Noise when going uphill

[maggie blair]

 I just purchased a class C with a ford 450 chassis. I climbed my first hill yesterday and when I push the gas pedal to the floor it makes a grinding noise. When I let off of the gas pedal the noise stops. The only problem is I ended up going Up the hill at 40 mph. Does anyone know what might be causing the noise when the gas pedal is pushed all the way in? Thanks so much.

[bigjim]

Just a guess is that it is dropping the tranny into a lower gear for the climb. Sometimes this is called "passing gear". It might be something worse but I am thinking it isn't.  When you are ascending a steep hill  keep and eye on the tranny temperture guage as it is important to not get it too hot. Hopefully yours has that guage.

No offense but I am making this guess based on your inexperience.

[Barbaraok]

I take it that you didn't manually downshift before starting the climb?  We always manual downshift for large climbs (not hills).  Think you will be much happier doing that, and it will also help you coming down.  And don't worry about your speed, there isn't a prize at the top of the pass.  

[maggie blair]

1 hour ago, bigjim said:

Just a guess is that it is dropping the tranny into a lower gear for the climb. Sometimes this is called "passing gear". It might be something worse but I am thinking it isn't.  When you are ascending a steep hill  keep and eye on the tranny temperture guage as it is important to not get it too hot. Hopefully yours has that guage.

No offense but I am making this guess based on your inexperience.

No offense. I am alone and have zero experience so any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

11 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

I take it that you didn't manually downshift before starting the climb?  We always manual downshift for large climbs (not hills).  Think you will be much happier doing that, and it will also help you coming down.  And don't worry about your speed, there isn't a prize at the top of the pass.  

I didnt shift any gears it's an automatic but does have 1,2,3 on the gearshift too. I should've went to some type of mechanic school before I started out on this long RV trip.  I don't mind going slow but when the trucks are pushing me up the hills I get a little bit nervous. Ha ha

[bigjim]

Whats your 20? That means what is you location? Just in general. Based on what you said about the 1,2,3 you most likly don't have much choice. I was going to ask if you have a "tow/haul" lockout button on your vehicle. If you do sometimes it is best to engage it just before you start out especially for large hills or in the mountains. If you have an owners manual it should tell you if you have one and give some insight in how to use it. On a lot of modern vehicles if it on the end of the gearshift lever.  On a dodge I had at one time it was a button on the dash between the lightswitch and the steering column. That was my first experience with one and it caught me by surprise as I had always driven such old stuff that I had never heard of it or used one.  At one point I thought I had broken something when it first kicked out abruptly on climbing a steep hill.  When I say modern I mean modern to me. That is currently a 2002 3/4 ton chevrolet truck. It has the tow/haul on the end of the gearshift. I almost always engage it when I am towing my 30ft. travel  trailer.  BTW my current 20 is near Albuquerque.

It might be good to tell people helping what type and year of your coachman drive train. Like Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford.

[maggie blair]

1 hour ago, bigjim said:

Whats your 20? That means what is you location? Just in general. Based on what you said about the 1,2,3 you most likly don't have much choice. I was going to ask if you have a "tow/haul" lockout button on your vehicle. If you do sometimes it is best to engage it just before you start out especially for large hills or in the mountains. If you have an owners manual it should tell you if you have one and give some insight in how to use it. On a lot of modern vehicles if it on the end of the gearshift lever.  On a dodge I had at one time it was a button on the dash between the lightswitch and the steering column. That was my first experience with one and it caught me by surprise as I had always driven such old stuff that I had never heard of it or used one.  At one point I thought I had broken something when it first kicked out abruptly on climbing a steep hill.  When I say modern I mean modern to me. That is currently a 2002 3/4 ton chevrolet truck. It has the tow/haul on the end of the gearshift. I almost always engage it when I am towing my 30ft. travel  trailer.  BTW my current 20 is near Albuquerque.

It might be good to tell people helping what type and year of your coachman drive train. Like Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford.

I am in Asheville and heading toward Nashville. That's my 20. Ha ha learned something new!

There is a little button on the end of the gearshift. Didn't have a clue what it was but I do now. Thanks 

 

My motorhome is 2011 Coachman Freelander with a Ford 450 chassis. 

I will have the Ford people look at it before I drive to far in case there is a problem. It only has 12,000 miles on it and I bought it from Whole Foods distribution. They had used it as an emergency hurricane vehicle and consequently it was used very little.

thanks again for all of your help. 

