Hey guys,
I have two problems. Recently I've had my tailgate pop off its base twice. Once while I was driving with the tailgate open, I got to where I was going I found that the tailgate had jumped out of the left side catch and was about to fall off the right hand side. This could have result in the tailgate basically hanging from the cables. I put it back on, and didn't have any more problems until I went to open my tailgate on a jobsite that has a very, very steep driveway. I opened the latch and went to let it down and the whole thing just dropped off the truck and was hanging across the bumper by the cables. Any thoughts....

Second more serious problem was today one of my workers got a tracked Cat 257B skidsteer stuck in some mud on a very steep hill. The skidsteer weighs about 7700lbs. The concrete driveway that I was parked on was the same one that I had problems with the tailgate. I backed the truck down to the middle of the driveway, and attached a cable to the skidsteer. One of my guys was trying to drive the skidsteer out of the mud while I pulled. I first locked the differential and put the truck in 4wheel drive low. There was dirt covering the driveway, and I started to spin the first try and had to sweep in front of the wheels. After sweeping in front the wheels I tried again. The truck would pull the cable tight and strain against the weight for about five seconds while the guy driveing the skidsteer worked his way out of the hole. The trucks engine would basically throttle back allowing the truck to role back and let the rope go slack. It would to this in a suring motion, like rrr....rrrrr....rrrr.....rrrrr. Jerking forward getting the cable almost tight and then falling back again. I tried again in four wheel drive high and it basically did the same thing again, but it was able to hold the original tension on the chain for about 10-15 seconds, before going into the suring motion. All the while this was going on the truck had enough traction that it couldn't spin its tires. The only time its tires ever spun was there was loose dirt under them.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks,
Adam

No idea about the tailgate probem but the engine thing sounds like you were flooring it and bouncing off the rev limiter. That's the only thing I can think of that would cause the power to back off like that.

 

I don't think that's the problem, becaused I'm far from flooring it. I'm applying very easy steady pressure on the gas, because I'm not supid enough to want the tires to brake traction. I'm applying slow steady perssure and my tach was only getting up to about 4000-4500 before it cuts out and stalls back essentially.

 

Sounds like maybe the VDC was kicking in? Did the SLIP light on the dash light up? Seems like locking the rear should over-ride that stuff, but since I don't have the offroad package I don't know.

I know the anti-lock aspect of this system has screwed some people up offroad when it turns itself on while braking in the dirt.

 

Go over to Clubtitan and do a search for Miserytom's burnout mod.

When you initially apply the brakes for any reason such as when coming to a stop, the ECU drive-by-wire system will limit the throttle blade angle when you first step on the gas. This keeps the rear wheels from losing too much traction. I think this may be your problem.

Even though you were not flooring it, the engine was still under high load pulling the 7000lb skidsteer. The surging was probably due to the ECU constantly limiting the throttle plate angle to control wheel slippage at the time.

 

At about 3k miles mine would surge real bad while pulling my 17'boat up hills. The mechanic said to run some injector cleaner through and see what it does. I have pulled under the same condition again and it did just fine. He said that sometimes he thinks the gas has some partially cloggs the injectors.

just a thought.

 

As far as the tailgate goes, I put two zip ties on the left hinge so the opening is covered. This way it can't jump out of the slot. My zip ties haven't moved in the last year.

Clint

 

Did you ever find out what the problem was with the surging? Mine does the same thing when I pull my old boat up my driveway. I also made it do it at the dealers lot by pulling up to a hill and holding the brakes down just enough to keep me from climbing to fast. The dealer does not have a clue. I have only noticed it in 4 low and it usually takes about 60 seconds to do it. I can make mine surge without going above 1700 rpms.

 

That's an easy one. Most new cars have software which kills power in the event that the brakes are pushed at the same time the throttle is pushed. It is primarily a defense against someone who means to slam on the brakes but hits both the brakes and throttle in a panic stop. It also prevents two footed drivers who tend to ride the brakes a little bit and hitting the throttle.

A lot of ppl don't like it but it is very common now the number one complaint comes from two footed drivers who when pulling away from a stop, turning left across traffic, stall the power becuase there left foot is still putting a little pressure on the brake.

 

Could it be some type of protection for the drivetrain, when the transmission is overloaded, the ECU cuts back on the power, similar to the way the VDC reacts. I Know you said you were pulling a 7700# skidsteer, but the load on the hitch may have exceeded the 9000# towing capacity, depending if you were pulling at an angle and/or the skidsteer was stuck to the point where more than 9000# of force was needed to move it. Just my $.02.

 

Like Titan4MF stated above if you have your foot on the brake, the ECU will cut the power and only let the valve open about 10% (this is a safety feature) incase your throttle get stuck and you step on your brake it will shut the power down so you don't go head on into a wall or something. You can do the burnout mod or have the fly by wire fix by Up Rev. I can now do burnout all day long with out the mod.

 

The truck surge could be due to the 7700 lbs you are trying to pull out of the mud. Remember, the CAT257 skidsteer may weigh 7700 lbs, but you are trying to pull it through the mud and that adds more resistance. If you were pulling up hill, that adds more to the equation.

 

You said "I first locked the differential and put the truck in 4wheel drive low."
If that is really what you did, that could be part of your problem.
If by "locking the Diff." means that you pushed the E-lock button before you went into 4WD Hi, then 4WD lo, you may have aproblem.