What is the danger zone for EGT'S on the 7.3????? I have heard and read alot of different temps. So let's get down to the truth??

 

The truth is a complex answer. Danger zone in terms of what? Pulling a loaded trailer up a 40° incline for 2 miles or running an 1/8 mile at the drag strip?

 

1200-1250 max for extended times. Everything you can dish out for short burst of a couple seconds. You're mostly worried about heat soak. A short burst to 1600 isn't going to kill your truck.

 

That's a loaded question! Alot of variables...

Is your EGT probe in the downpipe or manifold?
Coated or Uncoated pistons?
Aluminum or Steel pistons?


Aluminum melts at 1220* but can vary depending on how its blended!

 

Probe is in drivers side manifold. Stock internals, pulling 7-9% grades with approx. 11000lbs. I've been trying to keep it around 1250 degrees max.

 

That's about right. Don't forget higher rpms USUALLY means lower egt

 

I wouldn't "ride the guardrail". There can be an inaccuracy in the gauge, the probe might be deeper or shallower than it should, you're not seeing the other manifold (which can be different by 50 degrees quite easily). I would downshift/slow down to keep the EGTs below 1200... but that's me being cautious to prevent something worse than not getting where I'm going sooner.

If you're going to push it, I would get another EGT gauge. To walk the talk... I did.

 

According to International, the limit is sustained temperature above 1250* when measured in the manifold. Short bursts above that won't harm anything.

Down pipe measurements are inaccurate.
Manifold to manifold temperatures tend to stay within 50* of each other unless you have a failure on one side resulting in abnormally low on the effected side.

 

You should be fine with those temps.
I've run around 1200-1250 degrees for 20 minutes at time with no ill effects (long extended incline between Tucson and El Paso...)
I've also seen temps in the 1350-1400 range while pulling 6-7% grades at 25k lbs gross for short periods (2-3 minutes) and that hasn't caused any problems either.

Been doing this for the last 10 years or so....