ATF temperature while towing...

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
The temp reading is from his Scangauge, which I assume is a tool that can read the transmission's temp sensor, which is located somewhere inside the unit (via the OBDII connection in real time).

For usually puts their sensors so that they are getting pan fluid temp.

 

[inWellington]

Originally Posted By: morris
i would look into a deep cast al trans pan. ill be getting one for my dakota v6


That's also a good idea.

 

[inWellington]

Originally Posted By: bmwtechguy
The temp reading is from his Scangauge, which I assume is a tool that can read the transmission's temp sensor, which is located somewhere inside the unit (via the OBDII connection in real time).


http://www.scangauge.com/

 

[inWellington]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
Sustained driving with the temp over 210* or so would concern me.

Hitting 195* every so often while driving, not so much. I wouldn't worry.


What concerns me is if pulling a 2000 lbs. landscape trailer get the temp in the 195 range, what will pulling my 4000 travel trailer get the oil temp up to?

Quote:
The 5R44E with factory trans cooler in my truck has gone as high as about 191* according to the Scan Gauge a few times while towing light trailers and being driven hard. With 99K miles it's still shifting great with no repairs or modifications, just regular (25K mile) changes with Mercon V or BG full synthetic.


The stock aux. oil cooler in my Ranger is quite small and not directly in the air flow. It's about 3" from front of rad. At idle, no air seems to be going through the cooler. The truck has a viscous fan that doesn't spin quickly. I have to get the car rolling at about 50 mph before the temp starts to drop. Below that speed, the oil temp keeps rising, or stays constant. I'm not impress with the stock Ford aux. transmission cooler.

My impression of the Ranger 4.0 L is that it seems underpowered pulling a 4000 lb. trailer. By that I mean I have to keep my foot in it to maintain speed, and especially gaining speed on an incline, and also maintaining speed on an incline.

 

[OVERKILL]

If the stock cooler is in-line with the cooler that goes through the radiator, and your coolant temps are around 195 degrees, then you shouldn't really be concerned.... The coolant in the rad is also designed to WARM the transmission fluid. The stuff doesn't work too well being kept too cold either.

I would imagine the stock cooler is adequate for the task at hand. Many vehicles don't even have a trans cooler; some just have the "through the rad" one. You have an aux cooler, likely tested by the OEM to be more than adequate in Arizona heat towing the spec'd capacity.

Different vehicle, but my parents have been pulling U-Haul trailers (at least 5) from the NS/NB border to southern Ontario over the last year and a bit, significantly heavier load, in a fully-loaded Expedition, packed to the gills in the interior as well; the vehicle alone weighs over 6,000lbs. Stock transmission cooler. Trans is the 4R100.

Ford wouldn't have spec'd a 5,500lb towing capacity if the vehicle wass not setup to deliver on it. I'm rated to tow 8K in our Expedition and wouldn't think twice about doing it. Something about the idea of putting a transmission rated for 1,000lb-ft of torque behind an engine that makes 350lb-ft, then putting big factory oil and transmission coolers on it that makes me confident that Ford knows what they are doing with their truck powertrains for the most part.

Tow with confidence. Watch your scan gauge. Heed the temperature range mentioned in this thread. I suspect you won't have any issues with the stock cooler on there.

 

[inWellington]

Thanks for all of that good information and personal experience, Overkill.

Regards, Paul.

 

[inWellington]

This is my interim fix.

I placed a 10" fan between the stock transmission cooler and the rad. That's the only place it would fit. The fan is pulling air through the cooler, and pushing into the front of the rad. I'll be trying out this configuration tomorrow and Wednesday with the 2000 lb. trailer. Will report on findings.

 

[OVERKILL]

Don't jerry rig a fan in there, it is a waste IMHO and not necessary. When moving, the fan will do nothing to aide the transmission cooler. And when not moving, the stock fan should pull enough air through the pair of them.

