Should've kept the diesel - 2014 Ecoboost

[rherold9]

Nope, you're making a more narrow contact patch since there is less tire contacting the road = less noise (in theory). You may also improve mpg ever so slightly.

The more you know 

[rherold9]

After driving more and today in small wind the truck is already 50 times more stable. I didn't even know it was windy until I saw a guy with a trailer all over the road in front of me. The tires + alignment I guess make a huge difference. The brakes also feel way better. Problems solved.

I'll still try upping to 40psi to see how it feels, but the truck is much more enjoyable to drive now.

[rherold9]

For those who haven't seen. Had a stroke of luck in this past severe storm. Was relaxing on the river. Weather changed almost with a snap of a finger. Was leaving and the weather was bad. 20-40mph winds easily. Slowed down looking for a place to pull off. What looked like a 6 inch thick, 3-4 foot long branch came down and smashed the truck. Hit so hard the toll transponder and mirror knocked off the windshield. Somehow got it on video as I had a feeling some shit was about to go down lol. I'm pretty lucky the windshield held (mostly). Can feel the cracks on the inside of the windshield and some very small glass shards are on the dash. It's also leaking slightly in the rain last night.



I'm hoping it will buff out though. I think it's reasonable to assume? No?



Anyway. Insurance is covering it after deductible. Adjuster will be coming out in the next 3-5 business days. I'll then get it towed to the shop Justin recommended. I'll setup a Hertz rental to see if I can still get the Miata towed to Hyperfest if not I'll be driving the Miata there.



So sad as this truck was so damn clean and pretty. Hoping it turns out like new and I won't notice a thing.

I'm just happy it wasn't worse and really trying to stay positive about it all.



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[Senor_Taylor]

That's wild. Sorry it happened to you!

[JPolen01]

That must have been a hell of branch. Hope you got out and broke it half to show it who's boss.

[rherold9]

That's wild. Sorry it happened to you!

Yeah pretty amazing to be honest, appreciate it!

That must have been a hell of branch. Hope you got out and broke it half to show it who's boss.

Yeah, it smacked the hood first then rammed into the windshield. I did not want to get out and get killed by a branch, so I decided to gtfo of that area so nothing else happened. I went like 40mph+ after that on that road even though the speed limit is a lot lower than that lol.

[Sully]

What shop was recommended?

Who do you have for insurance?

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[rherold9]

What shop was recommended?

Who do you have for insurance?

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Powhatan Collision

State Farm

Currently waiting for adjuster or whatever you call them to come out and give me an estimate for payout. I'm going to use the small amount of tow coverage I have to send it to that shop above and have them fill in the missing gaps or actual cost compared to the low end payout insurance usually gives. This is what the shop recommended to do when I called. Super great people over the phone!!! I can definitely feel they'll take care of me well even with the brief conversation.

[rherold9]

After the accident the truck came back flawless. It literally is like almost nothing happened. Thank you Justin for the recommendation. They are good people and do good work at Powhatan Collision! 

On to PittRace. Went to PittRace the last weekend and had tons of fun. My first longer tow was a success. 6.5 hours one way without a hiccup. This truck works perfect with an open and Miata. Almost like nothing is back there even through some mountains with tons of wind. I only saw one point on the way back going up like a 6% grade for a few miles my transmission temp hit 221. Not sure what is considered high. Mostly sat in the lower 200s to low teens while towing. I got an average of 14.0 mpg the whole trip. This thing will chug along happily sitting at 2500rpm up a mountain in peak torque.

I still am happy switching over so far from the Diesel! I plan to keep this truck around hopefully until it's paid off. 

I'm 2k miles away from the 55k mile service. I'll report back then

[rherold9]

Record heat + mountains has shown the truck's weakness and common problem... overheating. On the way to PittRace in the 98-100 degree weather the truck on bigger hills/mountain grades decided it wanted to try to overheat. Thankfully I watch my gauges and saw the coolant temp start climbing. Keeping it at 70-75 wasn't going to work. Dropping speed and jumping off throttle helped keep temps to where it normally sits. Some extended grades like climbing for like 5-10 miles or so had me dropping speeds to 60 and sometimes 55mph. Thankfully the gauge just gradually moves from the middle point over or I would have missed it and been in red. The first time I hit around 80% of the needle's gauge before red. Never hit red once. After that I caught it at 65% or less. Other than that I could just sit there 65-75 without issue on small hills.

