"normal" operating temp

[akrockhound]

No high tech turbo guages yet.

I have a few hundred miles on my brand new Duramax. Once its warmed up the tamperature maxes at about 195, occassionally going as low as 180 on long downhills. It has never exceeded 195.

Is this 195 about normal temp for the Duramx. What can I expect for water temps when I put in my 2600 lb slide-in camper and start climbing hills.

I assume it must have a 195 thermostat in it.

Do some folks put in a colder thermostat or are certain engine monitoring funtions calibrated to the 195 thermostat.

I only aske because its a bit hotter than my 6.5L TD which seems to run about 180 at cruise and only got close to 210 when I was hill climbing with a heavy load.

This is pretty basic stuff but GM still hasn't given me the owner's "diesel supplement" so I don't even know how many quartz of oil this thing takes yet.

Curious what water temps others are getting

[GSXRTURBO1]

210* F no load

[Kent Tuttle]

Mine seems to run right around the 200 mark even when towing. Nice since I had to always watch the water temp on the 6.5.

The d-max takes about 10 quarts on an oil change.

[HotShot]

In the summer it always runs about 195. I hit 200-210 once, I had 4000 lbs in the box on a day that was over 90 climbing a very long grade about 11 or 12%.

[Nixter]

I haven't seen it hit 210 yet even towing moderate weights on steep grades. In the winter running empty it rarely hits 190. I expect that these figures will vary a little from truck to truck so I wouldn't worry much if yours seems a bit different. Just get an idea of what is normal for your rig and use it as a guideline. I think that you should have no trouble with coolant temps especially here in Alaska. --Nick ;)

[SS396]

I get 195 no-load, 210 pulling a 10,000# 5'ver.

[TEXASTOUGHDMAX]

I never saw mine go above 205 last week when pulling 13,000# (Cattle + 20' Trailer). Ambient temp was 95.
What did concern me was the tranny got up to 200. Normally runs 185-190 w/out a load.

[a64pilot]

Be careful trying to get hard numbers off these stock gauges. IMHO they are only good for spotting trends and don't appear to be very accurate.

[AlanL]

Trans temp of 200 while towing seems pretty normal to my experience.

Its normal in my Dmax, and was normal in my previous vehicle ('01 Suburban 2500). This is going up hills, etc... On flat ground or during some downhill coasting, the temp drops pretty quickly.

-Al

[GSXRTURBO1]

Ok, I've checked mine again, and it's on the line below 210*F. Which is what exactly? :( The numbers and lines really don't make sense, a64pilot is 100% correct.

[SS396]

I agree with A64pilot, consistency is what is important.

When pulling the trailer it reads 210 uphill, downhill and flat. The only time it dropped to 195 was on the downside of mountain pass with the outside temp at 32 degrees. Halfway down the pass, back to 210.

[Silver Bullet]

I just came back from a Texas Tour...Dallas to San Antonio to Austin to San Angelo to Abilene and back to Dallas...I was pulling an 20' flatbed which was empty except for the last leg. The entire trip was roughly 1000 miles. My fan ran a lot!!! The outside temp ranged from 70 to 96, but was mostly between 87 and 93. What is the normal temp for the fan to kick in? From the pic, it looks like I was running somewhere between 197.5 and 203.75.

gauge pic while fan is running (http://www.monkey.net/steve/images_misc/temp_gauge.jpg)

Temp gauge calc
----------------
160
- 166.25
- 172.50
- 178.75
== 185.00
- 191.25
- 197.50
- 203.75
210
- 216.25
- 222.50
- 228.75
== 235.00
- 241.25
- 247.50
- 253.75
260

[Colorado Kid]

Since the fan clutch decides if it should lock up based on the temp of the air going by it it's a little difficult to say at what coolant temp that "should" occur. The clutch sees the heat from the A/C condensor and intercooler (Tranny cooler too, for those of you so equipped) along with the radiator. Unlike my father-in-laws TBI-350 gasser I really can't see the coolant temp fall off evey time the clutch engages. My temp guage looks just like the one in the photo and stays right there all summer long, even towing up I-70 West from Denver on a 105*F day.

[Dawg]

These are some numbers from a recent trip. The coolant temp has never gone over 210*. The tranny has never passed the highside of the 200* mark. Under normal use I am under the above numbers. I use my guages to look for trends as well. Mine have been very consistent. Actually probably got better as the truck got broke in.

Just returned from a 500 mile trip with our trailer. We went to the east side of our state. On the trip over the mountains we had a head wind of about 30 mph most of the way. Temps were in the 80's. Mileage was 11.4mpg.

Upon return temps in the mid 90's. Pulled the Vantage Hill which is 10 miles long. The truck maintained 70mph very easily. Tranny temp did not go over 200*, water temp just touched 210*, 22.5 lbs boost, 1300* egt(pyro in exhaust manifold). The truck held 4th without hunting, clutch fan locked up. The truck felt very strong!! Had to slow a few MPH for some slower vehicles. I would ease down on the throttle and the truck would be right back to 70mph! I'm sure I had some more throttle but was happy with my current pace! The truck is stock except for the 265's. I couldn't be happier.

[rtquig]

My trans temp hit 200 last week when it was 96F. I thought it was a little high since the truck was empty and had run about 10 miles. I'm guessing it was just the high ambient temps.

[dmaxalliTech]

I find it quite normal for the fan to run more then what seems normal. When I have my fiver hooked up, regardless of outside temp, it seems to run non stop. Tech-2 shows that actual engine
temp stays with in 10 degrees. It is irratating and may seem like a cause for concern, but I dont see any. Dmax fan clutch should engage between 185 and 205. It is filled with a silicone fluid that is heated by engine heat, which in turn, locks up the fan to help cool. I would be more worried if the fan didnt come on at all when towing. :eek:

[dmaxalliTech]

Just a side thought, when towing, the boost is building, that makes heat in the intercooler, which is drawn into engine, that would also increase temps and need for fan. Just a thought....

[Silver Bullet]

Thanks for the feedback!

I had put on a "Fred" tranny scoop which does help the tranny run cooler, but I am wondering if this might be a side effect. I took the tranny scoop off this evening and cleaned off the tranny cooler, intercooler, the 3rd one, and the radiator (as good as I could). I have another trip (600+ miles) at the end of July...it may be a good test as it will be good and hot here in Texas! :cool:

[Inspector]

My water temp, wether loaded or unloaded and no mater what the outside temp is, will rise to a half needle below 210 and stay there like it is on a stop. It will stay there while pulling my trailer up any hill and will not cool down on the other side. Like I say even solo it stays at the same temp. Never moves. Tranny never exceeds 195. What does concern me is the high EGTs. I had the SPA gauge head replaced and no change. A new thermocouple is on its way to me as we speak. I hope that will be the fix. I have had EGTs as high as 1477 no load and getting on it. The truck is stock. :(

Denny