 

[Barbaraok]

Those big trucks have huge Diesel engines with gearing to allow them to pull huge loads up and down hills.  You want to downshift manually before she starts to lug,  and the at the top of the pass, downshift so that you are going slower and let the engine help you down passes, staying off the brakes as much as possible.  Get a mechanic to give you shift pints in terms of RPMs.

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, maggie blair said:

I climbed my first hill yesterday and when I push the gas pedal to the floor it makes a grinding noise.

The description of the sound is what really concerns me. If the sound is one of the engine running at higher revolutions that would be pretty normal but grinding? If you hear noises like metal grinding, that is not good but it would be very normal to hear an increase in engine noise level and if you have a tach it should show much higher RPM. Could it be a sound that is much like the engine makes when you accelerate hard out of a traffic light with the gas to the floor? 

1 hour ago, maggie blair said:

There is a little button on the end of the gearshift. Didn't have a clue what it was but I do

That button is not a tow/haul but it does lock the engine out of overdrive so it never goes above 3rd gear. You probably have the Triton, V-10 engine, unless yours happens to be a diesel? You should have a tachometer on your dash that will tell you what the engine rpm is. If you downshift, the engine will sound much louder but it should not have a metallic grinding sound.

[bigjim]

Kirk, that is what the tow hual does, locks out the overdrive. I know you know just think about it. I would rather be safe than sorry and see it get checked but I kind of think to the untrained ear not used to it that is what the noise is but I have been wrong at least once but I divorced her.  Sometimes noises can fool you for sure. We just replace a rotor and caliper and pads on a 4wd p/u that was grinding when the brakes were applied.  I called it right but was totally wrong as to which one it would be.  I felt it was the drivers side but it turned out to be passenger side.  Only had a little over 20K miles oon the truck.

Hoping for the best on it for her.

BTW watching the rpm guage is a good call.  I wonder if she knows about redlining?  How about it Maggie? Do you know what that means?

[maggie blair]

44 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

Those big trucks have huge Diesel engines with gearing to allow them to pull huge loads up and down hills.  You want to downshift manually before she starts to lug,  and the at the top of the pass, downshift so that you are going slower and let the engine help you down passes, staying off the brakes as much as possible.  Get a mechanic to give you shift pints in terms of RPMs.

Thanks again. 

[maggie blair]

5 minutes ago, bigjim said:

Kirk, that is what the tow hual does, locks out the overdrive. I know you know just think about it. I would rather be safe than sorry and see it get checked but I kind of think to the untrained ear not used to it that is what the noise is but I have been wrong at least once but I divorced her.  Sometimes noises can fool you for sure. We just replace a rotor and caliper and pads on a 4wd p/u that was grinding when the brakes were applied.  I called it right but was totally wrong as to which one it would be.  I felt it was the drivers side but it turned out to be passenger side.  Only had a little over 20K miles oon the truck.

Hoping for the best on it for her.

BTW watching the rpm guage is a good call.  I wonder if she knows about redlining?  How about it Maggie? Do you know what that means?

Redlining??? Never heard of it. 

[mptjelgin]

2 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

That button is not a tow/haul but it does lock the engine out of overdrive so it never goes above 3rd gear. You probably have the Triton, V-10 engine, unless yours happens to be a diesel? You should have a tachometer on your dash that will tell you what the engine rpm is. If you downshift, the engine will sound much louder but it should not have a metallic grinding sound.

In 2011 that button IS a Tow/Haul button and it does NOT lock the transmission out of overdrive. Ford Transmissions have changed a couple of times since 1998 and they function very differently. Tow/Haul changes shift points based on engine load, and uses all of the gears as it finds appropriate. Mine is in overdrive most of the time. BTW - in the 2011 Torqshift transmission both 5th and 6th gear are overdrives. See what I mean by how much things have changed??

The Ford Torqshift transmission does a very good job of selecting the appropriate gear when in Tow/Haul mode. There is absolutely no need (or reason) to worry about manually selecting gears when going up or down hills. Those days are gone. 

As importantly, the Tow/Haul mode does a great job of engine braking by keeping the torque converter locked and downshifting as necessary to increase engine compression and aid in downhill engine braking. 

