Transmission Temperature 4.6 6 Speed

Just curious what a normal transmission temperature is for a V8 Explorer with the 6 speed auto. I am towing a ~5,000lb travel trailer next week and just bought an ELM 327 bluetooth OBDII adapter with the TORQUE app on my Droid to monitor the trans temp. I just got it working, and driving (no trailer) a few miles locally have a trans temp reading around 206. My engine coolant temp is about 204. Outdoor temp is in the 70's.

Is that high for a trans temp? What would a normal range be? At what temp is it dangerous to the trans?

My explorer is a 2010 with the class III/IV tow package. I believe that includes a trans cooler....

Thanks guys

 

[thebrakeman]

I'm typically around 185F when not towing and warmed up. When towing (also around 5000 lbs loaded trailer), I settle in at around 210, and will hit 220-225 on hills when it's needing to shift or unlock the torque convertor.

 

[2010Eddie]

Hey thanks Brakeman. I just wanted to be sure mine is somewhere in the ballpark before I start towing.....and wanted to know how much of a temp increase to expect. With the factory tow package, I read somewhere that it has a trans cooler, but when I last looked during the oil change I couldn't find it (I probably missed it).

 

[thebrakeman]

Here is the 2010 Ford Towing Guide
It's a great read, with all the towing info you can need (?).
On page 16, you'll find a chart showing what somes as standard on Ford vehicles, and what is part of any available towing package.
Standard on Explorer is a "Aux Auto Trans Oil Cooler". This is likely your typical inline radiator type, usually fairly small, which provides additional cooling to the in-radiator bulb-type cooler.
You'll see that Standard on the Sport-Trac, and part of the optional 53G Towing package for Explorer, is "Transmission Oil-to-Air Cooler". Sounds similar, but since they clearly mark it as something different, I'll bet this is a larger dedicated cooler, that is likely easy to mistake for an A/C condensor.

Find both lines to and from the transmission. One probably goes to the engine coolant radiator (which has the bulb-type cooler inside), then there will be a line going to the dedicated trans cooler, which will then have a line returning to the trans.

I'm guessing, as I've never tried tracing the lines on my '06. And they do change these sort of things, even within the same generation of vehicle.

 

[2010Eddie]

Thanks. I tried following the lines, but no success. Now that I know more what I'm looking for, I'll trace 'em again during the next oil change. Sounds like it's a dedicated trans cooler.....just extra peace of mind seeing it firsthand.