250+ degrees towing

[Jomo]

I have read pretty much all the threads here on towing temps and ags removal. Towing my camper today I noticed higher oil temps than last year and it was only in the 50s today. Towing up a large mountain my oil temp was climbing up and up when it hit 255 I backed off the throttle makes me wander if it was going to hit the 270 degree temperatures that I have heard about. I am not really too concerned about the oil a short spike even at 270 degrees will be fine for the penns platinum. My concern is manifold cracks or manifold bolts breaking. I am considering the removal of some of the active shutters. Can anyone confirm that this will help with temps wile towing the steep mountains of pa. It seams to me like the shutters are always wide open when towing because I am always over 215 degrees am I correct by making that assumption. I did check my overflow antifreeze it had fluid in it. I do like the ags in the winter it gets really cold here. There is a large group of us here in kersey pa that have ram with the hemi the higher towing temps always seem to cause the manifold bolts to break. I guess what I am trying to ask is is there a way to lower temps towing up mountains I don’t think a 190deg thermostat is the answer these trucks are made to run hot just not quite that hot lol. Sorry to ramble on please let me know what you guys think on this. Thanks jomo

 

[silver billet]

Well if you read the threads... yes, a 180 tstat and AGS removal will definitely help give you a longer runway before hitting those temps. In my truck, for my usage, that was enough to keep me at around 220 on the straights with the odd/quick peak of up to 230-240 or so.

A "proper" fix would be a temperature controlled after market oil cooler. But depending on your towing needs the 180 and AGS is quick/easy and will probably do just fine for what you need. The problem with this fix is that if you find a longer hill with a heavier load on a hotter day, you may find yourself hitting those temps again, because it doesn't limit your peak temps, it just lowers your starting/cruising temp so you have more time before you hit the uncomfortable temps.

You don't need AGS in the winter at all unless you're like at the north pole. I keep the 180 in all year around and though my temps hover around 188 unloaded in the winter, I've driven at -15 without having any issues getting the engine/cabin hot. Given you live about an hour-ish south of me, I'd expect similar winter temps that I see at Toronto in the winter, 0 issues whatsoever.

 

[silver billet]

Also, I hope you're running at least 5w-30 or 0w-30. Pennzoil is just run of the mill box store oil, it will shear down at those temps. If you're running 270 by the temp sensor the oil is even hotter in other spots. I'd be putting in something like mobil 1 FS 0w-40 if you want a cheaper oil, but that will shear down to a 30 grade too. You're better off running something like HPL or redline 5w-30.

 

[Jomo]

like I said I am not to concerned about the state of the oil. I do run 0w20 the testing has been done on these thinner oils at 250 degrees + for hours on end with good results. I don’t think it is good to go up over 250 degrees but oil has come a long ways over the last decade. The oil going through these turbos gets way hotter than that. Penns platinum is a decent synthetic oil made from natural gas some how. Is there better yes your real true full synthetics with synthetic base oil is probably a bit better like amsoil but I don’t want to turn this thread into an oil brand argument. I guess if I could keep my foot off the gas going up over these hills I would be alright it’s hard for me to do that lol. I am hitting 4 grand over these hills.

 

[Jomo]

It’s actually penns ultra platinum

 

[silver billet]

like I said I am not to concerned about the state of the oil. I do run 0w20 the testing has been done on these thinner oils at 250 degrees + for hours on end with good results. I don’t think it is good to go up over 250 degrees but oil has come a long ways over the last decade. The oil going through these turbos gets way hotter than that. Penns platinum is a decent synthetic oil made from natural gas some how. Is there better yes your real true full synthetics with synthetic base oil is probably a bit better like amsoil but I don’t want to turn this thread into an oil brand argument. I guess if I could keep my foot off the gas going up over these hills I would be alright it’s hard for me to do that lol. I am hitting 4 grand over these hills.

What matters is HT/HS, and shear down. PUP is nothing special in that regard, and 20 grade is way too thin for 250 towing never mind 270. I'm not going to spend time arguing about it, your truck your call.