2006 running cool?

[wheatman]

I recently traded my 04. 5 CTD for an 06 model (1100 miles now). One thing I have noticed right off the bat is the 06 runs 20-30 degrees cooler than the 04. 5. For instance today the thingy dingy up top read 32F and after 50 minutes of driving (both freeway and in town empty) my coolant guage was reading 170 (est) where as on my 04. 5 would run constantly 200-210. I've never seen the truck over the 190ish area and truck also takes longer to warm up in the morning and won't get up to 170 without a little driving. Is this normal or sound like a stuck thermostat? i thought they usually failed the opposite way (hot). Am I giving up operational efficiency running a little cooler? I would think so but no expert on thermal dynamics with the CTD.

 

[jelag]

Remember that the temp gauge is sent a signal by the ECM and this is not what might be happening... . I suggest that if you tow... you invest in a point and shoot temp gauge... . around 70 at Costco... . I use this often when I'm out and around the truck and trailer checking brake temperatures, tire temps, etc... and coolant temps... all you need to do is point it at the lower tank of the radiator and you have a great sense of whats going on... . do this several times and you can get a relationship of your dash volt meter and the real temp... . I said volt meter because that is all our gauges are with different scales in front of them being fed a small voltage from the ECM... .



Hope this helps...

 

[wheatman]

That makes complete sense.

 

[wcjp]

My 06' runs way cooler than my 96'. I have one of the point & shoot infrared heat thermometers. They're a great troubleshooting aid. My 06' radiator cap is barely warm to the touch after coming to a stop after towing my 5k jeep/trailer. The Mega also runs cooler than a friends 98' 12V and another friends 99' 24v'.

 

[raksasa]

2006 running cool?



Wheatman,



Mine reads just like yours. I have to do some hill climbing to get it to approx 190 with outside temps 35-40.



Jon

 

[JStrasser]

Are you running with anything covering a significant portion on the radiator? Sure theoretically the thermostat should be able to bring the engine up to correct op temperature. But if that was the case, then all the people running around with "cold fronts" on their grilles are wasting their time- including most OTR trucks.

I have some thin quilted foil insulation behind the intercooler/ ahead of the radiator and it is covering more than 3/4 of the radiator. Have driven with this in air temps of 50 degrees with no abnormally high engine temps.



Just my little input.

John

 

[CDonaldson]

I have noticed on my 2006 that the temp gauge will rise to just a little over 200 and then the thermostat must open as it drops down to about 180. That led me to believe that the ECM was electronically controlling the thermostat - must not be mechanical in function. If it is not being controlled by the ECM electronically, and is a mechanical thermostat, the it is sticking. It does take a long time to warm up since our temps are at freezing now overnight, and I have noticed the grid heater cycling while driving until the gauge reads about 160 or so. The couple nights that we got below 10 degs, the idle jumped up to about 1K at startup. That secondary cold temp idle is a nice automatic feature. I am going to install the cruise-control pto idle feature over the next couple of days so I can manually raise the idle to the 1300-1500 range when it is extremely cold to get a faster warmup.



CD