Engine temps.

[04FX4]

Ok so when I tow my travel trailer, I have been monitoring my engine temps and CH temps on my gryphon. My CH temps are higher then the coolant temps by about 12 degrees. When on the flats I run about 200 and going up hills it will go up to about 216 on the coolant temps. I am concerned but was wondering what other have seen while towing. My gauge on the dash never goes above the half way mark which makes me think everything is normal but the gryphon has me thinking about it. My thermostat is a 195 and my trailers weight empty is about 4000lbs. Should I be worried or is this normal. I am going on a 2 week trip and dont want to have any problems on the way.

[88Racing]

Originally Posted by 04FX4

Ok so when I tow my travel trailer, I have been monitoring my engine temps and CH temps on my gryphon. My CH temps are higher then the coolant temps by about 12 degrees. When on the flats I run about 200 and going up hills it will go up to about 216 on the coolant temps. I am concerned but was wondering what other have seen while towing. My gauge on the dash never goes above the half way mark which makes me think everything is normal but the gryphon has me thinking about it. My thermostat is a 195 and my trailers weight empty is about 4000lbs. Should I be worried or is this normal. I am going on a 2 week trip and dont want to have any problems on the way.

Normal.

The ECT is an inferred reading from the CHT. The ECT does run 10 degrees cooler.

Lars

[04FX4]

So are the temps I am seeing normal as well?

[88Racing]

Originally Posted by 04FX4

So are the temps I am seeing normal as well?

They seem normal.

Write these down on a piece of paper and put it in your glove box.
From i.ride.suzuki on f150online.

Unsafe temps.

ECT=220
CHT=240
TFT=215

A CHT of 258 will send the truck into failsafe limp home mode.

Hope this helps.

Lars

[Jackpine]

I agree with Lars 100%. When I tow my trailer up a long hill (like the passes in the Colorado Rockies, or the 8000 foot climb we'll be doing tomorrow when we take our 3600# trailer up to Mt Graham here in AZ), I regularly see 214-216 on the CHT. I simply don't monitor the ECT, since it's inferred. And, like you, my dash temperature gauge NEVER moves above "slightly below the halfway mark".

If you want a real thrill, monitor the oil temperature (if you have that capability). I did for a while, but it was bad for my nerves, so I quit.

- Jack

[BlackSTX]

I'd hate to imagine what the oil temps looks like, I never looked, but will have to when I get mine back.
Also, I didn't realize the ECT was actually inferred.... interesting.

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by BlackSTX

I'd hate to imagine what the oil temps looks like, I never looked, but will have to when I get mine back.
Also, I didn't realize the ECT was actually inferred.... interesting.

Yes, the whole ECT thing IS interesting, since we used to have coolant temperature probes into the coolant system (I remember having to replace one once when my engine overheated, ruining it).

But, they had a kind of "fatal" flaw. If the coolant went too low or boiled to the extent they were no longer immersed in liquid, they'd transmit nonsense values. The CHT temperature probe doesn't have these problems, since it simply warms up with the metal in the heads and sends (or passes) a voltage that can be interpreted as temperature. Since the coolant temperature has a clear relationship to the CHT, one can be inferred from the other.

I honestly don't know why we don't just see CHT on the dash gauge and be happy, except that years of the other reading are too hard to let go of.

The ECT dash gauge is really pretty poor in my opinion. About all it's good for is the "warning" that makes it swing to full hot when your engine is going into "limp home mode". It sure does not give you much "incremental" information on temperature changes.

The oil temperature is volatile as hell. I've seen it in the 245 degree range at high RPMs. And, I know from previous experience in an old Mercury, that it has a cooling effect on the engine too. If you let the oil get low, the engine will run hot. In that vehicle, the first symptom of low oil (it was on a long trip from Florida to Arizona when I was reassigned) was a gradually increasing coolant temperature. (I should have been more careful about checking the oil at each fillup).

- Jack

[BlackSTX]

Jack, I have to agree, the ECT gauges are very inefficient. They are not really a true gauge anymore at all, merely a visual toy that amounts to an equivalent of an idiot light. As one of the techs had commented, as long as it remains in a specified operating range, it usually just reads at one set position on the gauge. I suspect this was mostly done since many people today are highly incompetent when it comes to mechanical items and would be returning to the dealership every other day concerned about what the gauges were reading.

Jaguar went to this type of gauge too. They even updated they old gauge in some models to this newer type of system. If you needed to replace your sending unit, the "new" updated part now came as a kit that included a small harness which contained a resistor which then made the old gauge work more like the gauges in newer vehicles.

Unfortunately, I'm think they use a similar type of gauge for oil pressure readings too. I recall how my old Pontiac Sunbird had real gauges that you could see any and all fluctuations in pressure, voltage, and temperature, no matter how small they might be.

[06KingRanch]

Here are the max's i've seen while towing.

ECT 234
CHT 250
EOT 287
TFT 229
IAT 162

I've since installed a Troyer trans cooler, and now my max TFT was 202 on my last trip....and it is usually in the 175 range.

Running all Amsoil oils.

[Jackpine]

Wow! You WERE running hot. The transmission fluid temp was causing fairly rapid breakdown of the fluid. Good call putting in the new cooler. Did you have any kind of a transmission cooler before?

Also, you were only 8 degrees below the Failsafe Mode temperature on your CHT. This may relate to your recent post in the other thread.

How much weight are you towing? What engine do you have and what is your gear ratio?

- Jack