Engine Operating Temperature

My newly installed TrailTech Vapor unit tells me lots of good stuff.

I installed the temp sensor in the radiator return hose, just above where it comes off the engine:



What I'm finding is that at idle (no load) it will hang around 180 or so - seemingly indefinately but I guess I didn't let it idle for more than 10 mins or so. When riding easy it goes up to 200-210, and any kind of hill climbing or hard accelleration and it pops right up to 240. Ambient temps are around 80 here right now.

Today I took it out on a nice easy ride around the neighborhood and it hit 246 going mildly uphill at about 30 mph (this is after about 20 minutes total run time)

Seems high to me. What says the collective? I don't see anything boiling off. What's gonna happen when I start thrashing it around the desert when ambient is 100 degrees?


ps - I put fresh distilled H2O and gerneric (automotive) ethelyne glycol coolant in it before taking it out on the first ride after I got it running a few days ago.

Thanks :salute: I did read the Cooling thread but dind't see any hard numbers in there for what should be ''normal'...I think I'm going to run mostly just distilled H2O - I need max cooling and ther is not much chance of freezing here (Las Vegas, NV)

So, 240-250 riding through deep sand it's no worries - I can keep riding the engine is made to take that and I'm not hurting anything?.... :thumbup:

The vapor unit has high temp 'warning' and 'danger' LEDs - guess I'll set 'warning' at 240 and 'danger' at 260.

LINEAWEAVER said:

If you really want to scare yourself place a tattle tale thermal tab on the cylinder-head nearest the exhaust and away from the main coolant passage.

Dale

Click to expand...

heh - ya I bet


So where would you set the 'warning' and 'danger' cut offs?