Using the Trans for Engine Braking?

[Samson16]

I have a raptor wheel so it's easier than using the shifter.

Not if you include the time, cost and effort involved to have a raptor wheel. ? That first steering wheel lock out was quite difficult lol

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[Henfield]

I used to frequently (once a month) travel from I81 on to I77 towards Charlotte. This includes the Fancy Gap section of interstate. Ignoring the really pretty views from that interstate, its a very steep section of road. It is perfectly common to smell overheated brake pads caused by truckers not in a low enough gear or not using their Jake brake properly and are cooking their brake pads.

 

[FirstFord]

Original poster here. A great discussion with a lot of good comments. However, based on some of the comments, it is apparent to me that I may have, unintentionally, been a little vague regarding the circumstances. I will try to clear up some of the vagueness, and get more specific.

I wasn't talking about driving down a highway, 50, 60, 70 MPH, and then descending a modest slope (or even a mountainous slope). Where I live, there are two blacktop roads in particular that are pretty steep. It is not descended at speed by anyone. Up until I read that confounded article, my routine practice was to slow to about 10 ~ 15MPH, put the trans in Manual mode, shift down to 1st gear, and descend the hill. Over the course of the descent, the engine would slowly start to tach up (engine braking working!), and when the revs got to the point of being ~ 4500-4700, I would gently, briefly, apply the brakes to bring the revs back down some, and then the process would repeat until I got to the bottom of the hill. At the bottom of the hill I would take it out of Manual mode and put it back into Drive, and resume my drive. This was my normal routine, 95% of the time. Otherwise, you are riding the brakes (with a fair amount of pressure) all the way down. If pulling a trailer, this was the process 100% of the time.

Then I read that article (as referenced in the OP) and it gave me pause. After reading some of the posts - particularly those referencing the Owner's Manual, I went back and checked the manual myself and saw that there is not only nothing wrong with engine braking, but it is actually recommended in some circumstances. So, I've gotten over my doubt. (Wish I never read that article!?)

 

[FirstFord]

That article sounds like a bunch of hogwash. Maybe this "expert" was referring to a belt driven cvt in a runabout little car, but these are trucks. Meant to pull and control heavy loads.

I'd sure like to see a link to the article.

I hear ya! And as I previously posted in a follow up post, I speculated that perhaps the article was aimed at "ordinary" cars (mere mortals). And you have a great point about the target possibly being CVT transmissions. My truck is the first NEW vehicle I have bought in a long time, and I paid more for my truck than I did for my first house! (I STILL can't believe what these things cost!) My truck is a truck, and I use it as a truck. I don't baby it, but I do try to take care of it and treat it right so that it will last (especially considering what they cost!). So, when I read that silly article, I halted the engine-braking practice until I could explore the subject further. I am now satisfied, and the practice has been reinstated.

Sorry - no link - I didn't keep any reference to it.

 

[HammaMan]

The F150's trans has a larger TC locking clutch than mustang and other smaller 10r80 vehicles. It will lock up in EVERY gear. Shifting under heavy loads wears a trans, not locked operation. Engine braking on any of the F150 motors isn't even that great of a load. The article was written as a broad generalization with dated knowledge at best.

 

[Calson]

I have yet to replace the rear brakes on any vehicle I have owned in the past 30 years. The front brakes do most of the work and that is why so many trucks and SUVs were made with front disc and rear drum brakes (up until 1999 with the Chevy Tahoe and Silverado for example).

ABS keeps the brakes from locking up and that is not going to affect brake pad life. Traction control applies braking to a much faster spinning rear wheel on a truck and that is also a rare situation. Even then the braking is modest to maintain control and not lock up a wheel which would make the situation much worse.

I hated the first ABS implementations as when the vehicle would hit anything that reduced traction of the tires there was not braking that would take place and difficult to stop where one intended to do so. Especially bad when driving on downhill sections of dirt road where it greatly reduced control in maintaining a safe speed.

 

[FirstFord]

The article was written as a broad generalization with dated knowledge at best.

