I finally got my fifth wheel in and towed a 27 foot camper for the first time this weekend, I can't beleive how good my truck performed. I only used about two inches of throttle the whole time. My truck has overloads on it and it didn't swat one bit and the thing road and drove the best I have ever had a dodge of mine ride just awesome, I believe the truck thinked me when it was all over, BUT I pulled it up a pretty good hill in and prior to the hill I got a run at it to see what it would do, got it to about 70-75mph after all said and done it didnt' even need a run, But while cresting the hill my truck warmed up to about 220-230degrees is this normal or maybe do I have a cooling problem, Coolant is good fan clutch is tight, radiator fins are clean. Remember this was my first time pulling so dont' bag on me, is this normal.....thanks Joe.

 

I don't think it's a bad thing, that range for just a small amount of time. What were your exhaust temps and for how long ? Ahhhhhhh, no pyrometer yet, better get one. Joe

 

I'd say that was a little warm for this time of the year. A new thermostat would be a good investment.

 

a litttle warm check and make sure that there is no debri between the radiator and cooler. mite need to flush and put new coolant in it

 

I think you would be scared to find out how hot your EGTs got. I pull a 32' camper and in OD with TC locked I can hit 12,000 real fast with stock injectors. Get a pyro gauge and try that again.

 

1200?..............

 

12,000 Thats a good typo...... Wasn't it 80 + degrees this weekend in that area?? Sounds about right to me

 

has been pretty warm down here and i havent hit that temp with heavy loads, other then when i had the 12 tall 9 wide 14k oil field cooler on the trailer in a 20mph head wind

 

I was also thinking the aftermarket injectors and stock turbo may contibute to the heat

 

yea but that trailer couldnt weigh that much to cause those mods to heat it up, i wouldnt think. i still think he needs to check his airflow thru the radiator to make sure theirs not leaves, grass or dirt blocking it

 

Thanks alot guys for all the reply's, I did check the radiator and the only thing I can see is alittle dirt and oil from maybe the fan blowing, blow by in there cause it is in a circle, but ya I need a pyro and transmission gauge. and it wouldn't hurt to flush and change coolant, but it all looks good though. The thing I hate the most is warming up the trans.oil, I am always worried about the the auto and towing.

 

A few thoughts. The fan clutch is tight? When mine engages it sounds like a jet engine under the hood. Did you hear any change in fan noise? If not, it may not be engaging fully. I went thru about 5 lifetime warranty clutches from Auto Zone (they either wouldn't lock up when hot or locked up all the time) before I finally bought a new OEM one from mopar4less. Have you ever removed the radiator from the truck and cleaned it? If you do, I'm betting you are in for a surprise about how much dirt and dead bugs are in there where you can't see. Trailer weight doesn't strain the engine nearly as much as aerodynamic drag. A 27 footer has nearly as much drag as a 35 footer. If it only heated up after driving at 75 then you probably don't have a real cooling problem. One other thing, did your torque converter unlock when you floor boarded it while climbing the hill? Lots of heat generated when the TC isn't locked.

 

You need to remove the radiator and clean the backside of it. You cannot see the accumulated dirt an oil vapor while it is in the vehicle. Clean it and move the catch bottle off the front cover of the engine.

 

I cleaned it pretty well tonight here at work, I work for a large trucking company and we have a washbay with high pressure wands and industrial strength cleaners. I sprayed a ton of degreaser in it and then used the high pressure water on it a bunch so hope it helps...

 

My guess.. it's your dirty rad. It's unbelievable just how bad they get. Failing that if your clutch fan IS working you may want to check your Air Conditioning. If it's running high head pressures because of a restriction your condenser will be very hot thus heating up the rad.