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you guys keeping an eye on it and where you guys at when towing? or everyone towing with newer trucks haha
04 5.4 lariat. rebuilt engine and transmission. edge programmer. tow setting. believe my max tow weight is 8500 lbs
2018 TT weight distribution hitch . 6k pounds dry
towed from southern cali to zion about 425 miles each way
had the tranny temp on display on my edge. the whole road is a series of inclines and declines. short, steep, long, flatter, you name it, it was on that road.
spent i'd say about 90% of the time (about 8+ hours in total) driving with tranny temps above 200F
the edge programmer was set for warning at 230F. that's factory setting because i sure as heck didn't set it. i hit that too and just turned off the warning.
the max i hit was 240F
220-240 temps were pretty steady for maybe 30% of the time... 200-220 for the other 60% of the time.
my truck chills between 150-180 under daily driving....
on the way back it threw me into limp mode "tranny malfunction" as i was getting closer to home....
didn't feel like anything was really wrong with it. was able to quickly clear the code through the programmer. i could tell i had all my gears still and was running healthy but kept throwing the code. i kept clearing it, till i got off the road.... let it rest a little. looked up the code
P1740 - Torque Converter Clutch or Overdrive Solenoid Performance Condition....
temp was in the low 230F when it started throwing it.
my gut feeling was that the temp finally triggered a sensor although it seemed kinda late in the game, on the way back, after close to 700 miles already...
anyway, let it cool to under 200, and hit the road again. i reached temps in the 230 again for the remaining 150 miles or so i had left but it didn't throw the code again and made it back home.
was cool to have the programmer available, especially while driving, to look up, clear, etc...codes in real time. i'm pretty sure the code would have cleared up on its own after pulling over, resting it and starting back up but not as easy as clicking a button while driving...
checked the fluid , doesn't smell or look burnt.
so, any of you with the same motor and tranny tow around this weight? how does yours look?
i think mine is definitely trying to tell me i'm at the limit and i should really be driving a f250.... i mean what else can i do to this truck after rebuilt motor/tranny/programmer and many other little things . she's giving it all she's got right?
also, what's this in the pic? tranny cooler? or my a/c condenser? or neither? hehe
My truck, 04 5.4 3V, stays around 150-170 normal driving. Oil and Cylinder temps are 192-208. I would be hard pressed to allow the tranny to get past 210 but then again, I don't know what the heck the normal or above normal temps should be.
In your picture, that is your transmission cooler. There is another cooler below that and it is used to cool the power steering. The cooler behind the aux transmission cooler is you condenser, then behind that is your radiator. There is also a cooler within the radiator for the transmission.
I'm not sure if you damaged anything or not but I would definitely throw some new fluid in the transmission. How did you cool the transmission off? I was always taught to let is idle. By doing so, it allows the fluid to flow, cool, and bring the whole operating system down to a normal level.
My truck, 04 5.4 3V, stays around 150-170 normal driving. Oil and Cylinder temps are 192-208. I would be hard pressed to allow the tranny to get past 210 but then again, I don't know what the heck the normal or above normal temps should be.
In your picture, that is your transmission cooler. There is another cooler below that and it is used to cool the power steering. The cooler behind the aux transmission cooler is you condenser, then behind that is your radiator. There is also a cooler within the radiator for the transmission.
I'm not sure if you damaged anything or not but I would definitely throw some new fluid in the transmission. How did you cool the transmission off? I was always taught to let is idle. By doing so, it allows the fluid to flow, cool, and bring the whole operating system down to a normal level.
Did you motor fan fully engage?
nice! so i do have a tranny fluid cooler. i guess that gives me one last option of adding a fan on it in hopes of cooler temps....
again, the truck feels just as good and healthy as it did before this tow. in fact it felt healthy during this whole episode as well. i let it idle to "cool it off" too . was busy looking up the code at the time to google how to cool it off but it made sense in my head the same way you described it. that it would cool faster by letting it idle then turning it off...
i believe my fans run as they should. guess i haven't paid particular attention but i will keep an eye on it in the future...
my gut feeling is that these are normal trans temps for towing a 6k lbs travel trailer dry. so probably more like 7K+ lbs in reality.... on multiple hundreds+ miles trips with plenty of slopes.
but that's what i was trying to see here hopefully from others with similar set ups.... judging from the answers so far.... maybe there's not that many running this set up ... and maybe there's a reason for that hehe
At temps near 240ºF, you are destroying the transmission fluid. Change it ASAP. Might want to add more cooler if your driving conditions are harsh. Check fan function first, though. At 225ºF, it's time to pull over and let it cool down.
