How to use 2011 F350 6.7 diesel exhaust brake

[JohnBoyToo]

Originally Posted by outwestbound

2007dura, relating the gearing to MPH is helpful. Do you use manual transmission mode often around NC? I only used it once I think on a two lane road climbing a mountain going back and forth on switch backs.

I know manual gearing control is provided for a reason, but I very rarely use it and wonder if this is a missed opportunity to operate the truck more efficiently.

What are the appropriate uses of manual with the + and - buttons?

Thanks

I rarely used the manual shifting other than hitting the + when it was in top gear so it would display the current gear on the dash - I just liked knowing the gear it was in

(especially after I got them tuned for MORE POWER!)
and except for a situation where I was in slippery situation and first was too much torque, I would put it in second or third to ease off...

fyi ford-trucks.com is a great resource for the 6.7 and you know you can download your owners manual, etc... for free from http://owner.ford.com/

I miss my truck :(

[Rider99]

I have a exhaust brake in my '07 Dodge 6.7. Maybe your Ford is similar. I've had them in all my pick ups since my '92 Dodge. They have been a necessity for me. My only complaint is the high rpm aggressive downshifts on down hills with the 6.7 like you have experienced. As you probably already know once you activate tow haul mode and gain speed on a down hill the brake automatically down shifts. I don't care for spinning this diesel at 3000 rpm. The way I've over come this is to turn the tow haul mode off and down shift manually just as I start heading down hill and keep the engine at around 1800 to 2400 rpm depending on the grade. Works like a charm and you tap the brakes occasionally and maintain acceptable road and engine speed if necessary. I also keep my exhaust brake on 100% of the time even empty...which you never are. Hope this helps. Happy motoring.

[Scottybdivin]

The only thing the 11-13's have is the downshift of the transmission. There's no engine brake or effective exhaust brake. Dumping exhaust into the intake to starve the engine was a very poor attempt at exhaust braking. It was a bust. Sorry. I love both of my 2013's, but that is not one of their strong points. From all reports I have read, the 2015's have remedied this.

[2002dura]

Originally Posted by outwestbound

2007dura, relating the gearing to MPH is helpful. Do you use manual transmission mode often around NC? I only used it once I think on a two lane road climbing a mountain going back and forth on switch backs.

I know manual gearing control is provided for a reason, but I very rarely use it and wonder if this is a missed opportunity to operate the truck more efficiently.

What are the appropriate uses of manual with the + and - buttons?

Thanks

I rarely use the manual mode. I might use it when going down a steep hill into a campground or such. Haven't really traveled any 2 lane roads in the mountains, but I could see where you could use on switch backs.

I see where some say they don't use tow/haul, but I never take rig out of it when towing. Keeps the torque converter locked up, keeps the tranny where it will downshift when you tap the brakes, changes the shift points to use engine power when starting out, holds gear in pulling so tranny not searching back and forth.

As far as tow/haul getting less MPG, when your pulling the weight we are, you are not going to get great mileage. If you get 11 MPG using tow/haul, and 11.5 not, and I don't think there is near that much difference, on a 400 mile trip you will use a little under 2 gallons more of diesel. For all of the benefits of tow/haul, I will use the extra diesel.

[IC2]

I use the Tow-Haul mode on mine only when towing in the hills though seldom on the flats, but will often switch out of it once I break over the top of a long downgrade and use the manual function. No, you do not have to move the shift lever to that position. All you need to do is to tap the paddle on the shift lever to manually shift down. By doing that the transmission wont drop several gears at once - only one at a time as you 'tap' that little paddle. We roamed over a good part of the 6-8% hilly West this fall and I think I only used the Tow-Haul a couple times when a 'senior moment' kicked in with the resulting engine scream to remind me. By using that manual shifter, yes, you may have to tap the brakes occasionally as well to maintain a safe speed, but you wont 'ride' them.

[outwestbound]

Thanks everyone for sharing. This is helpful.

