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206 degrees F too hot for tranny when towing?

6K views 36 replies 19 participants last post by  Duanesz 
#1 ·
I was hauling my travel trailer this weekend and saw trans temp got to 206 around town in traffic. is that too high. it's a 31' camper that weighs approx 7500 lbs i'm guessing. i'm running the H&S 300 tune but had it set on "no power" setting. any help is appreciated. thanks
 
#4 ·
You might be better off not running with no tune...use the mild setting at least...I believe that is the H&S Canned tow tune. It will probably help to keep your trans a little cooler.

And yes, please don't let that thing run that high for too long...you will kill it pretty quick. I've towed upwards of 10K on KEM 345 tune and never saw trans temps above 185.

Schmidtty
 
#6 ·
ok so it sounds like the 206 isnt terible but would a transmission flush and some synthetic transmission fluid help bring those temps down a little? just lookin to do some preventitive maintenence if possible if it will help extend the life of the trans. it has about 55k on it now.
 
#32 ·
Its already a synthetic.

Lol.....206 is nothing to even remotely worry about...the new oils on todays market won't even bat an eye at that temp...

My truck runs 200-210 daily...not towing anything.

I just rolled 17,000+lbs....1,000 miles from louisiana to virginia....through the mountains of tennesse....all over 230*...and I'm not worried in the slightest.
Yours is also a manual entirely differenct animal

You also have a 5r110 which has a cooler that is three times the size of a 4r100.
The 5r also has a thermostat. Fluid doesnt hit the cooler until trans temps hit 150 or so.
 
#8 ·
It's too hot to intentionally run that way. Sure, if under an extreme situation you crept up there once, temporarily, but you should not plan on it. You need a more effective cooling solution and/or driving style.
 
#9 ·
Let me know what you'd do to correct it! i agree i'd like the temps to be as low as possible so i'm open for suggestions. maybe add an addtional trans cooler?
 
#10 ·
Lol.....206 is nothing to even remotely worry about...the new oils on todays market won't even bat an eye at that temp...

My truck runs 200-210 daily...not towing anything.

I just rolled 17,000+lbs....1,000 miles from louisiana to virginia....through the mountains of tennesse....all over 230*...and I'm not worried in the slightest.
 
#12 ·
wow...and here I was worried! seems like there are real different opinions on this topic. I guess I wont worry about it too much fi you guys are seeing 230 consistently!
 
#11 ·
206 is fine. mine runs 200ish in the summer without pulling anything.

If you want to do something to possible help it, add another cooler in there.
 
#14 ·
Isnt your truck a manual?

If so I dont see how this relates at all to the OP's 206 in a AUTOMATIC.

To the OP yes 206 is high. I woulndt want to run it for long periods of time but stuck in traffic there really not much you can do about it.
 
#17 ·
I'm not here to argue with anyone... I know Tank is very knowledgeable as well as many many others...Ever since I have been a member here, I have been taking notes in a big spiral notebook... {Over 200 pages full on info}... I don't know if these temps differ for synthetic transmission fluid over regular dino Trans fluid. Here are the temps I live by... I still run the stock 4R100...

200F--Below------>Normal
200F-210F-------->Getting Hot
215F-230F-------->Very Hot--{Pull over put truck in Park, idle up above 1200 rpms, Let Trans cool down to normal temps...

If this info is wrong? Someone please enlighten me...Thanks.
 
#18 ·
im not trying to start anything but 206 in my opinion isnt bad. especially in traffic because the cooler int getting any air. On a daily bases i run 180 then towing 200-210. 100k miles on mild built e40d still shift fine.
 
#19 ·
On my chevy i got up t0 255 trany temp. took it to the dealer and they said not to worry till it got closer to 280-300. I traded it because they keept getting hotter and hotter.
 
#20 ·
I have been doing Hot Shot now for about a year all over the U.S. I have a 2003 Ford F350 7.3 I used to see temps get up or near 210 and I would freak out. My
echanic said not to let the temps get over 210 for a long time. After I changed the Tranny Cooler from the old stock one to the bigger one Ford put out with the 6.0 liter I don't have any problems. I usually pull around 24-25K on average and in the mountains. My truck is registered for 26K. Hope this helps.
 
#21 ·
I would think the OPs tranny is fine. The only thing I am not sure about is do the newer trucks (09 in this case) run hotter in all of there fluids then the older trucks?

For example, slow city driving the radiator tranny cooler would be running hotter and the air tranny cooler would not get the volume or the temperature of air moving acrossed it. I know these trucks run hotter for emissions reasons.

All of the replies were referencing the older trucks and are accurate.
 
#22 ·
I also notice that my AC doesnt' get quite as cold when i'm in the city i assume b/c less air is moving past the radiator which seems normal. Does anyone think simply vacumming out the front of the radiator would do anything? can't hurt right? Just trying to get more air through those little fins might help it cool a little easier.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Johnny: When I first purchased my 01... I took the whole grill off and straightened all the fins with a HVAC tool... Like a mini comb... Then I bought a mesh screen, like those all sliding glass doors... screan door and windows... {Not the Metal Screen}. I doubled up the screen->{black} then covered the whole grill area... Before that... I took my 250psi air compressor and blew out the whole grill area... from inside out... Yes there was alot of garbage inside those fins... I used zip ties to install the mesh screen... The mesh screen stop a ton of garbage.... once a yr... I will blow out the grill again... but I never get hardly anything out anymore... Which is good...

When I replaced my Outside HVAC unit... I did this same idea... Works perfect... fins never get clogged...just have to remove mesh screen clean and reinstall...15min...
 
#24 ·
now i have to try it. i figured it can't hurt. all the fins are really straight but there has to be tons of dust and dirt crammed in between each fin that cna't hurt to get out. thanks for the advice, i'll let you now how it works out.
 
#25 ·
If you do mostly highway driving, during the summer months? The bugs alone due a good job on filling up the front of the grill...The mesh screen will stop most of the them... The smaller ones will pass right through.. Over yrs of driving they tend to plug a large area...
 
#26 ·
206 is nothing to panic about...my father's 4R100 has seen 310*...it was not happy...but still works...don't know how. My dodge grenaded at 275*.

Mercon SP and LV...the fluid in your 5R110 is pretty good stuff. If it makes you feel better I would dump the pan but really that is not that warm. IMHO under 220* with ANY fluid is nothing to worry about. Turn down your tuner and ATF temp will follow.
 
#29 ·
I must have a hell of a good tranny then. I never see it over 160-170.. 180 pulling
 
#34 ·
I just got back from 1600mi trip to Tennessee. One day on the way to Nashville ambient temp was 99 deg and humid. Pulling in rolling hills on I-40 my trans temp never got over 189deg. I have stock trans cooler and extra cooler from summit. I am towing my travel trailer which is 6000lbs.
 
#35 ·
Do you happen to have a picture of where you mouted it so maybe I can duplicate your rig? Also if you have the part # to the Summit cooler i'd be intersted in that as well. Thanks very much.
 
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