Hi Everyone,


I just got back from a camping trip to the coast, about 120 miles one way, lots of hills. Transmission temp would stay right around 197-210 but I did see it hit 223* on a hill with traffic causing me to go slower then I would have liked. I have a 2013 F150 / 3.55 / 5.0 / 6R80 Tow pkg. Would a larger cooler, or larger pan maybe help? Or is this normal operating temps for the truck. I don't want to shorten the life of my tranny if I can control it. I tow all spring/summer for camping. I tow a Jayco 27ft with a dry weight of about 5k lbs. I did dig around and found a few threads talking about tranny temp, just having a hard time sorting through all the information.

 

Completely normal operating temp for this trans. The trans doesn't flow oil to the cooler until it hits 190*.

A larger pan won't do anything but add more oil which will take longer to heat up which you don't really need.

 

Sounds normal based on my research. Staying right around 200 is where you want to be, my truck is 195-205 even when not towing. Getting up to 225 or even higher for short periods of time is going to happen especially in hotter climates. It's not that you'll have a sudden failure, but the more time you spend much above 200 the sooner the AT fluid breaks down and the more often it should be changed.

 

New Ford Mercon LV ATF fluids are designed to run between 200 and 250*

 

I suspected the red line using MERCON LV ATF would be around 240° to 250° with the sender in the valve body, but I haven't seen that proclaimed anywhere by Ford or Motorcraft. Do you have a link to where Ford actually says that?


Way back when, Ford said the normal tranny temp red line was 225° sump temp on a 4R100 tranny running plain ole MERCON ATF. Add about 10° to 15° to get the red line for a gauge that has the sender in the valve body of the tranny. Any gauge that gets the tranny temp for a Ford from the OBD-II port under the dash is getting valve body temp, not sump temp.


They also said you could allow up to 245° for a short time - like when climbing a pass and you can see the top of the pass ahead of you. But don't stop at the top of the pass with a hot tranny - go on downhill until the tranny temp drops back to about 200° or less before you take a breather.

 

204 is the highest I have seen pulling into a strong head wind.

 

Good to hear that this is typical, Would you guys recommend dropping the transmission pan and replacing the filter and fluid from the pan maybe every year or so? If temperature is what will break down the fluid, then fresher fluid should be a good thing right?

 

I asked about trans temps while towing in another forum but didn't get any responses. I have seen as high as 231 and my transmission makes a whining noise after long climbs. This goes away when below 218. Not sure if I should add a cooler or not.
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/trans-...cooler-350768/

 

I was having the same concerns while towing my trailer up a steep grade in 100 degree weather. Trans temps rose to mid 230's before I saw the trans temp needle move to the yellow. I pulled over right before it touched the red at around 240 degrees. I posted a thread on here and the consensus was to switch the trans to manual and keep the motor revved high to keep the oil pumping through the trans.

If you look at the threads I've started you will find it, there's a lot of good info in there that I received from other users.

 

I am used to the old school where keeping the temps as low as possible.

After buying this truck there is a thermostatic valve in the transmission. Your temps are normal.

I tow a 6,100-6,500 travel trailer to Florida every year, the temps are about 203 so as long is it does not increase easily on hills you should be okay.