I'm old skool, i just go slow lol. I go from elevation 150 to 1730, back down to 500 then up to 1800 a couple times out east, a couple people have added oil coolers i believe. the part i don't like about messing with the oiling system is the sensitivity the bearings have, the tolerances are clearly not our 1990's small block chevy tolerances lol. we slapped oil coolers on both our beauville vans and 3.73 gear, let her eat. these things, i swear if they even get the slightest sniff of air in the oil or just a millisecond of no oil, your crank is a 2 piece with a rod induced block ventilation add-on lol. I'd do a lot of things to the truck but touching that oil system is a big gamble. that said you could put in a manually operated valve and for towing just open the valve to an add-on cooler and run the cooler down in the lower valance and cut out the fake plastic lower valance in the air dam. just make sure you have the exact amount of oil, they don't like too much oil, dealership told me outright if I made them over fill it, I'd own it if it grenades. Adding more oil also helps delay the heat build up and it cools down quicker as well.
Elevated Oil Temps when towing - potential solutions
Hey all:
I live in the middle of a mountainous terrain of Western Canada, so we pretty much always deal with climbing steep terrain and mountain passes when camping with our travel trailer. I’ve been searching through the forums and getting lots of great info to help manage elevated oil temps when towing.
My current set-up:
Truck:
2016 Ram 1500 Crew Cab SLT, GDE Engine & Transmission Tune, 3.55 gears, Timbergrove ASAM, upgraded 275/65/20 rims/tires (17” original factory stock – I know the larger rims/tires are detrimental for towing, but appearance matters too…)
Travel Trailer:
2020 Springdale 220BHWE; 4,900 lb dry, ~6,600 lb loaded
I have snipped the stats on one of the larger mountain passes we travel below—I will hit the derate message for oil temps (130 C) during the ascent, and I currently follow @VernDiesel advice of keeping <3,000 RPMs and the speed ends up in the 60-70 kmh range.
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Any additional thoughts, feedback, and suggestions would be appreciated.
I live in the middle of a mountainous terrain of Western Canada, so we pretty much always deal with climbing steep terrain and mountain passes when camping with our travel trailer. I’ve been searching through the forums and getting lots of great info to help manage elevated oil temps when towing.
My current set-up:
Truck:
2016 Ram 1500 Crew Cab SLT, GDE Engine & Transmission Tune, 3.55 gears, Timbergrove ASAM, upgraded 275/65/20 rims/tires (17” original factory stock – I know the larger rims/tires are detrimental for towing, but appearance matters too…)
Travel Trailer:
2020 Springdale 220BHWE; 4,900 lb dry, ~6,600 lb loaded
I have snipped the stats on one of the larger mountain passes we travel below—I will hit the derate message for oil temps (130 C) during the ascent, and I currently follow @VernDiesel advice of keeping <3,000 RPMs and the speed ends up in the 60-70 kmh range.
Looking for some additional input/feedback on potential improvements with helping keep the oil temperatures down. Here is what I am thinking and have gleaned from other forum members (@Bounty Hunter, @Brokedownbutgood - always appreciate your contributions to the forum)- Remove AGS
- Needed for additional external oil cooler install (see further note below); however, will this removal alone reap any benefits?
- If removed, will there be any adverse effects in the cooler winter months? I do use the winter cover once temps are below 0 C (32 F).
- Install aftermarket oil cooler
- 26 x 7 x 3.5” cooler: Air to Water Heat Exchanger
- Ecodiesel Oil Cooler Plate: Eco Diesel Info | D&J Diesel Performance and Repair (dandjdiesel.com)
- Derale 180 degree oil thermostat: Derale 25011 Fluid Control Thermostat Kit, Thermostats - Amazon Canada
Any additional thoughts, feedback, and suggestions would be appreciated.
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I keep mine below 240 and just deal with whatever speed i get. each truck and situation is a little different, eventually you run out of HP anyways, you're not getting much beyond 2800-3k so it's kinda pointless on the power curve beyond it. I'm ok with giving up a few horse power to stay cool
greendieselengineering.com
I'm surprised that radiator helps so much with the oil temp, I never have cooling problems on the coolant side, so it must be exponential or something where the large radiator increases the oil cooling as well. good to know about the radiator.
was the radiator swap easy to do?
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greendieselengineering.com
I'm surprised that radiator helps so much with the oil temp, I never have cooling problems on the coolant side, so it must be exponential or something where the large radiator increases the oil cooling as well. good to know about the radiator.
was the radiator swap easy to do?
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