it in tow/haul mode but the engine is only turning 1500 rpm at 60 mph which causes lots of downshifting on overpasses, etc. I think I figured out you can lock out 5th and 6th gears using the electronic shift control on the gear shift lever.
I am interested in what others are doing to maintain a little higher rpm to eliminate a lot of downshifts.
My old truck only had a 4 speed tranny and locking out the O/D the engine would run around 2300 RPM at 60 mph which eliminated a lot of downshifts.

Thoughts ??

[Sportsmen]

Retired JSO wrote:
Keep it locked out of the higher gears. I pulled a 8,500 lb loaded W&P TT toy hauler with a 2016, 6.2 gas, F250, 3:73 rear gear. On flat roads, 65 MPH with cruise engaged in 5th gear. Any hill, even overpass approaches, would have to gear down to 4th or 3rd. Was able to do 35 MPH in 2nd northbound on I-26 on just south of Asheville NC. Would turn 4500-5000 RPMs real easy.

Thanks for the reply.. I towed for the 2nd time yesterday and locking out 6th made a hugh difference in towing my trailer. Lots of power if I let it rev...

[Retired_JSO]

Keep it locked out of the higher gears. I pulled a 8,500 lb loaded W&P TT toy hauler with a 2016, 6.2 gas, F250, 3:73 rear gear. On flat roads, 65 MPH with cruise engaged in 5th gear. Any hill, even overpass approaches, would have to gear down to 4th or 3rd. Was able to do 35 MPH in 2nd northbound on I-26 on just south of Asheville NC. Would turn 4500-5000 RPMs real easy.

[Grit_dog]

^ Sidecar is still living in 1996 in his F350....

[shum02]

SidecarFlip wrote:
My only issue with the new slush boxes and all that 'shifting' is heat. When the clutch packs unlock and relock, heat is produced with every change. Slushboxes don't like heat no matter what year they are.

heat kills slush boxes, always has.

This is not a C6 slush box.

I can barely get my Torqueshift 5sp to hit 150F while towing with the a/c running. 15 quarts of fluid and a really large cooler and pan on these trannies. The do NOT overheat without seriously overloading the truck.

[sgfrye]

MFL wrote:
You don't say how heavy you are towing, but yes, lock out 6th, use tow/haul. If you are towing more than 10K, and have lots of hills, or wind is an issue, you may want to lock out 5th as well.

If you don;t lug the engine, your mileage may even improve.

Jerry

x2
i have a 2017 f250 gasser with 3.73
previous TT was approx 7500lb loaded to camp
current TT is approx 9500lbs

great tow vehicle, as well as engine-tranny combo for that weight range.

[Grit_dog]

^ First, over drive, underdrive, direct, are nothing magical. They're only gear ratios in the transmission. That is literally only 1 of 4 parts of the overall gearing equation.
But the real answer is you haven't seriously driven, or towed with similar vehicles with a 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 8 or 10 speed transmission.

It's akin to cutting down a tree.
You can do it with a hatchet = single speed, a hand saw = 2 speed, a felling axe = 3 speed, sawzall = 4 speed, little chainsaw = 5/6 speed or a Stihl 460 = 8/10 speed!
It's one of those, don't know what you're missing things. Do I miss a 6/8 speed trans in commuter traffic or driving an empty pickup? Nope.
Does the 8 speed in our new SRT click off shifts in under 2/10 of a second when you mat the skinny pedal, up AND down shifts? Yup.
Does the 6 speed in my little 1/2 ton work truck tow better than the 4 speeds in our older 3/4 tons? Yup

[mosseater]

I don't claim to be an engineer, but I have to wonder why we need two OD gears? I'd rather have the rpm spread broken up more in the previous 5 gears and give me one OD with a reasonable ratio. My 4 spd dinosaur only has one OD and it runs fine that way for the most part. I do lock it out many times on hilly routs, so I'm fine with some rpms. I just fail to see why they make them overly complex with extra gears then ad an extra OD. I'd gladly take an extra gear between 1st thru 5th or 6th, then have one OD. Prolly all about fuel economy, but it it won't pull either of the OD without down shifting into "D", what's the point? If I want a sizable jump between any gears, put it between OD and the last gear before OD. It's going to shift out of OD anyhow.

[spoon059]

Dave H M wrote:
tader chip

tator chip... like potato/potator...

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I don't understand people? :h

#1. People complain to the manufactures that they need more gears.

#2. Manufactures comply and give them more gears and better gas mileage because of more gears.

#3. People complain to manufactures that their trucks shift too much and want to lock out the gears they have. :h :h :h

My suggestion is put the truck in D, turn on TH and turn on the radio to your favorite music station and drive to you favorite vacation spot.

[Grit_dog]

But it’s not a ‘96 F350 thus it could not ever be as good or reliable or beloved.
Them multi speed transmissions are the devil Bobby Buosche!!

[FishOnOne]

SidecarFlip wrote:
My only issue with the new slush boxes and all that 'shifting' is heat. When the clutch packs unlock and relock, heat is produced with every change. Slushboxes don't like heat no matter what year they are.

heat kills slush boxes, always has.

The current 6R140 6 speed transmission in my truck is way more reliable than the 4 speed E40D transmission in your truck. I have no doubt that Fords new 10 speed Torque Shift transmission will be even better. As for the heat concern that's no longer an issue.

[goducks10]

SidecarFlip wrote:
My only issue with the new slush boxes and all that 'shifting' is heat. When the clutch packs unlock and relock, heat is produced with every change. Slushboxes don't like heat no matter what year they are.

heat kills slush boxes, always has.

With the new improved cooling on the trucks I've had I see no tranny heat issues. On my 2010 F150 6 sp it had no OD lockout and no way to choose gears. Put it in drive and you take what it gives. It shifted back and forth all the time. Used a scan gauge and temps never hardly moved except when climbing steeper grades in hot weather.
Both My 2012 Ram CTD and my 2018 Ram 6.4 pretty much stay in the 168-170 range until the same scenario as above.

Now my 08 F150 5.4 3.73 4 sp got lots of heat spikes. It just didn't have the better tranny cooling that newer trucks have.

[SidecarFlip]

My only issue with the new slush boxes and all that 'shifting' is heat. When the clutch packs unlock and relock, heat is produced with every change. Slushboxes don't like heat no matter what year they are.

heat kills slush boxes, always has.

[danrclem]

You can set it so you can shift it yourself manually.