How are you straining a clutch leaving it in gear while rolling. That makes 0.0 sense. Unless you're clutch is worn and slipping the engine and trans are connected with the clutch engaged. Have a BMW with 100k on a clutch never downshift on the highway when I need to speed up or go up hill.
How are you going to warp heads moving at 70 mph uphill? They warp if you overheat the engine, like way overheat. These engines are made quite robustly they will also protect themselves before ever getting into a danger zone.
So far I’ve had a chance to drive my Badlands on Spas Creek in slade county Kentucky. Along with many miles on highway and inner city Lexington.
It easily took on spas creek. Ran 80% of it in first/second gear 4L. Mainly to save trans. No lockers engaged. Sway bar disconnected here and there to see it’s limits. Vehicle did everything with ease!
City traffic can be rough in a manual at times, which is to be expected nonetheless. 2.3L still has enough pep for aggressive traffic. Brakes are excellent for how heavy the Bronco is.
Highway, it has a good amount of power, wind and rolling hills impact mpg drastically. It is shaped like a rolling brick, so fuel economy is expected to be lower. Can be noisy, though not overbearing in a soft top when trying to speak with passengers
My question I have, if anyone can help. When cruising on the highway (65-75mph 2.2ish rpm’s) turbo is almost always bouncing around 1-5psi. When going up a decent grade, I drop to 5th to keep the engine cool and heads from warping. (5th gear 2.9ish rpm’s) Is it fround upon staying in 5th for an extended period of time? Or am I downshifting for no reason and should I keep it in 6th gear, and let the turbo spool up past 12psi or so?
Interesting observation on adding the maintenance plan because of the clutch. The 10K oil change interval plan is $1490, Ford values their oil changes at $90 each. I would probably do the in between 5K oil changes myself to save a few bucks, plus I enjoy doing them. The rest of the plan is $590 by itself to 100K, pretty cheap overall, but with many of the service intervals being at or past 100K the actual value would be limited. The 125K plan is an extra $420, but should take care of the expensive 100K service with spark plugs. I think the value is there on the 125K, but I’m torn on purchasing this plan or not since I prefer doing my own oil changes and if I never used the clutch or brake replacement the program is a loser.We're closing in on 8,000 miles on our 2-door Base 2.3/7-speed. Just completed a 3,500 mile road trip over the holidays in it, with some 10-hour driving days. This engine trans combo is a joy to drive, even in traffic, even in hills and curves. We have 35" tires on the stock 4.46 gears so first is slightly under-geared but the rest of them feel just right. My only advice to those getting a manual transmission is to buy the Ford pre-paid maintenance plan. I think it's especially important with the manual transmission because it comes with free clutch service any time, not tied to maintenance intervals. Especially if you wheel it on tough trails without lockers like I do, the clutch will probably have a shortened lifespan
Interesting. I have driven many M/T's over the last 46 years and never had one slip in any gear except for a worn out clutch on an old GTO. It sounds like the pressure plate clamp force is insufficent for the build.
I run my 6MT JK in 5th most of the time to keep it around 2800 rpm (where the 3.8 is happiest). 6th is for flat roads at higher highway speeds or down hill. There is 160000 miles on this kind of driving.
There will always be "strain" on a clutch during any acceleration. I'm defining "strain" as resistance. If there were not, the clutch would not be able to transfer power (no resistance = slipping). In most scenarios, the strain is not enough to exceed the pressure between clutch plate and flywheel and torque gets transferred either from the engine to your transmission, or from your transmission to your engine (during engine braking).
Research 2007-08 GT500 TSB on the factory clutch. It couldn't hold the factory power. Well documented. I upgraded mine to the shelby performance clutch after 30K miles. No issues since, at 86K miles at 650HP.
Do you have an RS or an ST? I've definitely slipped my RS clutch without any clutch input at peak torque in fourth gear
nature of the beast unfortunately
Apples to oranges This turbo 4 is not a gt500 with a performance clutch/pressure plate .
As pertaining to the OP statement, in no way or form could leaving a stock bronco in 6th gear while accelerating (even uphill) would do any damage or shorten the life of a clutch or pressure plate. If anything the power is linear due to slower Rev up than downshifting.
Agreed, my original post was because of previous threads on clutch failures, and the OP's original question pointed to possibly less experience operating a manual transmission.
I agree that there is minimal risk in that scenario.