I agree about the generalization nature of the article. Regarding the "with dated knowledge" aspect, the comical irony is that the author stated that people who engaged in engine braking were using outdated methods and were not up to date - "modern" transmissions are up to enduring the stress. The irony is hilarious! ? I suppose one could use that to reinforce an argument that the author must have been referring to "ordinary" cars...

 

[HammaMan]

Not if you include the time, cost and effort involved to have a raptor wheel. ? That first steering wheel lock out was quite difficult lol

I mean I was swapping for a HSW anyway. Factoring in the raptor aspect I maybe spent 10 minutes making the 3 pinned wires and another 10 minutes spike tapping the control wires?

 

[Samson16]

I mean I was swapping for a HSW anyway. Factoring in the raptor aspect I maybe spent 10 minutes making the 3 pinned wires and another 10 minutes spike tapping the control wires?

I was trying to get a laugh by pointing to the time it takes to replace a steering wheel in order to lock out gears vs. just reaching down to the shifter but I failed to carry it off. The jokes don't always work sir.

 

[HammaMan]

I was trying to get a laugh by pointing to the time it takes to replace a steering wheel in order to lock out gears vs. just reaching down to the shifter but I failed to carry it off. The jokes don't always work sir.

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't have done it for the gears alone. It was more of a situation of additional utility for not that much more work. I was replacing the wheel and found the simplicity of adding the 3 additional wires worth it. There's far too many gears to drive it manually though for normal conditions. It's handy when needed but not something you'd use daily unless you're in the mountains.

 

[KartRacer25]

EricR Power Beast etc

I feel like an idiot, I never thought to use cruise control on a downhill road descent to reduce speed.
Can't wait to try it now.
I have adaptive cruise but rarely use it, or turned most of the lane assist stuff off. Not very good.
I still seem to engage the collision avoidance system pretty regularly though. LOL

Thanks,
5.0 Space Coyote

 

[STM]

EricR Power Beast etc

I feel like an idiot, I never thought to use cruise control on a downhill road descent to reduce speed.
Can't wait to try it now.
I have adaptive cruise but rarely use it, or turned most of the lane assist stuff off. Not very good.
I still seem to engage the collision avoidance system pretty regularly though. LOL

Thanks,
5.0 Space Coyote

I find the adaptive cruise control very useful in a lot of situations, particularly in driving in city traffic, both on surface streets and in city freeways. When I turn it on, the truck does an amazing job of managing braking and moving forward in stop and go traffic and all I need to do is manage the steering..

It reduces the level of engagement I need and takes away a lot of stress..

These are really amazing trucks!

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

I can’t understand why it would be bad. The transmission is fully capable of a lot more torque under load. With my (granted, not amazing) knowledge of how a transmission works, I can’t see how engine braking would put any more stress on it than pulling 10,000 lbs up a mountain. Or even empty just accelerating hard.

 

[4dRunningMan]

I would also agree with engine braking not being bad for the transmission. What if I'm towing a trailer and going down a mountain? I'd burn out my brakes pretty quickly if I braked all the way down! I believe our transmissions are built "Ford Tough" enough to withstand engine braking.

 

[Stroodle96]

My bet is that article was make a big generalization. Most passengers cars aren't probably are not designed for it(no idea of this is true, but id believe it). But like others have said the F150 was designed for it I think.

I know my engine brake kicks in a lot when in cruise control or in tow haul mode. I dont think they would add that to cruise control unless the transmission could handle it.


That being said, I was going down a really long steep hill on a forest service road this summer and had the transmission almost overheat.
I had it in 1st gear, the road was really bumpy I was only going about 10mph or under the whole way down. Halfway down I see my transmission temp has climbed way higher than I've seen it before.
So now as a precaution, I never use the engine brake through the manual mode. If I want engine breaking I put it in tow/haul or turn on cruise and let the computer handle it. I haven't had any issue that way. I'm assuming I was going way to slow for the transmission to properly cool itself.

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