P1740 - The engine RPM's did not drop to the expected range when engaging the Torque Converter Clutch. This tells you the TCC is taking too long to engage, or is continuously slipping. If you swap the fluid/fix the overheat issue and the code does not come back, I wouldn't worry about it. The event occurred towards the end of your trip, and is most likely due to damaged fluid.
At temps near 240ºF, you are destroying the transmission fluid. Change it ASAP. Might want to add more cooler if your driving conditions are harsh. Check fan function first, though. At 225ºF, it's time to pull over and let it cool down.
P1740 - The engine RPM's did not drop to the expected range when engaging the Torque Converter Clutch. This tells you the TCC is taking too long to engage, or is continuously slipping. If you swap the fluid/fix the overheat issue and the code does not come back, I wouldn't worry about it. The event occurred towards the end of your trip, and is most likely due to damaged fluid.
thanks a lot for the info. guess i'll get a fluid flush although as i mentioned the fluid was fresh before the trip and smells and looks still fresh after....
as far as the temps.... that's really what i am trying to get to the bottom of in this thread, are others experiencing the same numbers when pulling a load like this? or something weird about mine?..... on a rebuilt tans and everything else i mentioned there's not much else i can do to this truck. a 6k lbs dry TT is just too much for it to tow at least on long trips right?
No, you should be able to pull that weight without issue if you're rated to 8500lb (please find out). Have you hit the scales fully wetted down to see your actual weight?
Possibly more of an issue: What is the frontal area of the trailer? You can have the lightest of trailers, but if it's a sail that can push a Carnival Cruise ship to hydroplane, you'll be on the power the whole time you are driving, and that could also keep the torque converter unlocked, or locking and unlocking constantly, both of which will generate a lot of heat.
No, you should be able to pull that weight without issue if you're rated to 8500lb (please find out). Have you hit the scales fully wetted down to see your actual weight?
Possibly more of an issue: What is the frontal area of the trailer? You can have the lightest of trailers, but if it's a sail that can push a Carnival Cruise ship to hydroplane, you'll be on the power the whole time you are driving, and that could also keep the torque converter unlocked, or locking and unlocking constantly, both of which will generate a lot of heat.
What was your gas mileage during the trip?
haven't hit the scales yet... would like to...
frontal area of trailer is the queen bed "room" but also the pass through storage underneath as most of them.. so sure i have my bins of stuff in there
the edge programmer has done miracles as far as the locking and unlocking of the torque converter under the tow setting. as well as shift points and quickness.
mileage was around 11ish mpg while trying to cruise control around 63 mph most of the time
hate to ask for the quickest way to determine my tow rating for sure as i'm sure its been beat to death already on here...
it does have the 34ish gallon gas tank which leads me to believe it's also set up for max tow in that year...
OK, if you're over about 145°, the trans cooler thermostat has failed, and they fail often. You'll find that under the passenger side of the engine, right below and in front of the starter. It might or might not be rusted to crap on the lines, but replacing the guts out of it isn't that hard to do. Go to the dealer and get a new one, they probably call it a 'transmission cooler bypass' or 'transmission thermostat'. Get a 3/4" c-clip and you'll need a 6" C-clamp and a small socket to push with. Give everything a good crush with the c-clamp to start, that loosens it all up. Get that Jeebus-Clip out of there, and the guts should pull right out.
Just wrapped up a two hour towing trip pulling about 5k pounds. My trans reached 171 and stayed around high 150s to mid 160s.
Overdrive off, running 60-65 mph, RPMs around 2200-2500.
Oil temp 217, CHT 205, coolant 194.
hate to ask for the quickest way to determine my tow rating for sure as i'm sure its been beat to death already on here...
it does have the 34ish gallon gas tank which leads me to believe it's also set up for max tow in that year...
I just learned on this site the calculations from nice folks like smokeywren, acdii,...cannot remember others...but here is a calculation I rec'd....
1. Get your GVWR. 2. Get your scaled weight of your truck only, loaded with everything....fuel, ice chests, people, tools....etc. 3. Subtract 2 from 1= answer-1. 4. Subtract 100 lbs hitch weight from answer-1=answer-2 5. Divide answer-2 by 13%=max trailer weight.
06-04-2019, 07:07 PM
5.4 Towing Tranny Temps
