I don't know what you mean by temp rise.
That's not a precise question. My answer to that is it depends on operating conditions. The port temp might be anywhere between 100°F and 300°F.
If I can pick the operating conditions where this 150°F fluid is entering the trans, I can give a much smaller range. Say you're unloaded, on the freeway at a steady 70 MPH with ambient temperature of 80°F. The port on the side of the trans might be steady around 170°F or so.
There is a temp sensor on the solenoid body that drives the gauge. The PCM also uses this sensor. As far as I know there is a PID for trans temp.

 

2000 doesn't have a temp gauge for the tranny

 

The temp rise or drop would be the difference in temp between two points in a system.
The trans coolers I've added lower the fluid temps around 15 to 30 deg for each cooler depending on load.
That's with good airflow above 40 mph and varies with ambient temp, too.
The temp rise I'm wondering about would be the difference in temp between the fluid entering the trans compared to the fluid temp leaving the trans.
When my coolers are dropping temps around 30 deg each and the temps stay the same for awhile the trans must be increasing the temps about 60 deg.

In the wiring diagrams the only thing I have been able to locate about the trans temp sensor is:
"The PCM transmits the following information to the cluster over the SCP network. ... Transmission fluid temperature".
It seems to indicate the trans temp gauge gets the pointer deflection information from the PCM, not directly from the sensor.
This would mean the logic for the 4 positions of the gauge - off,green,yellow,red is in the PCM which makes sense.

 

That makes sense. Under load the temp rise can be much higher. Under a high load it isn't unusual to see 300°F leaving the trans going to the coolers.

That's correct. The cluster receives the actual trans temp, then a microprocessor in the cluster decides where to place the needle in the gauge.

 

If the trans temp sensor is on the solenoid body is that where the trans fluid temps are highest?
I would think trans fluid temps would be highest right after the torque converter, just before heading to the coolers, but I'm not familiar with trans internals.

 

You are correct, the highest temp in the trans is right after the torque converter. When looking at trans temp for use in the control system the absolute highest temp is not relevant. What is relevant is the core temp of the trans. That's what's read by this sensor.

If you had a gauge that read the temp coming out of the torque converter it would just scare most people. That temp fluctuates wildly, and 300°F isn't at all unusual.

 

I had a 2000 V10 F350 but with 4.30 gears and I ran it at and over the the limit the whole 13 years and 130K miles I had it. Mine had all the tow options so it had a cooler that was about 7" tall and ran the length of the radiator sandwiched between the condenser and radiator, I'm thinking in the 99 and 00 and maybe after not all trucks came with the bigger cooler. The only time mine ever got over 220 is when I was pulling a long grade.

Denny

 

I have an 01 f250 CCSB 4x4 3.73 hears and 4" lift on 35s with 225k miles and I tow a 30ft toy hauler that's weighs around 11-12k and have had no issues. I do keep up on maintenance on my truck and drive it like a tow vehicle not a drag racer. I keep track of my trans temp but has not got high enough for me to worry even at 100f + temps during summer. You should be fine just keep eye on temps and check your spark plugs like people have advised.

 

My 99 is able to monitor Transmission off the OBD2 port.

99-00 trucks received the same OTA cooler, however they did not receive the OTW cooler in the radiator.

 

I do it all the time with my 20 year old truck. This is not an issue if these trucks are properly maintained.

 

I was going to be doing the tow with our '94 with 182k on it, so using a 16 year old truck with barely 100k on it is like driving something almost new! And the trailer would have been at least 1500 pounds heavier. That truck has pulled over 16k before with no trouble, so 11k behind a SD 350 is no big deal, especially seeing as how the chassis and running gear are all rated to tow much more behind the 7.3. 100k isn't much to me, in fact it is the lowest mileage vehicle we own currently - that includes two Brittish-built conveyances (125k Mini, 173k '96 Land Rover) - and with proper servicing I see no reason the 350 won't be a good long term hauler. Truck weighs (full tank, no occupants) right at 6700, so with just me and a small amount of luggage, it will be at 6900. The trailer will put about 2750 or less on the ball, so rear axle weights will be well below max. I should be rolling at right around 17k (factory rated GCWR).

 

Maintenance doesn't cover the myriad of parts on a 16 year old vehicle. Do you "maintain" your U joints? No, you replace them when they fail. Do you "maintain" the springs? Shocks? Steering components? Wheel bearings? Calipers? Coolant hoses? Catalytic converters?

If the OP was asking about a 16 year old truck I'd say "hey bro, go get it and enjoy but be ready for stuff to fail. I hope it's not your daily driver/only vehicle".

But instead the OP was asking about towing at maximum capacity with a 16 year old truck. Most people would agree that towing max capacity with a newer truck would be/could be questionable.

I'm just offering good conservative advice.

 

The maintenance I speak of goes a lot farther than just oil changes. Stuff breaks on new stuff too. It's all mechanics. ****s gonna wear out. Good on ya for offering conservative advice. He asked, I answered.

 

I get what you are getting at but I think most of us with older trucks tend to assume that everything you listed is actually considered a maintenance item, if you can replace it before it fails do it and if you can't, fix it and keep on trucking.

I had more little problems with a new to me 4yr old 06 in 2010-11 than Dad has had with his 00 in the last year.... That said I wouldn't trade backwards if I had the option again, the 06 truck is so much better.

Something that I tend to take for granted is the ability to fix it yourself, some people have this gift and some people have gifts in other areas. Considering that, it could change how I would answer the original question.

 

I use mine to the extreme- 800-1000miles per week for work, and about 100-200 per week towing a 7,000lb enclosed trailer.

Mine is a 2007 E350 SD with V10 with over 270,000 miles. It has been great so far: only a few problems. But I live in fear EVERY WEEK of what's "the next" letdown, or worse yet== MAJOR breakdown.

I appreciate everybody agreeing and disagreeing respectably. Im writing this post just to reiterate my reasons for conservative advice to the OP.

When my van fails me, the down time is expensive because I don't have a backup. I have good/great income, and therefore the downtime costs more by preventing that income from "coming in."

For this reason I've been considering retiring this V10 van to only towing the race car, and getting a newer V8 van for work.

Conservative judgments are good overall. But some risk can have rewards as well. It's personal preference where to spend your resources.