Maggie - Redlining is running an engine above its rated rpm, which can cause damage to the engine. But modern engines have computers that control how fast they will turn, and will protect the engine against damage from "redlining". So that is a concept that is not relevant to your vehicle.

My advice (I actually drive a modern Ford Superduty truck!!) is to get the noise checked out, as a grinding sound may be serious. Once that is straightened out, use Tow/Haul mode (yes, push that button on the end of the shifter, you'll see a Tow/Haul indicator light) and drive normally. It is a good idea to look at your tachometer just to help understand what you truck is doing, but don't worry about manually selecting gears, locking out overdrive, or "redlining". Do be aware that when going down a steep hill your transmission will automatically change gears to hold your speed and your engine rpm will jump. That is normal. 

There is some good information in the owners manual. Perhaps more accurate than what you may get from well-meaning people on the internet...

[bigjim]

I knew if I stalled long enough someone with better sense would help educate Maggie and me about this modern new stuff.  Boy if I upgrade I will have a lot to learn. I still use flip phone.  But I have stepped up to one of them Mobley things.  I'm so proud of myself.

[maggie blair]

40 minutes ago, mptjelgin said:

In 2011 that button IS a Tow/Haul button and it does NOT lock the transmission out of overdrive. Ford Transmissions have changed a couple of times since 1998 and they function very differently. Tow/Haul changes shift points based on engine load, and uses all of the gears as it finds appropriate. Mine is in overdrive most of the time. BTW - in the 2011 Torqshift transmission both 5th and 6th gear are overdrives. See what I mean by how much things have changed??

The Ford Torqshift transmission does a very good job of selecting the appropriate gear when in Tow/Haul mode. There is absolutely no need (or reason) to worry about manually selecting gears when going up or down hills. Those days are gone. 

As importantly, the Tow/Haul mode does a great job of engine braking by keeping the torque converter locked and downshifting as necessary to increase engine compression and aid in downhill engine braking. 

Maggie - Redlining is running an engine above its rated rpm, which can cause damage to the engine. But modern engines have computers that control how fast they will turn, and will protect the engine against damage from "redlining". So that is a concept that is not relevant to your vehicle.

My advice (I actually drive a modern Ford Superduty truck!!) is to get the noise checked out, as a grinding sound may be serious. Once that is straightened out, use Tow/Haul mode (yes, push that button on the end of the shifter, you'll see a Tow/Haul indicator light) and drive normally. It is a good idea to look at your tachometer just to help understand what you truck is doing, but don't worry about manually selecting gears, locking out overdrive, or "redlining". Do be aware that when going down a steep hill your transmission will automatically change gears to hold your speed and your engine rpm will jump. That is normal. 

There is some good information in the owners manual. Perhaps more accurate than what you may get from well-meaning people on the internet...

Most helpful. Thanks so much! I I am beginning to get a better understanding of all of this. I do not have the owners manual but I may try to find one online.I am beginning to get a better understanding of all of this. I do not have the owners manual but I may try to find one online.

[mptjelgin]

Try this:

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/11f23og4e.pdf

[gjhunter01]

You might consider stopping at a (small town/not busy) Ford dealer and ask them to familiarize you with this new to you vehicle. if you are lucky and get a friendly dealer, they can answer your questions and give you some tips on how to best operate your vehicle in different driving conditions and maintenance tips.

Greg

[maggie blair]

32 minutes ago, mptjelgin said:

Try this:

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/11f23og4e.pdf

You are so nice! Thank you so much! 

[maggie blair]

18 minutes ago, gjhunter01 said:

You might consider stopping at a (small town/not busy) Ford dealer and ask them to familiarize you with this new to you vehicle. if you are lucky and get a friendly dealer, they can answer your questions and give you some tips on how to best operate your vehicle in different driving conditions and maintenance tips.

Greg

Great idea. Thanks Greg.

[Barbaraok]

Expanding upon that, ask for an hours time of a mechanic to show you what fluids to check, etc. and go over with you how to go up and down mountains, what RPMs to run at, etc.  yes, it will cost you, but the better you understand how things work, the better prepared you will be when you do need to engage service personnel 

[maggie blair]

Agree and thanks. 

[bigjim]

Don't forget to update us on the outcome of this please when you get it checked out.

[maggie blair]

I followed the advice from people on this site and everything seems to be working OK now.  Thanks so much for everyone's help.