[Snappy2265]

Gentlemen, there has been a lot of good responses to his question, but everybody is overthinking this. You are not giving this engine and transmission enough credit. Ford has designed this combo to work like a MDT truck before they added the bigger turbo in 2015. Ask any trucker, you have to have higher engine rpm's to make a exhaust brake or jake brake to work efficiently.
In order to do that they created the new trans program with the tow haul mode to operate similar to the almighty Allison that MDT trucks use, and have used for years without a exhaust brake. The purpose of the tow/haul mode is to change and raise the shift points during acceleration and deceleration, giving you a smoother power band going up to speed and to give you more rpm's decelerating, thus giving you more compression by dumping egr gas into the intake to slow you down.
For 30 years I have driven a MDT truck with a Allison without any exhaust brake and that is how they operate.
I as others have said they are afraid of excessive rpm's but the 6.7 is designed to run at higher rpm's without damage. How do they do this, by using multi fire injections into the cylinders before fuel ignites, which also quiets down the compression knock all diesels had before multi sequence injection came about.
Now back to how do you drive a 6.7 ford while towing. #1. Put it in tow / haul mode and keep it there till you shut the engine off. #2 Let the computer do it's thing. In mountain terrain select a speed such as 65 mph that you are comfortable with going down a steep grade, put the cruise on and let the truck have its own head and operate the way it was designed. At approx. 4 miles per hour over your set point going down hill it will downshift one gear and you may see rpm's as high as 3000, that's ok. If you are still gaining speed it will downshift again, getting rpm's a high as 3700, you are still ok. If you are still gaining speed it is time for your assistance by applying brake, which in turn cancels the cruise and you are now in charge. You now have the option to use manual mode by selecting a maximum gear and mph, which you can use to your advantage to maximize your rpm,s for downhill breaking and uphill power, which you will get a feel for by simulating what the computer does. Once you start uphill again you can reset the cruise. If it is a big grade depending on your speed the computer will again maximize your rpm's, creating max hp. You will probably see as high as 3700-3800 at times before it shifts, or it may not shift and maintain that speed to the top of the hill. Also After you top the hill it won't shift right away, but will maintain rpm's and back off the fuel flow to let the turbo cool and then shift and then do it all over again in the next gear until you reach speed and reset the cruise.
I have currently a 2013 350 drw w/ a 6.7 and this is the principals I follow which I got from a ford engineer on a TFL truck video review. When they introduced the 6.7 in 2011.
I am currently towing a 45 foot cyclone w/ 2 full dress Harleys and grossing 32000 for truck and rv. In most mild hill and mountain areas I don't even hit the brake and the truck will maintain speed up and down grades with the cruise on, no problem. The only advice I have is to drop your comfortable mph by 5mph to allow for the speed overrun which is about 3-4 mph over your set speed, and if you have several grades in a row you can maximize your rpm's by manually dropping to 5 th gear and get a better power and deceleration band to eliminate excessive shifting. The biggest thing to remember is this engine isn't a 7.3. It is a new age of technology. Rpm's are our friend w a 6.7 when towing. I know it goes against my logic w/ my past diesel experience as many of you guys say also but things change w/ technology. As that engineer said, let the truck operate like it was designed and you will be much happier w your Ford 6.7.

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by Snappy2265

As that engineer said, let the truck operate like it was designed and you will be much happier w your Ford 6.7.

This has been beat to death on a number of forums. You have a very heavy trailer, but folks with a lighter unit don't have to do a dang thing besides put it in tow/haul mode and drive it. You will never convince people that the truck has some exhaust braking, because they don't have a button to play with. Ford had to add a button, from 2015 up, to please that crowd.

