Transmission overheating with less effort than expected.

[Dutsnekcirf]

Just picked up a platinum 2021 Powerboost with the 3.5l v6 about 2 months ago. I do not believe it has the max tow package. But I believe it has the tow tech package (?).

Just yesterday I hooked up our travel trailer for the first time and we went camping about two hours away.

My travel trailer gvwr is 6400 lb. Unloaded vehicle weight is 4670 lb. I didn’t get an exact weight of the camper after we loaded it up but I figure we gotta be within that range. We also had a full fresh water tank as well.

Within 20 minutes on the freeway the transmission temperature gauge got as high as 296F before I pulled over to let it cool down. The service engine soon light came on at about 270F. I was going about 75 mph at the time.

I slowed down to 65 or below the rest of the trip but still had to pull over two more times to let it cool down.

I’m pretty disappointed by this. My previous truck was a 2005 F150 xlt with the 5.4 liter tritan. This truck was a lemon from the day I bought it, but it never once had an issue with temperatures when towing this exact same trailer.

I was sure that this new truck with 11,000 lb towing capacity was overkill considering my trailer’s weight. What gives? Is there an after market transmission cooler I can buy for this thing? I figure it’s too late to upgrade to the max tow package. Would that even make a difference if I could?

Sponsored

 

[ryanc111]

The transmission shouldn't be getting that hot pulling that load. I had a similar issue with my '21 Powerboost and I was just pulling my motorcycle trailer. Turns out I had an issue with my transmission that the dealer had to resolve - I'm on vacation so don't have access to my service records to confirm the specific details unfortunately. If you don't have a resolution by next week when I get home I can look it up.

 

[WhiteLightningnshitshadow]

Yeah theres something definitely wrong with your truck. Send it in. Theres some guys that know a ton about the PB here thatll weigh in.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Just picked up a platinum 2021 Powerboost with the 3.5l v6 about 2 months ago. I do not believe it has the max tow package. But I believe it has the tow tech package (?).

Just yesterday I hooked up our travel trailer for the first time and we went camping about two hours away.

My travel trailer gvwr is 6400 lb. Unloaded vehicle weight is 4670 lb. I didn’t get an exact weight of the camper after we loaded it up but I figure we gotta be within that range. We also had a full fresh water tank as well.

Within 20 minutes on the freeway the transmission temperature gauge got as high as 296F before I pulled over to let it cool down. The service engine soon light came on at about 270F. I was going about 75 mph at the time.

I slowed down to 65 or below the rest of the trip but still had to pull over two more times to let it cool down.

I’m pretty disappointed by this. My previous truck was a 2005 F150 xlt with the 5.4 liter tritan. This truck was a lemon from the day I bought it, but it never once had an issue with temperatures when towing this exact same trailer.

I was sure that this new truck with 11,000 lb towing capacity was overkill considering my trailer’s weight. What gives? Is there an after market transmission cooler I can buy for this thing? I figure it’s too late to upgrade to the max tow package. Would that even make a difference if I could?

Good morning. Could you please send over a message with your VIN and estimate mileage? I would like to take a closer look into this transmission issue on my end.

 

[Mt.F150..]

Is there a external trans cooler on these trucks?

 

[Gord0]

Is there a external trans cooler on these trucks?

Just the liquid to liquid cooler stocked up on the side of the transmission. It works pretty well as long as your ECT's are in check. It sounds like there is definitely an issue with the OP transmission if he's seeing almost 300°

 

[Jeff1024]

Just the liquid to liquid cooler stocked up on the side of the transmission. It works pretty well as long as your ECT's are in check. It sounds like there is definitely an issue with the OP transmission if he's seeing almost 300°

This. For sure an issue with your truck. However with the 3.5 Engine the Trans Temp almost always moves in lock step with the amount of boost the engine is pushing.

