Transmission temp high with front bike rack

[chin_k]

I wonder why it is not painted black from the factory. Black radiator release more heat, and this is why compressor and black radiator are black.

[Blue~Go]

... the DeWalt Shop Blower that I have (use it to quickly inflate my Alpacka Rafts)

Can you elaborate on that? Sounds slick. Also what year Alpacka (they have changed valves at times), and what do you use to interface the blower with the valve (or any other tips).

[Blue~Go]

I wonder why it is not painted black from the factory. Black radiator release more heat, and this is why compressor and black radiator are black.

I don't know, but it made for a nice contrast in the photo. Thirty minutes later it was painted black

[Doug777]

David
Thanks so much for the info.
Yes the electric bikes have renewed our interest in bike riding. My wife and I are both 65 so its just nice to have the assistance of that battery. Glad you are enjoying them as well.

Regarding the Thule rack...we did indeed get the one with the ramps. Right now I don’t need to use them. Each bike is 53 lbs. with the battery removed. But; the day will soon come when I cannot muscle them up on the rack and will need the assistance of those ramps.

Regarding the snow plow lights. I too am not getting enough Road illumination from our old composite lights ...But I am not using any covers over the Bike wheels.....What to do?
On to the forums I went and what some guys are doing is going to the ford basic E-350 contractor van rectangular sealed beam lights ....
So I just returned from the junkyard with all the parts to convert back to sealed beam rectangular headlights ($27) Guys are running after market LED lights that fit the old sealed beam rectangular buckets ( $80 on Amazon )
I will post a report once I get them installed and road tested.

I followed your posts about your transmission failure and Addition of the fans. Your posts and also blue-go Experience with his spare tire mounted to the front .......is what got me thinking of tracking those transmission fluid temps.

Being that you now have the jasper transmission and transmission fluid cooler.....I will Just have to Wait and see what Blue -go installed.

My concern is that I have not taken the chinook with bikes up the long climb into the Sierra Nevada range. I feel I will go quickly sailing by 200 degrees towards 220 or more. I have climbed the sierras in the summer in other vehicles towing a trailer and it’s no fun having to watch those temperatures keep climbing and having to pull over and letting things cool a bit.

What I see on some other (ford truck) forum sites is guys using the Transmission cooler that came with the 6.0 L diesel ford....whether they are running a Diesel engine or gas engine it seems that the trans cooler that came with the 6.0 is the ticket.
So Just gonna have to do some more research on it.
And hopefully get blue-go’s input on the subject.

Thanks again for your input David.

Chin k thanks for your input as well !

Thanks Doug

[Doug777]

BLUE-GO you must have been typing the same time I was typing a response to deppstein !

Thanks for the valuable input and especially the photos.
On the other Ford forums I have heard of more than a few guys using the TRU- COOL unit to bring down the trans fluid temps .

It’s a good Solid confirmation for me that you achieved the desired fluid temps with the TRU COOL Unit with the 6.8L and with the tire mounted in the front.

The other Trans cooler I frequently saw mentioned (ford truck forums ) was the trans cooler that came on the Ford 6.0L diesel.

So it sounds like I have a few choices.. which is a good thing.

Thanks again for the timely input.
Regards
Doug

[Blue~Go]

Glad the information is useful. I always pick up a few new tips in each thread, even if it's been discussed before, so it's all good.

You mention Sierra passes. Some of my "usual" passes are the Sierra passes on 395. I have towed up and down that stretch many times, as well as over the Cascades and others out west in general. Also, I usually end up spending some time in ridiculously hot weather with big hills if not actual passes. I have also gone over Tioga, etc. but not towing (but those are a workout without towing). No problems at all with the Tru-Cool and otherwise stock cooling system. Just the stock engine water cooling fan coming on for a minute or so now and then to make up for the heat the transmission cooler is throwing at the radiator (it's all gotta go somewhere).

Maybe there would be some slick transmission cooler that could go elsewhere (vs. in front of the radiator), but then I suppose it would be more complicated and have more to potentially go wrong (longer lines, more fans or whatever). But I'm always interested in learning about new ways. My installation basically just slotted in in place of the stock cooler (with a few metal tabs and a short line extension).

[deppstein]

Blue...I am migrating response to your question about inflating Alpacka Rafts to Gadgets and Accessories.

[Doug777]

Blue go ...I agree with you. Maybe ...maybe ....there is a way to relocate the cooler from its present position. But, as you mentioned ....longer fluid lines, mounting brackets...Etc.
I am just gonna stick with the same location front and center on the radiator like you did.
I will read up on the Tru -cool website and look at a dimensionally smaller tru cool unit. Might be able to keep it plenty cool but with a slightly smaller footprint in front of the radiator.

Stay tuned.

Thanks again for everyone’s input.
Regards.
Doug

[Blue~Go]

I had a PM asking me about any details of the Tru Cool installation on my Concourse. It was six years ago, so my memory is not perfect, but below I've added a couple of annotated photos.

Two black metal Ford brackets up at the top were removed for some reason of ingress, but I forget why (they get put back afterward). I believe we slid the cooler in from the passenger side (after removing the stock cooler). Both of these things are shown in the first photo.

At the bottom passenger side the original hose (that went to the original cooler) would have made a bend that I was not happy with, so the shop made a custom metal tube in order to join them up without any awkward geometry or stress. As shown on the photos, we used three metal tabs (like long popsicle stick shaped plates with holes in them for fasteners) to attach the cooler to the Chinook, via the built in flanges on the cooler (meant for this purpose). I think it is just the three I show, but it's possible there are four. I checked that it was stout before accepting it, because I didn't want to worry about things getting loose or flopping around.

So I'd say the main thing was that one hose. If I had left them to it, the assistant (the main transmission builder doesn't do coolers) would have used the original hose and stretched it in an awkward way with an unfair bend (boo). I had to politely insist that that wouldn't work out long term. Also, it would have been bright silver (no thank you!). I didn't catch that in time, so I ended up running to a nearby paint store for supplies, then masking things off five ways from Sunday and painting it in place. Would have been MUCH easier to do it before installation.

Photos will get bigger if you click on them (maybe twice).

[deppstein]

Blue—thanks for this post and pics. Clearly the trans cooker you have is both larger and higher quality (stacked plate, I believe) than what they installed when they put in the replacement Jasper Transmission back in Santa Fe a couple of years ago. Which makes me think that this, and not weather you have a 195 or 185 thermostat is the reason you are running cooler than I am. I’ll show these to my mechanic as well—not to call him out on the info he gave me, but to let him see your set-up for future reference. Good to know I have this option if temps go “north” on me.
David