[Snappy2265]

In a nutshell you are exactly right, the biggest improvement ford made was the bigger turbo which when you activate the exhaust brake you are overriding the computer activation. The bigger turbo just creates more back pressure, more braking effect. More noticeable for sure. But bear in mind the same principles apply, no rpm's, no airflow, no back pressure, no exhaust brake. When you watch the Ford videos, it tells you that, the first thing that happens is a downshift to increase rpm's to increase engine braking capability. 2011-2016 all work the same way, by closing the turbo vanes when the exhaust brake is activated either manually or by computer activation and dumps egr exhaust gas into the intake to create even more back pressure.
Just looked into a B&D Performance exhaust brake module and read up on it a little. It fits 2011 to 2014 and basically gives you a exhaust brake function button. How does it work? Basically the same as the new ford models but it utilizes quicker downshifts and completely closing the turbo vanes to creat more back pressure, from higher yet rpm's . This module might work well for rv'ers who want a manual exhaust brake but can't justify trading for a newer truck.
In closing I as well as others have been disappointed with exhaust brake performance. After much digging and research I now realize that the capability is there, I just had to utilize it correctly. I hope my post has helped clear up some of the controversy.

[YosemiteBobR]

I've seen mentioned more than once, "watch the Ford videos" just where are these videos?

[Scottybdivin]

There is no comparison between the 2011-2013 exhaust braking to the one that is in the current Fords. They are two totally different systems. The ealier version, which i have had two of (Previously 2013 F350 DRW, currently 2013 F250), uses the EGR valve to dump exhaust into the intake to starve the engine. It is a very ineffective means of exhaust braking, no matter how high you let the RPM's go. This is the reason Ford changed over to using the turbo, to compete with Ram and GM, who were years ahead of them in this area. I towed a 20K toy hauler all over the mountains of AZ and UT with it. I came down several 6% hills in 2nd gear with the RPM's way above 3000. It didn't perform any better than my previous 2007 Duramax/Allison with no exhaust braking at all, while towing the same toy hauler. From all reports, the newer system is effective and equal to or better than it's competitors.

[maxjr758]

YosemiteBobR I to would like to know where to find these "Ford Videos" ?

[JohnBoyToo]

I think some are confusing the 'engine brake' on the earlier ford 6.7's with true exhaust brakes...

on my 2012 and 2013 it used the variable vane turbo to build compression (among other things) and make the engine a 'load' on the tranny, which slowed down the trucks... and worked SO well that I used it even when not towing to ease down at red lights, etc... never had to replace brakes on either truck (and I still use the engine brake on my 30k lb motorhome for the same reason!)

from the manual:
Tow/haul delays upshifts to reduce frequency of transmission shifting.
Tow/haul also provides engine braking in all forward gears when the
transmission is in the D (Overdrive) position; this engine braking will
slow the vehicle and assist the driver in controlling the vehicle when
descending a grade. Depending on driving conditions and load conditions,
the transmission may downshift, slow the vehicle and control the
vehicle speed when descending a hill, without the pedals being pressed.
The amount of downshift braking provided will vary based upon the
amount the pedal is depressed.

from Page 203:
Tow/haul delays upshifts to reduce frequency of transmission shifting.
Tow/haul also provides engine braking in all forward gears when the
transmission is in the D (Overdrive) position; this engine braking will
slow the vehicle and assist the driver in controlling the vehicle when
descending a grade. Depending on driving conditions and load conditions,
the transmission may downshift, slow the vehicle and control the vehicle
speed when descending a hill, without the pedals being pressed.
The amount of downshift braking provided will vary based upon the
amount the brake pedal is pressed.
Tow/haul may be automatically activated (without pressing the tow/haul
button). This provides engine braking to assist the vehicles braking
system when going downhill and repetitive braking is sensed. Once the
tow/haul mode has been automatically activated it will not automatically
deactivate.

If your vehicle is equipped with AdvanceTrac™ with RSC, this system
may turn on during typical cornering maneuvers with a heavily loaded
trailer. This is normal. Turning the corner at a slower speed while
towing may reduce this tendency

1 (First)
• Provides maximum engine braking.
• Allows upshifts by moving gearshift lever.
• The transmission will not downshift into 1 (First) at high speeds; it
will downshift to a lower gear and then shift into 1 (First) when the
vehicle reaches slower speeds.

[JohnBoyToo]

Originally Posted by maxjr758

YosemiteBobR I to would like to know where to find these "Ford Videos" ?

Ford How to Videos | Video Library for Your Vehicle | Official Ford Owner Site