"HD" tow package 2005 Eddie Bauer

[ExplorerTom]

Yeah- get an F250 or Excursion regardless of whther or not you have the HD package.

 

[psudmb326]

ya this excursion is a real monster. I think my Expedition actually has a better ride, oh well. Good thing is that this excursion I picked up has like zero rust and 47k original miles!

 

[Jim Fiers]

Greetings NG here, I have a similar question for 2004 EB Exped. I just bought a 21 ft travel trailer dry weight 5000#, 1st question do I driver with OD off or on? all the posts I read say off but when driving home it seemed to really rev out especially going up a small incline. 2nd- I have the load distribution hitch, load levelers, anti sway bar and brake controller, but the rear end sags a bit and the tires look like they bow out (that was before I adjusted the hitch it was 2 holes too high) would a suspension upgrade help this? 3rd my 4.6l engine is crying and sluggish all the tune up stuff has been done and drives great without the extra weight it just seems dis appointing that this big truck would struggle with this small camper? Thanks in advance for any advice...

 

[TomB985]

Greetings NG here, I have a similar question for 2004 EB Exped. I just bought a 21 ft travel trailer dry weight 5000#, 1st question do I driver with OD off or on? all the posts I read say off but when driving home it seemed to really rev out especially going up a small incline. 2nd- I have the load distribution hitch, load levelers, anti sway bar and brake controller, but the rear end sags a bit and the tires look like they bow out (that was before I adjusted the hitch it was 2 holes too high) would a suspension upgrade help this? 3rd my 4.6l engine is crying and sluggish all the tune up stuff has been done and drives great without the extra weight it just seems dis appointing that this big truck would struggle with this small camper? Thanks in advance for any advice...

You can tow with OD on or off, it all depends on whether or not the transmission is excessively shifting between gears. Constant shifting creates heat, and your clutch packs will also see more wear. If it pulls fine in top gear you should be fine leaving it on.

As far as engine performance, sounds like it's running as designed. You're moving a lot of weight with hugely increased wind resistance at highway speeds with only 231 hp on tap. Most midsize sedans offer more power than that. So it's never going to drive like a rocket ship, and it will rev high to pull that trailer up the hill at highway speeds. That is nothing to do with leaving OD on or off, as that button just locks out the top gear. If you're saying above 3000 RPMs you are probably down th second gear, which is perfectly normal as the transmission shifts to put the engine at the rpm range needed to make the power your right foot is requesting.

There's nothing wrong with that. Your engine will run 5000 RPMs all day long and you won't hurt it, the biggest thing to monitor is engine and transmission temperature. These things are built to tow with, but not necessarily to do so quietly.

I would suggest getting the entire setup weighed to see what your axle weights are. You might have more tongue weight than you think, and you don't want to overload the rear axle. Check the payload sticker inside your driver's door for the maximum, if you're loaded axle weight is below that things are fine. As long as your tires are properly inflated, of course.

 

[MasterX]

Towing with the 03-06 with significant load, especially on hills, with OD turned on is a bad idea, over time it will blow out OD and you will be looking at a decent bill to replace the OD Band in the transmission. I bound mine from someone who did it, after AAMCO quoted him 3k+ to fix it which was robbery, i had a shop my dad knows the owner of fix it and a laundry list of other shit for 1250. the truck cost me 2500 with OD blown out.

AND my expedition is the heavy towing package 4x4, upgraded trans cooler, the works. Transmission shop guy said its very common to happen if you tow too much weight, especially on hills without poping it out of OD.

He also said doing a shift kit on the transmission while its out helps prevent it from occurring again, as well as firms up the shifts real nice, and he so far has been right, and i have offroaded the piss out of it since it was fixed, as well as towed some shit.

 

[TomB985]

Towing with the 03-06 with significant load, especially on hills, with OD turned on is a bad idea, over time it will blow out OD and you will be looking at a decent bill to replace the OD Band in the transmission. I bound mine from someone who did it, after AAMCO quoted him 3k+ to fix it which was robbery, i had a shop my dad knows the owner of fix it and a laundry list of other shit for 1250. the truck cost me 2500 with OD blown out.

