bigandtall

Today I turned off my truck but kept it in accessory power mode for awhile. All of a sudden the coolant temperature indicator showed a number of 230F over the gauge. It went up to 232F (see picture).

The gauge itself was barely above where it normally is when running, just barely. So, I turned the truck back on and watched the engine coolant cool. The number cooled down to 226F before the number disappeared. And the gauge barely went down.

It's as if my truck is running barely below an alert temperature all the time.

What is the normal operating coolant temperature for our 2015 5.0 V8 ???

obert

I am sure the temp would go up when you first shut it off due to the coolant is not being cycled through the motor to help keep it cool. I would say what your seeing is normal, maybe someone else with the same truck can tell you but I would say nothing to worry about. But keep a eye on it and if anything changes for the worse then worry.

Nice gauges BTW

robbieg

Yes it's normal, engine got heat soaked after shutting down. At a certain temperature all the temp gauges will display numeric values.

bigandtall

Thanks. My real concern is that this alert temp is basically at top dead center of the gauge and normally I'm running just barely below top dead center on the gauge while driving. Makes me wonder if the thermostat or the grill shutters are not working normally when I am driving, as opposed to just parking viewing the effects of the engine being heat soaked after a shut down that shows a gauge barely higher than normal driving.

SS1

I wish the gauges would read out numerically like that ALL the time!!

obert

To many people would freak out if they saw numbers all the time.

jkenprice1

Where the gauge sitss really doesn't mean anything. I was watching the trans temp readout today driving in traffic. The dgital readout went from 135 to 205 and the gauge never moved. They're really just glorified idiot lights

4g63pilot

I also have a Lariat 5.0 and have never seen any number above my gauges other then the fuel gauge.

rrware

I purchased my truck in 2019. For 2 years the numbers above the coolant temperature gauge never came on. I had the water pump replaced one week ago. The numbers over the gauge came on at 226 degrees and went up to 245 degrees. It went back down and went off. Is this normal? Should I address this issue with a mechanic?

tvsjr

You should first address your posting issue... create a new thread for your problem, don't necropost a 6-year-old thread.

But yes, either your new water pump isn't working properly, there's an issue with the thermostat, or (quite likely, especially if a vacuum system wasn't used) you have air in the cooling system - go burp the bottle and fill it with 50/50 coolant mix to the "max" line.