I have a totally stock 1990 d250 with the exception of a straight pipe exaust , i am new to ctd's as i have only had it a month. I have to tow a 5500 lb trailer up interstate 24 from chattanooga tn to nashville tn where there are some significant grades to pull .
my question is this ............. since i have no guages do i need to worry about egt's on these grades or just mash it and go at my intended speed of around 55 or 60 mph ? , keep in mind i have 3.07 rear gears in this thing and a 3 speed auto w/o od .

 

oops .. i forgot to add , i will be coming down I75 from northern kentucky to south ga on monday with an empty car trailer ( hopefully ) and empty tuck bed if anyone needs stuff moved south .

 

If you have to be a bubba, mash it and worry about it when the top of your motor is melted. Otherwise, "feel" what your vehicle is doing. Is it starting to pull down going up that long hill? If so, don't be a hero, slow down and drop it down a gear. Don't let that rpm drop too low. You don't honestly really "HAVE" to be the first to the top of the hill - - honest.

 

i am gonna try and NOT be a bubba , i get all the speed i need on my harley . and i really can have a feel for what my vehicle is doing but as i have little experience with the ctd i needed some advice , with my prior pulling truck ( my brothers 88 chevy gas 4x4 i just mashed it lol ) and i surely do not want to melt my motor . if i get this scout sold in illinois i will have a set of guages so i dont have to wonder .

 

The gauges really help, Don. It lets you know exactly how hard that baby is working. I have to watch mine closely on the long grades - - I tow 16,000 pounds, so it works hard on those 10% grades in Newfoundland. EGT is the main one to watch for towing.

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but why do you need an EGT gauge on a totally stock truck even when towing heavy? If the CTD is putting-out no more than it's rated power and everything is in working order, nothing should get cooked. Or is the CTD not designed for continuous duty?

 

You should have no trouble. The '90 used a bigger turbo (more lag but less restriction and heat retention) and was only putting out 160hp and 420ft/lbs of torque. Towing capacity was limited to about 6k lbs. Heat buildup in the coolant was a bigger problem than EGT as there was no intercooler and they had a smaller radiator. The 3.07 rear end with no O/D is about equal to a 4.10 ratio in O/D overall. Not a problem up to speed but a little sluggish at launch. The 727 was "before" the 518 gave us such a bad tranny reputation. They're pretty stout! Pulling your car hauler should be easy work for the '90. Turning up the fuel was as easy as making an adjustment to the injection pump. Are you sure it hasn't been tweeked? I really like those first gens. They have more character than any since...

 

hannibal i am not sure what has been done to this truck , it has 89,000 miles and i know it has a new fuel pump and a new turbo ( probably rebuilt units ) . i dont want to do anything to it till i get some gauges on it and i have to check the timing with a dial indicator and stuff as i dont know where it was timed when it had the new pump installed . i am kinda like justin wilson said " i am a safety man , i wear a belt and suspenders ".

so now i need to look at putting on a better radiator if i tweak it some ?

 

I don't know, buddy. You can pose that question to the engineers that designed the engine. I just know I can push my EGT's way up there while towing and I am bone stock. I have to back it off when it starts pushing past the 1250 figure.

 

If there is a problem gauges will tell sooner than we would without them.