Well, I don't want to start an argument but I'll just tell you these couple of things and call it good.

--I disagree that the tranny fluid leaving the radiator is 185*, especially this time of the year. Coolant temp at the inlet side of the radiator is only 195-200, and I can guarantee there's definately more than a 15* temp drop across the radiator meaning the fluid going through the tank on the opposite side is much much much cooler than 185*. (FWIW, I had a race car some years ago and actually measured the temps at the radiator inlet and outlet...I think I had something like 220* at the inlet and 130*+ - at the outlet, and that radiator was a lot smaller than the one on my truck)

--My tranny temps are measured in the tranny outlet line which would/should be the hottest fluid temps at any point in the tranny, even during a converter locked condition.

--My fluid temps in a completely normal driving, non-towing, 70mph/2,000rpm, cruising dowing the freeway condition run right around 50* over outside air temp all the time all year long, consistently.

--We've had some pretty cool mornings right around 38-42*, which means my (normal) temps are around 88-92*. I know because my temp gauge starts at 120* and it never moves. Add to this the fact I live 2 miles from getting on the freeway means even tough my tranny should be running around 90*, it takes quite a long time to warm up to that point, and no way it's that warm prior to getting on the freeway.

--With this in mind, my tranny has never ever not shifted into O/D, period. And to say I haven't noticed it yet is kinda funny since I've put the entire 75,000 miles my truck has on it. I think I'd be pretty intimate with how my truck performs. There's nothing on my truck preventing it from shifting into O/D when too cold, that's all there is to it.

 

I'm not going to argue either because it won't change anyones mind that is set.
I gave you the facts that there is a TFT in the trans valve body. If you chose to ignor this , then do so.
The trans cooling loop is in the end of the radiator and does not cool the fluid to the same extent the coolant gets cooled accross the fuul length of cross flow.
I to have used an infra-red heat gun to test these point in the systems.
It was a must, to see what is going on and have inteligent info to base decisions on instead of guessing.
I to have been running a dirt sprinter with a 351w based alky motor and a small radiator.
I too tow that car in an enclosed trailer over 200 miles round trip at GVW well over 11,000.
I have a deep pan and a 3 core radiaror and it does take more than 25 miles from a cold start to get the 'total' mass of fluid up to temp once moving and cooling is taking place as well in that time interval.
In among all this is a fan on the Aux cooler with a thermostat set to come on at 185 input temp. During no load summer temp the fan will not trigger on unless the ambient gets over 95, then is will detect under hood engine bay temps as well and ventilate the bay as well after shut down..
My temp gauge begins at 100 so I can see what happens right from a cold start to full warm up and how long it takes on the average.
My friend, you see what you see, I see what I see and you don't have anything on me in the race department either. Been doing it a long long time and did'nt just come out from under a rock on all this, last week.
Take care.

 

Im going to be towing a rock crawler on an open deck trailer, my guess fully loaded is 5K lbs with gear and parts on the trailer. I thought about it a little more, I was thinking a deep pan, a gauge and a cooler will help keep the temps in a good range and a monitor on the temp as well.

I dont know enough about the auto trans to get into your discussion about the temperatures, I just dont want mine to overheat on me

 

You are 100% accurate on your posts.... both of them. The Trans will NOT shift into OD under 90 deg fluid temps. Last time I got the trans flushed the tech had a heck of a time getting it hot enough to drop the fluid. It IS thermostatically controlled. The trans in my 97 Expy was the same way. Galaxy.... on the next cold start you do drive the truck for a few miles. You will notice that it will run at 2000 RPM's and not shift into 4th. Anything under 90 deg fluid temp.

 

Cameron, lock out OD and you'll be fine. Look at my gallery to see what I tow on a regular basis...... 8500#+ 33'-11" tip to tail. Set your Edge up to display Trans temp and coolant temp, keep your torque converter locked as much as possible and try to anticipate the larger hills. Have a good time. Only one time have I seen trans temps of 215deg. This was on a 7% grade for 9 miles. 30 MPH in 1st gear at 4000 RPM's. As soon as I got to the top it leveled off and cooled right down. Normal travel at 63 MPH I see 185-190 trans temps in 90 deg heat.

 

I just don't know how much clearer I can be that my truck is not, nor never has been doing this. I even know it to not be the case now even more so because as mentioned before, I've been paying even closer attention to how the tranny operates since the new cooler install and cold weather.

Bluegrass...I also was in no way trying to "one up" you by saying I had a race car. That comment was only in response to the logic behind having tranny fluid around 185* leaving the radiator. With water that cool flowing around the tank on that side, (especially this time of year) it would be much for efficient than that and the tranny fluid would never be that warm. That's all I was trying to say there. I also have zero doubts about your knowledge of a TFT sensor in the tranny or anything of the sort, nor did I ever say "no, mine doesn't have one". But at the risk of kicking a dead horse, I'm telling you my truck will shift into O/D on the first drive after being cold soaked for days. Is mine different or is something wrong with it??? Sure, why not...but that's just the facts.

 

This is the problem. You said "new cooler". Did you bypass the factory cooler or remove it? What kind of cooler did you install?

 

How is that a "problem"?? It is a factory ford tranny cooler off of a 1999 F-250/7700...same body style as my F-150 truck. I completely removed the stock cooler and installed this one. My tranny temps droped an average of 35+ degrees in all driving conditions, thus supporting my argument that my tranny will shift into O/D regardless of how cool the fluid is.

I even started a thead a while back (not concerned) just asking if there is such a thing as 'too cool' on the fluid. Well, after several months now of driving in cold weather there has been zero negative effects from the new cooler so I am not worried about it at all. This cooler friggin rocks and has made such a huge difference when towing my trailer it's unexplainable!!