Boost causes heat that heat has to go somewhere. The truck at times does not have the cooling capacity to cool both the engine under boost and the trans. Forcing a downshift and running higher RPM's and less boost is often a solid strategy. One it forces more water flow through the engine and second it limits heat from spooled up Turbo's

Boats tow easier than travel trailers, I get that but just some recent experience. We pulled a 7,000lb boat through the rolling hills of Kentucky at speeds between 45 and 65mph last weekend. All backroads no interstate. Low speed up hills is almost more difficult than high speed interstate hills. Staying in boost at 45 - 55 mph up a hill just builds a ton of heat and there isn't the air flow to cool stuff down like there is at 65 or 70.

We saw Engine Temps between 198 and 215 and Trans temps anywhere between 198 - 212. For the most part the truck stayed in 7th and I just let tow haul mode do its thing.

Overall the truck did great, would 100% do it again, but you do have to keep an eye on things.

 

[Cobraman428]

Did you lock out the upper gears 8-10? When you don't you are in the boost constantly which will cause a lot of heat and both eng/trans temp will climb. I pull a 4400 # camper and I'm always watching my boost gauge and when I see it start to climb, I'm downshifting and getting the ICE rpms up to offset / compensate for the boost. The PB loves to use the turbos before it downshifts. Just my two cents on this topic.

 

[Dutsnekcirf]

Did you lock out the upper gears 8-10? When you don't you are in the boost constantly which will cause a lot of heat and both eng/trans temp will climb. I pull a 4400 # camper and I'm always watching my boost gauge and when I see it start to climb, I'm downshifting and getting the ICE rpms up to offset / compensate for the boost. The PB loves to use the turbos before it downshifts. Just my two cents on this topic.

Good question. Since I’ve only had the truck a couple months I’m still learning all of its features. What I can say is that I was in tow mode the entire time. Which I believe disables gears 9 and 10. I was also in 2h the whole time.

With respect to boost. I have no idea. I’m not even sure how to check that. I suspect I need to swap out one of the gauges on the display to show boost. I have yet to make any of those kinds of customizations to my console display. How do I do that?

 

[Dutsnekcirf]

Just figured out how to get the boost gauge up.

 

[Cobraman428]

Just figured out how to get the boost gauge up.

I only tow in Tow/Haul mode that mode doesn't lock out gears. You must manually remove the upper gears. I only tow with using 92/93 octane gas. This truck is very unique and it takes time to learn how to get the most out of it. Glad you got your boost gauge showing. Also, I would use forscan (a program that allows you access to change features) to add the temp both Engine/Trans. See my dash below. You come to the right place to get help for your truck. There are a lot of great knowledgeable people on this forum.

 

[Mosey]

I don’t believe tow haul locks out 9 and 10. Not knowing your rear end gear ratio, locking out 8 - 10 may be in order. As others have stated, the EB/PB likes to spool up the turbos before downshifting. I found the keeping out of boost actually helps a bit with fuel economy - it still sucks the gas, just not as much.

 

[Mosey]

I only tow in Tow/Haul mode that mode doesn't lock out gears. You must manually remove the upper gears. I only tow with using 92/93 octane gas. This truck is very unique and it takes time to learn how to get the most out of it. Glad you got your boost gauge showing. Also, I would use forscan (a program that allows you access to change features) to add the temp both Engine/Trans. See my dash below. You come to the right place to get help for your truck. There are a lot of great knowledgeable people on this forum.

Too bad us XL/XLT owners cannot get the digital temps on the dash.

 

[Dutsnekcirf]

I don’t believe tow haul locks out 9 and 10. Not knowing your rear end gear ratio, locking out 8 - 10 may be in order. As others have stated, the EB/PB likes to spool up the turbos before downshifting. I found the keeping out of boost actually helps a bit with fuel economy - it still sucks the gas, just not as much.

How does one lock out those gears?

 

[Cobraman428]

Too bad us XL/XLT owners cannot get the digital temps on the dash.

I know, it's a shame that the lower trims don't have this option. But with an OBD2 MX+ you can set the app up on your phone and monitor the temps and a lot more options like this:

Sponsored