Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) What's too hot?

[fyrescott]

Now that I have a pyrometer/boost installed I will be towing my 5th wheel for the first time with the new guages. What is too hot and for how long? Where should I try to keep my egt at?

 

[jrandol]

Keep er at 1200 or below PRE-TURBO all day long and life will be just dandy! Short bursts on occasion above that wont hurt anything but for sustained runs 1200 is good.



Jeff

 

[boydo]

The rule of thump on heat is as follows:

* the following is based on pre-turbo temp(exaust manifold).



- 1250 f sustained.

- 1350 f for a maximum of 1 minute with a 5 minute cool down( this means temps below 1200 for the 5 minutes).

- 1450 f for 10 seconds followed by a cool down(see above).

- 1450 f and above - you might get luckly, but most certainly severe engine damage will follow.





Good luck and have fun.

 

[RustyJC]

Towing our 13,500 lb 5th wheel, our stock ETH/DEE would hit 1300 degF. If you think about all the non-TDR trucks running around without gauges, one would have to assume that Dodge has to think the engine can live through the 100,000 mile warranty hitting 1300 degF with some degree of consistently!



Equipped as described below in my signature, the truck has more towing capability than stock and I can't drive the EGTs above 1100 degF pre-turbo.



Rusty

 

[rblomquist]

Originally posted by RustyJC

Towing our 13,500 lb 5th wheel, our stock ETH/DEE would hit 1300 degF. If you think about all the non-TDR trucks running around without gauges, one would have to assume that Dodge has to think the engine can live through the 100,000 mile warranty hitting 1300 degF with some degree of consistently!



Rusty

You would think however, I can guarantee you that their are folks out there hurting and blowing up engines and transmissions by running them in dangerous temp zones. I bought my 99 used and after I had a problem which required a trip to the dealer I found out that my truck was on it's 2nd motor :--)



I knew that it was on it's 2nd transmission but didn't know about the motor. The guy that had it before me was pulling a goosneck with horses/cows and had no clue about pyros/trans temp gauges.



People on this board forget that we don't hear about every problem/issue that the non-TDR populace is having. Back when I lost my headgasket I thought I was the only person in the world that had that problem with the ISB. Nobody in these forums was posting about blowing headgaskets but when I asked the mechanic he said he gets them in fairly frequently and he just finished one up 2 days earlier.



Seems like it works both ways, on the one hand we harp/worry about a lot of stuff Joe-bag-of-donuts doesn't have a clue about but on the other hand we're so carefull that we don't have a lot of the down-the-road problems that they can develop.

 

[CoastyAV8R]

In one of the TDR magazines, it did a comparison on different EGT gauges and the amount of error some of them had was over 100 degrees. If I remember correctly all of them errored on the high side. So if it said 1200, it was actaully 1100. That being said, I still treat mine like it is correct. I try to keep it under 1250, but every once in a while it will get away from me for a second or two. I notice mine won't go over 1250 when it is below75 degrees outside and I'm in 6th. It seems it will go over 1250 very easily if I'm in 5th or 4th, like there is some safe guard built in to the computer when the truck is in 6th. Kinda weird...

 

[kaptn]

I drag race my truck and dont reccommend doing what

I do. I am sure I hit close to 1800 degrees being my 1600 degree gauge is pegged running down the track. It is like putting your hand over a candle. You can do it but not for long.

 

[LSMITH]

1350 or less sustained. Try to keep it under 2000 for short periods.



LOTS of guys hit 1600++ every single day and have for 100K miles in some cases. Lots of guys sustain 1300 for as long as it takes to get where they need to go also. WATCH YOUR WATER TEMP. When the water gets hot the oil is not cooled as well, and then the pistons do not get the cooling they need. With water at 200 or less 1350 should be fine, with water at 225-230 I would not want to spend much time above 1250... ... .