Anyway to keep engine(coolant) temps down towing in the mountains?

[ECappleman]

Just got back from a trip to Colorado. Was doing alot of towing in the mountains. (6500lb RV) I was able to keep my EGTs down, but my warning beep kept going off on my Attitude Monitor on long grades. It would easily reach 225-230* before my EGTs would get near high temps.



Anyway to get these down. Do I need to flush the system? (50k on truck)

Also, what is considered dangerous coolant temps?



Thanks.

 

[ECappleman]

Also was amazed with the power of these new diesels. Altitude does not seem to effect it much. Not only on the towing, but I took some 4x4 trails in the San Juan mountains (Ouray/Silverton area) at 11000 feet +.

Except for being a little long wheel based, it did great.



Only one small dent on a step bar and a small gouge on the base of the front pumpkin. This was done on some major rock shelves.

A little nerving when someone was needing to pass though. :-laf

 

[TPoulsen]

I am going to try this,



Swap out the 190°F t-stat for a 180°F model. Just go to your dealer and ask for a t-stat for a 1999 24-valve diesel. It'll help keep things a bit cooler.



Tyler

 

[RankRam]

I had the Edge Juice/Attitude on my 05 and it ran close (215-225) to that temp on a long hard pull, this was when I was towing a 10k trailer. I didn't worry about it though.



Intake and exhaust mods would help you alot, also do you think your push guard could be blocking some of the air flow?

 

[DieselFiend]

Ecappleman, I agree with rankram. I think your push bar could be part of the problem. Recently I took mine on a long hard haul. I towed 10,000lbs + for a couple weeks and went about a thousand miles. During that time, i never saw my engine temp get above 215. When it hit 215 I was usually pulling a grade trying to keep the speed limit. Outside temp was in the upper 90's and a few days we hit 100 degrees. A lower temp thermostat will only open sooner but won't give you cooler temps in the long run. You may just get a couple more minutes of cooler temps before it gets hot again. I'd try clearing whatever is blocking your air to the front. This is my take.

 

[Partyat33]

I really helps to make sure your radiator/intercooler fins are clean.

 

[klenger]

I've towed around CO quite a bit and a bunch in the summer heat of AZ with my 10k 5er. Never had the slightest problem with over-heating. Some thing's broken with your truck. Unless the T-Stat is defective, I don't see how changing it for a lower temp level would help anything. Once it's open all the way, the temp setting is irrelevant.

 

[Whiskey]

I've towed around CO quite a bit and a bunch in the summer heat of AZ with my 10k 5er. Never had the slightest problem with over-heating. Some thing's broken with your truck. Unless the T-Stat is defective, I don't see how changing it for a lower temp level would help anything. Once it's open all the way, the temp setting is irrelevant.

I agree with ken. On one of my trips, just after I had my 2001. 5 serviced going from Tucson to Flagstaff I overheated while going up the big one (can't rember the name)
Pulled over and stared to check things I found the raditor cap loose,(tech didn't tighten) . #ad

Bottom line, when pulling that hill with 8500# TT it blew all the coolant out . Had to fill it back up with water and I had no problem after that. . #ad


Don't worry if your cummins gets to hot it will go into the limp mode... #ad


whiskey

 

[fkovalski]

I agree with Ken's assesment...



However-



... back in the day, my dad rigged up a separate winshield washer pump and tank on his IH Travelall with the nozzles directed towards the radiator. We were towing a 25' TT in the Colorado hills, when the temps would creep up, he would hit a momentary switch to activate the spray. It brought the temps right down!

 

[ECappleman]

Push guard has a very large holed meshed steel screen over the front. I don't think it was causing the problem.



I will check again that the radiator/intercooler fins are clean.



I did notice that the overflow was very low on coolant, but when it cooled down, I checked the radiator and the fluid was fine. I don't think this would cause it?



Problem is, I'm back in Houston now and I have never had any problems in Texas. It will be a while till I can put it under those conditions again.

 

[mconstable]

Redline makes a product called Wetter Water that is supposed help keep your system cooler. Might help?

 

[machinemover]

I don't think theres a problem. I live in Northern Az and pull my 40' cargo trailer all the time over these pass's. My egine temps hit 220-221 momenterally and hit the summit and go back down. My egt's I have to watch and lay off the throttle some. It's easy to overload with the edge/attitude. I bring the edge down to 1 or 0 when I'm doing alot of hills. My '03 seemed to react better, The TST in my opinion is a far superior unit and seemed to be a little cooler while towing. Just my opinion.

 

[Eric_77]

Water wetter helps but one of the best produxts is a full Propylene Gycol (Sp?) product like Engine Ice or Evans NPG. These products have very high boiling points like 370 degrees. Expensive stuff but with the very high boiling points they keep engine temps under control in high heat applications. They do have a strange and mixed reaction to cooling system. As they do not boil until very hot where normal water based coolant has hot spots where steam pockets form and no more heat is transferred; the NPG (non-aqueous Propylene Gycol) remains in contact and more heat is transferred resulting in temp gauge going up but actual engine temp is more uniform and lower true opertaing temp. So the NPG gives a truer reading of what engine temp and the coolant pressure is much lower (ie pressurized cap is almost not needed but is also the downside system will not blow water into overflow and conversley it will not suck fluid back into radiator from overflow.

 

[steved]

I was wondering if the fan was pulling in... you can have the best cooling system, but without a fan to pull air through it...



steved

 

[J.Post]

Remember at higher attitudes there is less air to cool the radiator as well. The long grades have less of an effect than the thin air flowing across your radiator.

My 05' gets to about 225-230 in the mountains pulling my toy hauler around 9000lbs. This was in 95+ degree heat.

 

[CTDFreak]

I wish I would have read this thread before last weekend. I was pulling a smallish trailer up the Grapevine in SoCal with outside temps at 114 degrees. My Attitude monitor alarm started warning me that the engine temp was 210 degrees. I didn't have time to read my owners manual or see if those temps were dangerous. I never changed the alarm setting for engine temp, so I guess 210 was the factory setting. Anyway, I guess I should have just increased my alarm setting to 220 and I would have been fine. Instead, I slowed down to 40 mph pulling that grade watching everyone pass me (except the 18 wheelers). I should have been able to pull that trailer up the mountain at 70 mph easy, just didn't want to take any chances.

 

[JohnArnold]

I just towed from WA up to the Rubicon trailhead in CA. On the really steep hills/roads, I shifted up to keep the revs up over 2k. This brought the temp down 10-15 degrees.



-J

 

[Briman]

OK, I'll take a stab at this. I think the problem is your 48RE. When it isn't locked up there is slip in the TC. The heat generated by the slipping TC is transmitted to your coolant via the transmission cooler. Not only is your engine registering hot but your trans is mighty warm as well. I had this problem with a 47RE. I could peg the coolant temp pretty darn quick qoing up a steep grade at lower speeds. I don't think the '03 48RE program locks up under as many conditions as the current program.

 

[Reb.B]

Keep your boost down. All the heat from the boost (intercooler) is being radiated in front of your radiator. Trans temp. and A/C will radiate heat in front of your intercooler as well.

 

[crobertson1]

When I had my '01. 5 while following my brother in his MH, we were heading east out of Silverthorne back up the pass to the Eisenhower Tunnel. He was going as fast as he could, probably about 40 mph, while we were taking it VERY easy following him. My engine started getting hot so I told him I needed to get some more airflow to the radiator and I'd meet him at the top. I hit the go pedal and passed him and it cooled off immediately once we got up to speed to get some air flowing through the radiator. So, I think sometimes too little speed will heat it up. Just a thought.