Coolant temp high?

[dudmleh522]

yesterday i was driving from LA to Phoenix.
Outside temp was 114F. There was about 10 mill hill climb Was cruising at 75-80mph. Noticed my coolant temp rising to 250f. Shut off my ac and slowed down to 70mph to be safe.

Is this normal? i do notice on my daily drives in AZ. Coolant temp will be any where between 210-230 depending if i am doing lots of city driving or not.

 

[FordTechOne]

It may be normal for the conditions, especially if the grade was steep. If it exceeds normal range the gauge will turn orange to indicate that.

If the cooling system has ever been opened at any point, the thermostat may be sticking. With the mileage of the truck it wouldn’t be a bad idea to replace the coolant and thermostat regardless.

 

[dillard09]

I have a 170 T-stat and driving in Socal heat today from Bakersfield to Tehachapi it was 104 degrees outside. Running at 75mph up that grade and I seen 201 was the highest. Normal crusing at 75 at 108 outside temp now and im sitting at 185 degrees.
250 and I'd be worried!

 

[TwizzleStix]

In the “old” days before the mid 1970s engine temps were generally lower for a number of reasons. Today the engines are setup to run hotter, again for a number of reasons.

As @FordTechOne said, if the engine temp is a problem it will let you know without doubt. The fact that people still question such things is why there are very few vehicles that actually display the actual value. It saves on the shops the plethora of ignorant questions because people are stupid.

 

[dudmleh522]

Dropped my truck off for an oil change today. They will check on the thermostat so hopefully nothing serious.