What is everyones transmission temperature?
#31
I called Ford today and asked what the 'normal operating temps' for the tranny should be and was told 180-200. I told him I was at 205 pretty regularly unloaded and spiked to almost 230 with a 3,500# trailer and he said he'd have to do some homework and call me back... I'm not holding my breathe for the callback.
#32
Senior Member
Pretty sure your temps are fine. The fluid doesn't even go to the tranny cooler until 195 degrees. It wants to be there or higher. I am upper 190's to 210 unloaded depending on wind and speed and no issues with 150k on my transmission
#33
Good to know. I was sort of surprised by the service guy's response, he seemed shocked that I was running that hot.
#34
#35
Senior Member
high all.. I know I have another thread and am hashing this one back up as there is better dialogue in here...
there seems to be a slight discrepancy between years and what I think are models of the F150 w/ the 6R80
based on numerous threads, it is looking like what I am observing: 195-205 is pretty common upon: Late Model (13/14) with the Max tow package.
Where as I find that everything else with the 3.31 & 3.55 are slightly lower in the 190-200 range
which are all in operating parameters.
I'm thinking... that the transmission even locked, at normal driving and that everyone has a transmission cooler (tow package of some sort) that the additional RPM is adding that extra heat, which honestly... makes sense.
This extra RPM is going to be consistent in every case, however it is more likely that the torque convertor should "lock" quicker with a taller gear, which should mean that - in city driving, the 3.73 may run cooler?
anyways this appears to be my general observation trolling through all these forms.
Spoke to my dealer, and I am well within the tolerances, and heck the new screens on the 2015+ (Lariat and up) don't even have this gauge.
Also there is subjectivity of the accuracy of the gauge between trucks as well...which may explain why the 13/14s are more consistent, as the 11/12s are.
there seems to be a slight discrepancy between years and what I think are models of the F150 w/ the 6R80
based on numerous threads, it is looking like what I am observing: 195-205 is pretty common upon: Late Model (13/14) with the Max tow package.
Where as I find that everything else with the 3.31 & 3.55 are slightly lower in the 190-200 range
which are all in operating parameters.
I'm thinking... that the transmission even locked, at normal driving and that everyone has a transmission cooler (tow package of some sort) that the additional RPM is adding that extra heat, which honestly... makes sense.
This extra RPM is going to be consistent in every case, however it is more likely that the torque convertor should "lock" quicker with a taller gear, which should mean that - in city driving, the 3.73 may run cooler?
anyways this appears to be my general observation trolling through all these forms.
Spoke to my dealer, and I am well within the tolerances, and heck the new screens on the 2015+ (Lariat and up) don't even have this gauge.
Also there is subjectivity of the accuracy of the gauge between trucks as well...which may explain why the 13/14s are more consistent, as the 11/12s are.
#36
My 12, towing 6200 gross pounds of trailer in the Idaho mountains up to 7k feet, has spiked to 236 before I panicked and pulled off to cool down. Ford claims as long as it's under 250 it's fine but at 236 the analog Guage began to creep to the yellow zone. I upgraded to a bigger cooler a few days ago, gonna see if it makes a difference tomorrow in the hills.
#39
Towed over the weekend, same place I saw 236 a few weeks ago and had to pull off to cool down. This time around I was sporting my new 6 row cooler, and hauling about 500 pounds Less weight. Temperature was 94, elevation was around 5k ft and the hottest I saw was 217. That was in 3rd gear. My experience is that when the temp gets that hot, it is difficult to control it, it will climb quickly from that point unless you can pull over and let it cool. Or maybe my fluid is burned and not capable of dealing with heat anymore.
#40
Senior Member
Mine stays 195-205 empty or towing. I haven't had a hard pull up a steep incline but wouldn't be surprised to see 230 or even more.
Hitting as much as 230-250 for short periods doesn't mean you transmission is toast. The damage is cumulative. If you can keep it close to 200 then you can go much longer between transmission services. If you hit 230 or more occasionally then you need to service the transmission more frequently. If I ever hit 250+ I'd recommend changing the fluid ASAP. From what I've read 275 or so is the failure point. But once it is above 250 it doesn't have much life left.
Hitting as much as 230-250 for short periods doesn't mean you transmission is toast. The damage is cumulative. If you can keep it close to 200 then you can go much longer between transmission services. If you hit 230 or more occasionally then you need to service the transmission more frequently. If I ever hit 250+ I'd recommend changing the fluid ASAP. From what I've read 275 or so is the failure point. But once it is above 250 it doesn't have much life left.