Towing coolant temps
 

Hey everyone. I have a 2015 F350 dually 2wd. For the first two years I've only had my 23ft bumper pull toy hauler, weighing in around 5k lbs. In the beginning the temp gauge didn't ever move from just left of the center.

pulling was something like this:

It did at one point have a small leak of coolant and a coolant tank was replaced under warranty. Sometime in 2017, in the middle of summer, I did see the needle creep up past the halfway point - though it was over 100F outside and in the same area as the first video, a nasty hill between Payson and Phoenix that usually has 1-2 semis on the side of the road. I attributed it to the heat, but still, with 5k lbs I did ask my dealer to take a look at the cooling system. They said everything looks good.

Fast forward to yesterday, I have my first trip with the new trailer, a ~11k lb 5th wheel. About 80-90 degrees outside. Almost every hill the needle went past the halfway point, and it would stay at about the 75-80% mark on the gauge until cresting the hill. The fan does come on and it does seem to keep it from going higher, but it still is nerve wracking to see it climb...

at 65mph

Stuck behind a semi:

Question is, is this normal? I'm sure Ford will say it's fine as long as it doesn't overheat, but I am still worried about the long term life of the engine... I do need to get some gauges and see what the numbers are behind that needle... It almost seems as the fan is engaging too late.

Thoughts, opinions?

Experiencing the same thing here...

My pickup normally runs just below halfway too, even when pulling a 9000lb 5th wheel. This summer, when towing it in 103F degree weather, it too climbed up to the same point yours did. Then it would fluctuate between this reading and just above halfway. Maybe this is just some sort of auxiliary thermostat opening/closing to provide extra flow while the bypass is sufficient for normal use?

Seems normal for Mt Ord hill climb. Mine does it sometimes and fan doesn't get real loud or go up to high fan rpm reading.

Those dummy gauges are one reason I took the ScanGauge from my 6.0 and installed it in my 2015. If it doesn't have a number on it I don't trust it. Too much ambiguity involved.

Good news is I get this and maybe just slightly more to the right on the coolant guage, pull 5-6K more up the mountains of Colorado or the eisehower tunnel.


As long as the fan kicks in and you hear the airplane under the hood then you are fine.


When I first got my 6.7 I though the coolant system was a little too small compared to my 6.4 but it has proven to hold its own with no failures.

Cool, glad to hear it's normal... I still hate Ford for those useless gauges. Have we reached the point yet where designing a gauge cluster with needles is more expensive than a 7" LCD? seems like a tablet could provide a lot more info, and be a lot cheaper to make as the dash gauges than these damn things... /rant off.

Last question - can tuners turn the fan on earlier?

not that I am aware of.

If you are looking for a nice looking Tablet system to monitor your truck, a good friend of mine has this set up in his truck. I believe he has it connected with an EZ lynk running Spartan tunes. It is really clean looking and easy to see.

https://retrocustomz.com/products/20...ad-in-dash-kit

that looks very nice but I don't have the touchscreen stereo/dash - so wouldn't work. I am probably going to stick a double din Android deck in there and that should have all of the processing power I need for Torque and other stuff...

Thanks!

If you tow often I would recommend a Mishimoto aluminum radiator. Lifetime warranty for the original purchaser. Expensive but worth every penny. The bundle that includes primary and secondary radiators is $2888.95 from Amazon. I have one in my 2008 F350 4x4 King Ranch and it never gets hot, towing, hauling, hills, hot days, whatever. Of course, I only have one radiator and they are around $1000 from Amazon. The problem with factory parts is sometimes, not always, they are built "just good enough" for most drivers. Better is better.

BTW, why the poor fuel mileage? I get 15mpg with my 6.4. Is that only towing?

It was a dually, and yeah, mostly used for towing only - only time it wasn't towing was on the way to pick up a trailer or fuel up without a trailer, heh. That truck got replaced with a 2019 F450, which does have the fancier dash, and that starts displaying digits when the heat goes over half. I've realized the gauge needle is nowhere near linear as you'd think, and while the temps start showing up at 219F, by the time it hits 225 that needle is damn near overheating - at which point the fan goes nuts and cools it all down. 5-7 degrees seem to take up 1/4 of the gauge in that range... it's weird.

Wait a second. The 2019 F450 is also going hotter than "normal"? My rig NEVER goes past normal and I have the SCT programmer hooked up so I can monitor turbo boost and coolant temp. If I were you I would look into a Mishimoto radiator. I got mine with one already installed and it works great.

Wait. Does the 2019 F450 get hotter than "normal" when towing? If so I would definitely look into the Mishimoto radiator for your truck. I have one in my rig as I mentioned before. Came with it, but it never gets hot, no matter what I tow, haul, hills, hot ambient temps, etc. The needle stays dead center and I have the SCT Programmer hooked to my OBD II port to monitor turbo boost and engine temp, so I am getting a digital readout of the temp. Cheaper than blown head gaskets.

https://scontent.ftij3-2.fna.fbcdn.n...Vw&oe=63143A9A
That's a lot of boost! It reads that with key on before I start the engine. When I took this photo I had it set to Kilometers Per Hour because I was in Baja California. The 3rd Baja 400 is September 13-18, 2022. Baja 1000, November 15-20, 2022. Just sayin'.