Coolent Temp. Guage

[Richard Pelletier]

I now have 20+k on my 2002 HD, I have towed a 5th wheel over 10k miles in winter and summer. During heavy towing the fan will come on to cool the engine, but the temp gauge has NEVER gone above one mark below 210. Has anyone else experienced this situation? I find it hard to believe the temp has not gone above the stated mark. I guess the msg center would tell me if I was about to over heat, but I would like to monitor the temp more closely. I really do not like the idea of taking the truck to the dealer for some Tec to cause a noisy dash. Any comments will be appreciated.

Richard

[SoCalDMAX]

So you're having doubts about the factory gauges? As great as it is to have so many gauges on the IC, I too wonder about their accuracy. I'm sure that they aren't exactly precision instruments due to cost constraints. I've seen 145psi oil pressure, although the factory gauge only goes to 80psi. For the most part, it's accurate to +/- 10psi, not too bad.

I'm monitoring oil temp. at a fitting very close to the oil filter. To date, I've never seen over 200*, even driving in Vegas in 110* heat. I haven't towed anything heavier than 3,000# which the truck didn't even feel. The oil temp tracks very close to the coolant temp. I believe oil temp is a better indication of load on the engine and internal temps than the coolant gauge, especially if it doesn't move much. ;)

The reassuring part to me is that the fan kicked on and off when necessary and never let the temps get too high, yet didn't stay on for long periods. IMHO, it moves a tremendous amount of air and GM did a great job selecting the clutch engagement temp. Any lower, we'd be grousing about lost power, any higher and people would be paranoid about overheating.

Regards, Steve

[TLA]

This is typical. Mine has gone over 210 twice,under very different circumstances, but generally runs one needle width below it.
The fan is controlled by a thermostatic clutch that senses heat rejected from the trans cooler, the A/C condenser, the turbo intercooler, and then the radiator. In part the idea is to prevent heating, not deal with it when it happens. So, sounds like yours is normal.