If I had a dime for the bad advice I've heard from mechanics…

I have much respect for their experience, but they spend their time working on vehicles rather than driving or designing them. I have towed trailers as heavy as 14,000 pounds in overdrive behind my Excursion, as well as various other trucks and cars with this same transmission. On another forum I learned a lot from a guy named Mark Kovalsky, a Ford transmission engineer from 1987 to 2007. I take his word on transmission matters a lot more seriously than I would a mechanic who only sees broken things. This is one of his more recent posts on the subject:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1608954-can-i-tow-in-overdrive.html#post19044009

In a nutshell: disable overdrive if it is frequently shifting in and out. If the truck will hold the gear, you hurt nothing by letting it run at lower RPMs. Either the clutches will slip or they won't, and the gears are completely capable of handling the full torque of the engine. If they weren't you'd be snapping things each time you gave it more than part throttle.

 

[MasterX]

If I had a dime for the bad advice I've heard from mechanics…

I have much respect for their experience, but they spend their time working on vehicles rather than driving or designing them. I have towed trailers as heavy as 14,000 pounds in overdrive behind my Excursion, as well as various other trucks and cars with this same transmission. On another forum I learned a lot from a guy named Mark Kovalsky, a Ford transmission engineer from 1987 to 2007. I take his word on transmission matters a lot more seriously than I would a mechanic who only sees broken things. This is one of his more recent posts on the subject:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1608954-can-i-tow-in-overdrive.html#post19044009

In a nutshell: disable overdrive if it is frequently shifting in and out. If the truck will hold the gear, you hurt nothing by letting it run at lower RPMs. Either the clutches will slip or they won't, and the gears are completely capable of handling the full torque of the engine. If they weren't you'd be snapping things each time you gave it more than part throttle.

Excursion != Expedition(does not equal), two different Transmissions, two very different load capacities, power ratings, and expected duties.

Excursion likely has a 4R100 if its gas which is on average built for 1000 lbs of torque peak, and is heavier and larger when compared side by side.

Expedition 03-06 has a 4R75E basically the new version of the 4R70w, which is built for 700 lbs of torque peak.

This part i dont question:

In a nutshell: disable overdrive if it is frequently shifting in and out. If the truck will hold the gear, you hurt nothing by letting it run at lower RPMs. Either the clutches will slip or they won't, and the gears are completely capable of handling the full torque of the engine. If they weren't you'd be snapping things each time you gave it more than part throttle.

In either case I will add this, anyone with an 03-06 Expedition, if you end up doing a transmission job, beg for the shift kit, it made a major difference, especially when you hammer down to pass someone. Still not as good as a 07-13 with the 6 speed trans, but definitely better than it was before.

 

[TomB985]

The 6R80 transmission used in later models is in HUGE upgrade from the old 4R75E. There’s no comparison, and the newer transmission seems more reliable as well.

And yes, the Excursion had the 4R100 which is a completely different unit based on the E4OD. But the principle is the same, you can’t hurt the gear itself. If the clutches aren’t slipping and it’s not constantly shifting, nothing bad will happen to the transmission regardless of how much weight is behind it. The transmission is built to handle the full power of the engine, anything less and it wouldn’t last 1000 miles. Constant shifting is bad though, which is why we have the option to lock out overdrive.

By far the most important factor for transmission life is preventing it from overheating. You want to keep it below 230°, but it can go as high as 250° for as long as a half hour. Going hotter than that can do some really ugly things to the transmission, and I monitor mine with an OBD Bluetooth adapter and Android tablet.

 

[Jim Fiers]

Thanks all for replying, one good thing is I live in Florida so lots of flat roads. I did get the hitch adjusted so it will sit more level and I'll get everything weighed when I get a chance and I like the idea of monitoring transmission temp. Not going cross country anytime soon just need this thing to hold out for a couple years until the Harley is paid off lol.

 

[TomB985]

YES… Towing down south you want to monitor your transmission temperatures. My 5.4 L Expy has a slightly larger transmission cooler than the 4.6 L models do, and I've seen temperatures go north of 200° towing my 3500-lb boat. This is in mid-80° temps in up here in Minnesota.

You may or may not need additional cooling, but you absolutely must be able to keep an eye on it.