2015 powerstroke overheating

[Moomba80]

Just got back from Great Smokey Mountains. I have a 2015 F250 powerstroke. Pulling A Fuzion 325 roughly 16000lbs when loaded. While going over mountain truck overheated three times. Temps going over 240 deg. Causing truck to go into limp mode. When we finally made it to a town with ford dealer they could not find anything wrong or codes. Has anyone else had this problem or am I just overloaded with a F250 with a 3.55 gear??? Thanks

[Javi]

16k with 3:55 and F250.....yeah you're overloaded. Dropping down to 4th and keeping the rpm about 2K would've helped I reckon.

FWIW 16k is more than I want to pull uphill even with my 3:73 on a regular basis. 16k is 4:11 territory and certainly dually country.

[Jim & DJ]

Happy New Year. I agree with Javi. The turbo may have been way over the safety point. Let us know what you find.... Another Ford owner..

[JRTJH]

I've got a 2015 F250, 6.7L with 3.31 gearing. This summer we pulled Rabbit Ears Pass (Steamboat, CO) in 5th gear towing our Cougar (about 9000 lb) maintained 65 all the way up the hill, which is an 8% grade for almost 15 miles. Never saw the oil temp or the transmission go above 220.

If you look at the specs for the F250, you'll find a GVW of 10K and a "MAX" fifth wheel rating of 15,900 (4x4). BUT, the "kicker" is the truck/trailer GCWR is 23,500. The truck weighs in at almost 8000 lbs, so the maximum trailer for an "empty" F250 diesel is about 15,500. If you're pushing your truck to its GVW with passengers, hitch and cargo, then adding to the total weight with a 16000 lb fifth wheel, you're definitely overloading your truck and towing more than you should be towing.

Take your rig to a scale and you'll see that you're way over what the truck "should" be hauling, in payload (hitch weight) GVW and GCWR.

As stated, 16000 pound fifth wheel is "way past" your truck's "comfort zone" and definitely into F350 DRW 4.30 gearing territory.

Do yourself a favor and get a bigger truck while this one's still operational. Extended towing with your rig is going to leave you stranded on the side of the road, probably sooner rather than later.

[larry337]

In my opinion there's something wrong. 16k might be too much for an f250 chassis but the power train should not be over heating. My old f250 with a 3.55 was rated for 15k. People pull toy haulers with f250's all the time. I'm not condoning over weight conditions but It just sounds like something else is going on.

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[dcg9381]

Originally Posted by Jim & DJ

The turbo may have been way over the safety point. Let us know what you find.... Another Ford owner..

Last I heard, turbo's were mechanically or electrically boost limited at the wastegate... F250 and 16k lbs might be overloaded - most likely at the pin. Shouldn't overheat...

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by dcg9381

Last I heard, turbo's were mechanically or electrically boost limited at the wastegate... F250 and 16k lbs might be overloaded - most likely at the pin. Shouldn't overheat...

The 2015 6.7L upgrades eliminated the wastegate and all the electronics involved with wastegate control. Here's a cut/paste of some of the information. You can find the entire article here: http://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tec...-2015-updates/

"The turbocharger itself is being upgraded. Ford will replace the previous Garrett GT32 with a GT37. The GT37 features a larger 88 mm compressor wheel (exducer) that replaced the GT32’s siamese wheel. On the turbine side of things, the wheel is increased to 72.5 mm up from 64 mm. In addition, the wastegate and wastegate controls have been eliminated. “The original designers of the current Power Stroke V8 diesel forecasted the need for higher output. This facilitated the larger turbocharger, increasing airflow and creating more power,” said David Ives, Power Stroke technical specialist. “We’ve dramatically improved performance while reducing overall engine complexity by focusing on the turbo system.”

The engine won't "overheat and damage itself", but it will get "too hot for comfort"... From that same article, here's one of several methods that Ford uses to prevent overheating: "One change that you may or may not like is the new exhaust temperature sensor. This will allow the ECU to know how hot things are getting (especially important when towing) and change the fueling/timing to prevent damage."

Another interesting article is here: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013...0927-ford.html

[gtsum2]

The 250 is likely overloaded (I have a ram 3500 srw and tow same weights and I am at my max 12400 gvwr), but something certainly seems wrong with the motor. The motor and tranny should have no issues with that weight whatsoever. Suggest u visit another dealer as well as power stroke forum to see if others are having this issue. Good luck


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[Moomba80]

Thanks for all the comments and help. The only thing that puzzles me is that after overheating 3 times going up mountain once we made it over I drove 5 hours home with temps never going over 220.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by larry337

In my opinion there's something wrong. 16k might be too much for an f250 chassis but the power train should not be over heating. My old f250 with a 3.55 was rated for 15k. People pull toy haulers with f250's all the time. I'm not condoning over weight conditions but It just sounds like something else is going on.

