cptmohog

So during the hot AZ summer (110+) I did a ton to get my rig to run in the 205 range (3row, new everything, flush, hood vents) finally took off my custom grill to achieve 205 at the warmest part of the day.

In October, with an outside temp around 80, going up a long steep hill out of town it did raise to 225 but droped right after getting to the top.

Now to my question. havent driven her in a couple of months. Took her out yesterday to the shop (new 8.8 locked yeah!!) about 50 highway/street miles with an outside temp of around 50. In 50 minutes of constant driving, the temp never passed 150! (the tranny got to 155)

So my qustion is: is this ok, or bad for the vehical? I could put the custom grill back on and raise the temp a few degrees, and we just had a week here that is about as cold as it gets (it fricking was snowing)

Any thoughts?

austinjoe13

I wish we had some snow here in MN! Try cardboard over the grille. Experiment with the amount you cover. That 3 row rad is just too good at its job

ikenchute

need to do something to keep it in the 180*-190* range if it's computer controled.

i've been running a 180* t-stat for the summer,
(same old xj running hot problems, radiator, fan clutch...ect, but finally got it to run 185-195* range most days with the a/c on.)
but now that it's in the mid 20's-50's i put the 195* t-stat back in, helps a lot for the heater, and keeps the pcm happy.

trans temp is ok mine runs there during the winter, takes it a while to get there but even during the hot part of the summer it never got over 165*.

austinjoe13

I'm going off on a tangent but how much did it cost you to set up a tranny temp guage?

cptmohog

the cost of the gauge (autometer i think aroung $50 on ebay) maybe $5 or less in wire, and about $15 in connectors (i inserted it into the soft line right next to the radiator)

I already have a 195 tstat...I also should have mentioned the heater was on full blast (we aint used to cold here in the desert)

So I have it pretty dialed in for the hot months (about 8-9 here) but for the 3 cold months, am I hurting anything based on the fact that its running 155 (in the morning)?

cptmohog

going up that hill my tranny topped 200! then cooled to around 170 after that and mantained..thinking about a tranny cooler as I think 200 and above, even for a short time, is a little hot