 

My truck is an 03 and does not have a computer PID for trans temp. Thats the reason I am looking a gauge.

Being that I am going to be towing to the mountains quite often, I am definitely going to be looking a cooler, even with the OD locked out. I would rather spend $500 (cooler, pan, gauge and pod) than $2500+ on a transmission. I just see it as preventive maintenance.

 

Cameron, a new cooler on our trucks makes a huge difference. Definately take a look at the SD cooler like I got. Just clarify a little to make sure you understood what the freek was saying...turning off O/D may not matter. I can leave my O/D switch on all the time while towing but my trailer is heavy enough that it never shifts into O/D anyways, so doesn't really matter. O/D on or off has very little effect on tranny temp anyways. Keeping the converter locked is what's key to cooler tranny temps and this is completely separate from O/D. The two have no relation, and turning off the O/D does't guarantee your converter is, or will stay locked. It's all about throttle control and learning your truck.

 

Galaxy, the SD cooler you speak of, is that the one from Troyer or similar, or is that one that is completely different? I have not done much searching on the matter yet (my project is not done yet, shooting for mid Febuary).

I use my truck as my DD as well, have towed with it from time to time thus far in owning it, but Im not sure I can tell when the converter is locked or not. Is there a sign I need to look for or is it something I will know when I get a good load behind it?

 

Cameron,
When your converter is locked you will not notice it as much as when it unlocks. When your converter unlocks, your RPM's will jump by 500. If you look at your tach you can see it lock and unlock. You will also notice it when accellerating. It will almost feel like you have an extra gear when it in fact is your converter locking. You might even be able to count how many times you think it shifts... you will find that you feel 5 points. The trans is only 4 speeds. The 4th bump you feel will be your converter the 5th being OD.
Galaxy,
I believe that the T stat is in the stock cooler. This prevents the fluid from cycling through back to the tranny. If you replaced the stock cooler, you in effect removed the T stat. It will cycle constantly thats why your truck shifts into OD in the cold. I do have a question though.... What are your trans temps in the middle of summer, say 90+ deg when towing with the SD cooler? I would love to drop mine down a bit. I usually see 185-195 and I do change the fluid regularly, but If I could drop it further I would sleep better. I was looking at the Troyer cooler but It looks like a little overkill to me.

 

Cameron...here's a link to some info on my cooler. Also, I could not have explained it better than the freek on how to look for the converter locking/unlocking. Like we said, this is the key and your goal is to keep the converter locked as much as possible while towing. Like I said earlier, the only way to do this is to learn on your own what your truck wants and how it drives. There are no other tricks to keep it locked other than throttle control and learning how to drive your truck.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=302758

freek...there is no thermostat in the cooler, not in mine (stock one or the new one), not in yours, not in anyones unless they added one. Any type of thermostat/bypass would have to be external to continue the loop back to the tranny. You can't just stop a fluid flow until a certain temp. Imagine what that would do to the tranny!! Fluid always flows in a complete circuit continuously all the time. Don't believe me??? Go remove the 'out' line on your cooler and hold it over a pan on a cold morning, then crank the truck up and see just how much normal fluid flow you get.

As for the cooler, the stock cooler on pre '04 trucks is a joke. The new cooler I have is actually not much bigger than your stock cooler. Same length but a couple inches wider...I compared it to my dads '07 when we put it in. Your temps are pretty good and definately cool enough to not justify the hastle of changing the cooler. Mine run about what yours do with my new cooler. The new cooler dropped my temps across the board under any and all driving/towing conditions by at least 35 degrees on average. But trust me, I needed it. I could hit 240 in no time with the converter unlocked. With the new one, I've been unable to top 210 in the same condition. I actually held the converter unlocked at one point to see if it would get much hotter and it wouldn't. Was only 70 out that day, but still. (yea bluegrass, I know...something is wrong with my gauge)

I don't think the troyer set up is overkill but it would be a hastle to put in. You'd have to rig everything from scratch...mounting location and type, lines, etc. My cooler is a stock Ford item so bolted right in. Took me literally 30 minutes to mount it then all I had to do was run the new lines. You post '04 guys don't have any factory options like that though so you would have to go the aftermarket route if you wanted a bigger cooler, but I personally don't think it's necessary with your temps like I said before.

 

Thanks. That's what I was looking for. I am ok right now. I have feeling this summer I will be forced to make some changes though. Its a shame there is no 'easy' larger cooler option. The Troyer package actually looks like it would be a fun weekend project. Time will tell what I end up having to do I guess..

 

OK, not to kick a dead horse or to pull one up from the grave, but...I was waiting on this day back when we were talking about it and it finally happened so I wanted to share.

I was waiting to get to my dads house on vacation to drive his '07 and see what happened. For the record, at no time did I disagree with any of you guys that the new trucks have a feature to prevent them from shifting into O/D until the temp warms up above 90*, even though my truck doesn't.

With that said...it's high 20's here at night and my dads truck has been sitting out for two days without moving, so it should be good and cold soaked. Get in it to go to the store yesterday morning...28* outside. Crank it up, drive mabe 1/10 of a mile to end of the street. Pull out of the neighborhood and immediately accelerate to 50mph or just over. I count the shifts...first, second, third...then nothing. It hangs there. "Yep!!!" I said to myself, "you guys were right". No sooner than I could think it, she shifted into O/D and the converter locked right on up just like any other day of the week. Now I'm no way trying to restart this debate but there is no friggin way what-so-ever this fluid temp was already up to 90*. Just impossible. I'll admit I could be wrong and not knowing where in the tranny that 90* temp is taken from, but I'm just not buying it. I'm not sayin nothin about nothin or what you guys know...just saying this was my experience.