 

[Maritime Storm]

Originally Posted By: inHaliburton
My impression of the Ranger 4.0 L is that it seems underpowered pulling a 4000 lb. trailer. By that I mean I have to keep my foot in it to maintain speed, and especially gaining speed on an incline, and also maintaining speed on an incline.


It will move, my '09 Sport 4.0L/5spd/3.55:1 hauls my 5000lbs sailboat without issues. You can pick an auxillary trans cooler at CTC for around $90, mount it in the center of the rad.

 

[Jim Allen]

Frankly, I haven't seen anything here that warrants any worry... or major mods.

It's not so much 200 plus temps, it's the time at temp that kills ATF... as has ben discussed often here. A short spurt to 230, even 250F, is nothing much (and it's doubtful you will see that). Even for days on end at 220F, the worst problem is that it hastens the oxidation of the fluid. The trans is not harmed. Don't go by those mileage charts for ATF, either, because they have not been updated for modern fluids. At least the ones I've seen (would love to see one that has been). If you tow alot, you simply change the fluid more often to counter the more rapid oxidationrates. A 30K change instead of 60K. No whoop.

There are terminal temps. Anything over 250 is in that area. If you start seeing 250+ regularly, you have cause to worry. 200-230F is "normal" for a trans in harness but the driver has a lot of control over trans temp..

The Scanguage picks up the temp in the valve body, if it's anything like my somewhat earlier Ford. If so, it presents a temp somewhere between converter temp and pan temp. I have monitored both pan temp via an external gauge, the cooler line and via the OBDII port simultaneously and that's that the conclusion I came to on my F-150. Converter out temp will always be 50 degrees hotter than pan temp, at least, unless the converter is locked... and then it will be pretty close to pan temp.

By monitoring the oil temp and using your tow-haul button (do Rangers have one??) or the shifter to downshift into direct (3rd?), the driver can control trans temp to a very large degree. The main thing is to slow down and/or shift down to keep the converter locked up as much as possible. When the converter unlocks, which feels almost like a downshift, you will note that trans temp will rapidly start to rise. If it stays unlocked for a long periods, you need to manually shift down (or use tow/haul) to get the unit out of OD and into 3rd with the converter locked.The trans will rapidly cool down once the converter locks. You have to exercise self control and not try to set the land speed record, obviously.

You have a gauge. You have a brain. Use them both applying the techniques above and you will have no troubles on your journey.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen

By monitoring the oil temp and using your tow-haul button (do Rangers have one??) or the shifter to downshift into direct (3rd?), the driver can control trans temp to a very large degree.


There is an O/D off button, and you can manually shift into 1st and 2nd with the shifter. IIRC, Ford advises turning the overdrive off anytime you are towing.

 

[2003f7]

On my Silverado 2500HD the dash trans temp gauge will show about 150 if not towing in summer and around 200 when towing my 5th wheel. In winter the trans temp gauge will rarely come off of the 100 start temp!

 

[Maritime Storm]

Jim what you haven't seen is the terrain she going to be required to pull/lug that 4000lb trailer up. The series of hills between Edmundston and Nackawic, NB will easily put that transmission near it's overheat temp. He doesn't want to have to worry about it, an auxillary cooler would eliminate that worry. The automatic used in the Ranger isn't exactly the worlds most durable, and we all know when we load a trailer guessing as to it's weight won't be anywheres near the reality of it's weight.

 

[Jim Allen]

You have a point, Storm. I don't know the route but I still contend that if it overheats, it will be due to pilot error. With a gauge, the pilot can do what it takes to keep the transmission cool. It may inconvenience him in some small way by slowing him down, but the methods I outlined do work.

In any case, I was mainly commenting on the temperatures discussed here. Running at 200F, or even short periods at 250F, should not shock people into incontinence. If we're taking 250-plus regularly, that moves the danger-meter more into the red and a cooler becomes more vital. I was just compelled to comment because my instinctive thought process is to verify that a problem exists, and the extent of it, before tossing money around.

 

[Gary Allan]

Usually if the radiator is of sufficient capacity to stay at thermostat level, everything else is somewhat limited in how far it can climb. That's oil and trans temp.