Now onto the problem... After some research it's a common issue on ecoboost trucks towing bigger loads. The standard gasser's are fine. No one has found the exact reason as Ford just says it's "normal" according to everyone who has brought in their trucks. Supposedly hitting red though just cuts power and is a safety mechanism. Obvious glaring point is boost. They didn't probably care enough to have their cooling system pushed hard and checked on heavier loads in mountains + hot temps. The more likely situation is they knew the problem, but didn't care to fix it. As seen in recent news about their other vehicles and is probably a common occurrence across all manufacturers. Still... It really shouldn't be normal for a modern truck that is boasted as meant to tow to have cooling issues when towing heavier loads (65% of the towing capacity).

Sad part is I have no major issues with this truck besides this. It has plenty of power to pull this trailer. It can easily accelerate up these steep grades at 70-75mph to faster speeds without a hiccup. It will just power through 3rd gear and pull. Interior is great. Rides nice. etc. It's just a bit frustrating that I'll either need to drop $1k+ for cooling upgrades for having towing confidence. I don't want to be glancing at my gauges constantly while towing. I want just a smooth tow, which the truck does besides this. The few times a year I tow mountains I will have this glaring issue...

I really don't want to increase monthly payment by $300 for a diesel although it would be a great peace of mind (I would want the same features as my current truck + things like adaptive cruise control if I changed trucks). I also shouldn't have to justify throwing over $1k at a truck to do it's job it's already meant to do. I also don't want to have a situation where I damage the truck. Idk. Just annoyed.

Positives: Transmission temps were rock fricken solid.

(in before DJ's hate on Ford reply)

[Kaan]

let me help you spend your money...

https://www.full-race.com/store/garage-s...upgrade-1/

https://www.full-race.com/store/ecoboost...h-can-kit/

you can easily drop $10k there but I didn't add any HP items

[V1GiLaNtE]

Seems to me this situation is a bit of an outlier compared to "normal". Not to say you won't tow in record heat again, but I would think on average the truck should do ok without pushing the temps? Do you think you'd hit those thresholds if it was normal 80s weather? PA is a long freaking haul with that weight and I definitely remember a lot of those PA grades being brutally long when I would wheel at Rausch Creek. Seems like you should take this as a mental note and see what happens next time before you start dumping money into it or a new truck...

[JPolen01]

I'm with Cabel on this one. How often are you towing into the mountains? In 110 degree heat? I wouldn't sink any money into it just yet unless you start commuting to Pittsburgh with a full trailer.

[Senor_Taylor]

Really no reason to worry about this. You tow super fucking fast anyway. You passed me and disappeared into the horizon so quick going up hill and I have a much lighter trailer and the 5.0.

Just slow down on the mountains in 100 degree heat.

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[JustinG]

Upgrade rad and intercooler, problem solved.

[JPolen01]

Really no reason to worry about this. You tow super fucking fast anyway. You passed me and disappeared into the horizon so quick going up hill and I have a much lighter trailer and the 5.0.

Just slow down on the mountains in 100 degree heat.

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That's another good point. 75mph is hauling with that load. Maybe try slowing down?

[rherold9]

What is fast for towing? 65? 70? 75? (Speed limit was 70). I was doing 75. I don't ever go above 75 consistently. Usually do 5 over the limit max. 65 I do 70. Truck feels fine and stable haha

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[Apoc]

What is fast for towing?

When your temps hit red.

My dad towed with F350 diesel and he never went above 60. Granted he was pulling two cars in an enclosed trailer, but it wasn't because he didn't have more power on reserve.

[ScottyB]

So it appears Ryan may be Ford's best torture tester by accident?

I'm honestly impressed the temp guages actually work and aren't just dummy gauges like most cars.

[Kaan]

Upgrade rad and intercooler, problem solved.

finally someone in MM ... besides me... encouraging the slippery slope. some of ya'll are getting old.