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The power train is the same as the 350, but Ford does not put a 3:73 gear in the 250. Ford lists the max 5th wheel towing with the 250, 4x4 and 3:55 gear as 15,100. The 350 4x4 has a 3:73 gear and a max 5th wheel tow of 23,500. Although the engine and transmission are the same, the gearing of the 250 obviously makes a big difference on capability. My guess, you were just working it too hard pulling 16k over a mountain.

GM puts the same power train and gear ratio in the 2500 and 3500. They list the 2500 5th wheel towing at 17,600. If you had gone with a duramax, you would have the power train to tow your 5er, but you would still be overloaded on payload. Regardless of truck brand, you are in 1 ton territory with a 16k lb 5er.

[larry337]

Originally Posted by Moomba80

Thanks for all the comments and help. The only thing that puzzles me is that after overheating 3 times going up mountain once we made it over I drove 5 hours home with temps never going over 220.

What was your speed?

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[Moomba80]

60-65 the rest of the way home

[concours]

Do you have an aftermarket radiator grill? if so take it off you may have restricted the air flow, also some people install bug screen in front of the rad/AC condenser which also reduces air flow

[LittleJoe]

Is the engine stock? No extra chips or programmer? Air filter clean?

Should be able to hold temp with max output if everything is right. What was ambient temp? How long was the climb?

[Ken / Claudia]

A comment on towing and applies to all tow vehicles. RPMs and speed, at time feet above sea level and outside air temps will affect tranny and engine temps. If over heating, down shift, maybe slow down. If it continues stop. Leave engine on idleing. If not temps go higher due to no cooling. Knowing what your engines peak hp is at what rpm is important. You may have just lugged it down to much, ie to low of rpms to keep engine cool under load and speed. Than never let it cool down enough before driving again.

[Big Boy w/ Big Toys]

Originally Posted by Moomba80

Thanks for all the comments and help. The only thing that puzzles me is that after overheating 3 times going up mountain once we made it over I drove 5 hours home with temps never going over 220.

Ok.....let me figure this out some. You said the the temps went over 220, the water temperature or the oil temperature?

So is the truck actually losing coolant out the degas bottle? If it is not then ECT sensor number 1 may be bad. The other thing is, there are two thermostats in the engine cooling system. One opens about 194* the other opens at 201*. If both T stats are not open the engine cannot move coolant properly. So pulling a mountain pass at a higher rpm the coolant will not move thru the system correctly, but you should see antifreeze out the degas bottle.

Realize that there are two coolant systems. The primary system the big Degas tank is the primary system for engine cooling. The small degas bottle is your secondary system. This is for intercooler, engine oil and I believe tranny fluid cooling.

One last very important note for newer vehicles. DO NOT USE antifreeze in any vehicle that does not say for 2007 and up vehicles. If you must use it and it's all you have, drain and do an antifeeze change ASAP. I watched a Retail chain sell a customer the wrong fluid even after he asked. Luckily I was able to tell him the right stuff and educate the counter guy The older antifreeze will plug your radiator.

[T3/T4 Hybrid]

Originally Posted by Moomba80

Thanks for all the comments and help. The only thing that puzzles me is that after overheating 3 times going up mountain once we made it over I drove 5 hours home with temps never going over 220.

Once the turbo heat soaks the air to air intercooler and intake manifold it will take a while to cool back down to normal operating temperature. That's why once you got onto the other side of the mountain and was going down hill. The turbo didn't need to stay in a high boost any longer. Plus with the truck moving and the high air flow through the grill. The air to air intercooler system was able to get the operating temperature back to normal and it didn't overheat anymore.

[Big Boy w/ Big Toys]

Originally Posted by T3/T4 Hybrid

Once the turbo heat soaks the air to air intercooler and intake manifold it will take a while to cool back down to normal operating temperature. That's why once you got onto the other side of the mountain and was going down hill. The turbo didn't need to stay in a high boost any longer. Plus with the truck moving and the high air flow through the grill. The air to air intercooler system was able to get the operating temperature back to normal and it didn't overheat anymore.

FYI...Ford eliminated the air to air intercooler when they released the 6.7l.

[gearhead]

Besides being overloaded, you may want to look for a different dealer to at least talk to. Maybe a dealer that specializes in trucks.
Then again, may not be anything wrong if it didn't throw a code.

[bsmith0404]

I'm surprised it went into limp mode 3 times without throwing a code.