Transmission Temperature

[John and Dana]

Jessenej,

Would you be willing to post pictures? If you don't mind what did they cost?

I am very interested in skid plates, I have had them on my jeep for years and love the piece of mind they give. The diesel SMB takes so much oil and trans fluid that it isn't practical to carry enough oil to refill either if you had to repair a punctured oil pan on the trial.

Thanks
John

[TwoVans]

They were $180 each installed.

My van is should arrive tomorrow. I'll see what I can come up with for pics.

I couldn't agree more about the importance. All of the skids on my Jeep have scars that prove their value. Although I won't wheel the van like I do my Jeep, the last thing I want to do is give the 6.0 a reasn to leak. Seems like they tend to find ways on their own!

[TwoVans]

Just remembered SMB sent a picture during the build. Will post in a new thread.

[John and Dana]

Jessenej,

Thanks for posting the picks. I already emailed Peter about getting one for my van.

You must be very excited to be picking up your new SMB. We picked our up almost exactly 2 years ago and I can still remember the anticipation.

Have Fun!!

John

[yvrr]

I was up in the Sierras this past several days driving some 4Wd trails and daytime temperatures were warmer than normal. I was therefore continually watching the transmission temperatures while driving, especially when going slowly uphill or while downshifting coming down. With our 2001 V10, it seemed that normal operating temperature for the transmission was about 175 degrees.

I recalled that we discussed transmission temperatures before but no one ever came up with a definative maximum transmission temperature. Since it didn't make sense to monitor the transmission temperature if you don't know what temperature is critical, I called the Service Manager at the local Ford dealer where I have all of the maintenance done and asked him at what temperature should I stop and let things cool off and what is the maximum transmission temperature. This is for a 2001 V10 but it seems that maximum transmission temperatures should be the same whether for a V10 or diesel but I might be wrong.

It took him a while to find it but he said that the maximum temperature is 130 degress Celsius (which converts to 266 degrees F.) So...he suggested that if the transmission temperature reaches 240-250 degrees, it is time to stop and let it cool. I like the 240 degree limit. The maximum I recall from this last trip was 220 degrees and that was while driving up a long steep hill in 1st at around 3-4 mph (hence, very little air flow to the transmission cooler).

This information is very consistent with what we were discussing last year but maybe 10 degrees lower.

[NRL]

Originally Posted by yvrr

I was up in the Sierras this past several days driving some 4Wd trails and daytime temperatures were warmer than normal. I was therefore continually watching the transmission temperatures while driving, especially when going slowly uphill or while downshifting coming down. With our 2001 V10, it seemed that normal operating temperature for the transmission was about 175 degrees.

I recalled that we discussed transmission temperatures before but no one ever came up with a definative maximum transmission temperature. Since it didn't make sense to monitor the transmission temperature if you don't know what temperature is critical, I called the Service Manager at the local Ford dealer where I have all of the maintenance done and asked him at what temperature should I stop and let things cool off and what is the maximum transmission temperature. This is for a 2001 V10 but it seems that maximum transmission temperatures should be the same whether for a V10 or diesel but I might be wrong.

It took him a while to find it but he said that the maximum temperature is 130 degress Celsius (which converts to 266 degrees F.) So...he suggested that if the transmission temperature reaches 240-250 degrees, it is time to stop and let it cool. I like the 240 degree limit. The maximum I recall from this last trip was 220 degrees and that was while driving up a long steep hill in 1st at around 3-4 mph (hence, very little air flow to the transmission cooler).

This information is very consistent with what we were discussing last year but maybe 10 degrees lower.

Just got back north of Mammoth Lakes, Ca and I'll add my observations of my transmission temp average. The highest temp reading I got was around 178 climbing those hills to reach Mammoth lakes and beyond..

[Steve_382]

On a related note, what about engine temps (v10). Going uphill from Bishop north on 395, with outside temps in the 90's or more, I see 210 to 215 on the engine (and tranny). I was concerned about the engine overheating as normal seems to be 195 or so, but the wife pointed out that the factory guage was still pretty much in the middle of it's range. Maybe it needs to be quite a bit warmer to be of concern. Any thoughts?

Steve

[BroncoHauler]

FWIW, when I got my X-monitor installed by Ken Imler Diesel in Sacramento (fairly well known and respected in the diesel community) he set my trans temp alarm at 230 degrees, so that's in the same ballpark as what YVRR's Ford diesel manager said.


Herb

[Ford_6L_E350]

Originally Posted by Steve_382

On a related note, what about engine temps (v10). Going uphill from Bishop north on 395, with outside temps in the 90's or more, I see 210 to 215 on the engine (and tranny). I was concerned about the engine overheating as normal seems to be 195 or so, but the wife pointed out that the factory guage was still pretty much in the middle of it's range. Maybe it needs to be quite a bit warmer to be of concern. Any thoughts?

Steve

With those temps, you have nothing to worry about - unless your oiltemp is 15+degrees higher than your coolant temp.

215 is the highest 'normal' temp for the coolant. Above that the fan will quickly bring the temps down unless you have a very heavy load (heavy trailer , high ambient temps, steep hills, etc,). Even under extreme conditions it is hard to get the temps above 225 where the fan is at full roar, I,ve seen 240 coolant temps and the factory 'gauge' never moved.

Mike

[NRL]

Originally Posted by Steve_382

On a related note, what about engine temps (v10). Going uphill from Bishop north on 395, with outside temps in the 90's or more, I see 210 to 215 on the engine (and tranny). I was concerned about the engine overheating as normal seems to be 195 or so, but the wife pointed out that the factory guage was still pretty much in the middle of it's range. Maybe it needs to be quite a bit warmer to be of concern. Any thoughts?

Steve

Is that with the AC on or off? I tend to baby the van when climbing extreme hills that hit 2700 or 3000+ RPM by switching the A/C to Vent until it climb tapers off. Sometimes I even roll down the windows and turn the heater on to cool the engine down on those long steep climbs on the freeway/highway.

The average temps for me is 185-190 and climbs to 200 on small hills, and up to 209-210 without turning the A/C off..