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Cooling issue, please help

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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 01:37 PM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by Tsubakihara
The only thing that stands out is the cooling flush. If the air was not properly evacuated (bleed) it could lead to a loss of cooling efficiency. This happened to me on my 05' Cummins / Dodge. The temp would fluctuate dramatically as the thermostat cycled. This was on a flat tow going to the desert in SoCal, in the winter.
Air in the system would be a problem. But the fan should still come on if the engine oil temp is getting up there.

If the air conditioning is on, the fan should be coming on, possibly in sync with the compressor. If no fan then there's a problem.
 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:00 PM
  #17  
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Originally Posted by HRTKD
Air in the system would be a problem. But the fan should still come on if the engine oil temp is getting up there.

If the air conditioning is on, the fan should be coming on, possibly in sync with the compressor. If no fan then there's a problem.
Agree if there's no fan engagement. The tech can turn on the fan manually and they should have done that. So to the OP, if this continues perhaps stop at another dealer. Maybe you can locate a Quick Lane on your route?
 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:16 PM
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Originally Posted by mcmurm
Half the country is in an extensive heat wave. Are you sure you've towed in the same conditions?

I was pulling our 5th wheel through some smaller hills / mountains a few weeks ago. We were doing about 65 through the uphills. Engine oil temp got up to about 230, trans temp was 220+, and coolant temp was around the same. I know at these speeds most of the cooling is passive, but the fan never kicked in at all. We leveled off on some flat land and the temps returned to normal pretty quickly.

Normal for my 2021 6.7 is -

Coolant: 192
Trans: 208
Engine Oil: 210

90+ ambient temp, highway speeds
Good go know. Very similar to what I was seeing... Your normals are my normals (non-towing).
 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:18 PM
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Originally Posted by HRTKD
Air in the system would be a problem. But the fan should still come on if the engine oil temp is getting up there.

If the air conditioning is on, the fan should be coming on, possibly in sync with the compressor. If no fan then there's a problem.
Near the end of my run as I got close to Eagle's Nest, NM there are some steep inclines and at that point the fan finally kicked in. Not as loud as I am used to hearing and at a higher temperature than I am used to seeing but it did kick in. In about 60 seconds my oil temp from about 229 to 218. My Trans temp took a while to come down.

 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:19 PM
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I can run around 200-205 coolant, trans same. around 210.

Oil temps not so bad, can hover around 200 to sometimes 220-230 on the hills.
The water temp needle as it crosses over the center would be around 220F.
 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:19 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by HRTKD
Air in the system would be a problem. But the fan should still come on if the engine oil temp is getting up there.

If the air conditioning is on, the fan should be coming on, possibly in sync with the compressor. If no fan then there's a problem.
Understood. I really don't think there is air in the system as I should have seen cooling issues when not towing - which I have not.

The A/C is running and working fine - blowing cold air.

 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Tsubakihara
Agree if there's no fan engagement. The tech can turn on the fan manually and they should have done that. So to the OP, if this continues perhaps stop at another dealer. Maybe you can locate a Quick Lane on your route?
Yeah, tomorrow's journey over to Durango from Angel Fire will be an interesting test. I am going to take it easy and not push hard and I may even pull over to let things cool down. At this point, I am convinced that something is "a little off" with my truck but I have not seen CEL or warning and the fan does turn (just not like it has in the past). So I believe I will make it....

Thanks for the advice and input.
 
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Old Aug 6, 2021 | 05:54 PM
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Well I just found this YouTube video... Very interesting. I didn't realize that some of the thresholds were so high. Definitely explains some things.

 
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Old Aug 7, 2021 | 10:47 PM
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Well we made the run from Taos to Durango. The truck performed very well. I still had the temperatures posted at the top if the thread. However the clutch fan seemed to kick in much more aggressively and cooled things down much faster.

The truck performed much differently than it did on Thursday. I am not sure what is going on, but I am overjoyed how well the truck worked today.
 
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Old Aug 7, 2021 | 11:25 PM
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Originally Posted by gascan
Well we made the run from Taos to Durango. The truck performed very well. I still had the temperatures posted at the top if the thread. However the clutch fan seemed to kick in much more aggressively and cooled things down much faster.

The truck performed much differently than it did on Thursday. I am not sure what is going on, but I am overjoyed how well the truck worked today.
Glad you made it. Welcome to CO!
 
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Old Aug 8, 2021 | 08:30 AM
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great post, glad it all worked out.
 
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Old Aug 17, 2021 | 01:21 PM
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One final update....

We arrived back home late yesterday. So our route was Austin, TX to Angel Fire, NM (when the first issue was noted above). Then from Angel Fire, to Durango, CO. Then Durango to Estes Park, CO. Then a long drive back to Austin, TX.

I continued to see higher temperatures than I have typically seen in the previous 5 years of driving this truck, towing the same trailer, over these same routes. Over the various inclines, I saw the engine temp go as high as 252 and transmission temp go as high as 248. I had sustained runs (longer than 20 minutes) where the trans temp stayed above 221 even though the engine temp would drop as a result of the clutch fan kicking in.

It did seem like after the run from Austin to Angel Fire that the truck was more aggressive about kicking in the clutch fan. (That is purely my observation - no data to back it up.). I still wish I could understand why the truck was performing differently from past observations but I may not ever know...

Anyway, we made the trip with no failure from the truck. I do appreciate the support and help from the forum.


 
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Old Aug 17, 2021 | 01:28 PM
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Since both the transmission and engine oil temperatures are running higher that you expected (due to experience) I would look into the cooling system flush more. Was something done during the flush that would have affected the system? Wrong ratio of coolant to water?
 
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Old Aug 17, 2021 | 05:53 PM
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wondering if there is a thermostat issue.
 
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Old Aug 17, 2021 | 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by senix
wondering if there is a thermostat issue.
Could be. Since the engine oil and transmission are on different cooling systems (primary, secondary, respectively) would that require both thermostats to go bad?
 
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