Normal coolant temp for 2022, 2500, 6.4 HEMI?

[jetrinka]

Cooler isn't always a better thing and the cooling system has been designed as a unit in order to work properly. I've worked on plenty of vehicles through the years that have active grilles and it seems the only time they have problems is when they take physical damage like a rock striking them. I cannot remember the last time I saw one just fail electrically.

220 is not that hot honestly and typically cars that do run that hot have thermostats meant to regulate the minimum coolant temp above that of a vehicle that would run at 210.

I just wouldn't try and fix something that hasn't ever been known to be a problem - especially with this specific vehicle in question.

 

[OLEJOE]

Be advised that if your truck does show that it has overheated and throws a CEL and you drive it without having it towed, even if you let it cool off, your warranty will be denied in the event of engine damage. There’s a thread on here or the other Ram forum about it.

 

[kevin588127]

Some info from the FB group where I asked the same question. This actually seems to make sense as tonight I took mine out and did some WOT runs down the county road. Under WOT the truck would cool to about 212. I'm going to try to do some digging to see if this is factual.

While I do a agree that 220 isn't that hot, one of the main reasons for upgrading to a 2500 was that I felt I was overworking my 1500. It would run 208 unloaded but towing, I'd see 223 coolant and 250s for oil temp. I was a bit concerned to see this one run 220 empty. I remember when cars had 190 stats. I was always kind of uncomfortable with the 208-210 in my 1500.

The funny thing is that if you look at the analog needle gauge, 220 is less than half way. Wonder how hot it has to get to move that needle into the red portion.

 

[OLEJOE]

Really the only way to know if the readings are legit is to install extra gauges and see how they compare to the digital gauges on the truck. They actually may be running hotter than that.
With the oil and gas industry going to get hit with more taxes and regulations we probably don’t need them to last very long.

 

[jetrinka]

The gauge reading is the same as any PID on a scanner and can be used confidently for any diagnosis.

Again there is a lot of speculation but no proof of it causing any problems. The whole system was designed this way. How many overheating problems do you hear of with any Hemi? Compared to engines such as the 4.7 Magnum, the 3.7 Pentastar, the 2.4 Toyota engine (which would rip head bolts out of the block if it got too hot), the 3.0 in older 4Runners, etc. Need I go on? If any of these engines even thought about getting hot it was bye bye head gaskets.

Look at the 2.0 Zetec engines in the early Focus. Both the regular and SVT variant had cooling fans designed to come on when things got up to 230. Seems really hot for the cooling fans to wait to come on till then. How many inherent overheating problems did you hear about with them other than things like coolant leaks or other problems that would affect any other engine?

This whole active shutter thing and “it’s getting too hot” is just a non existent problem.

Why do they get that hot? Is it needed to ensure full combustion under all conditions due to injection timing? Is it needed due to MDS and the fact the engine literally just pumps air at times? Is it needed to actually keep oil temps up during very cold conditions? Is it a combination of all/more of these things?

Ok I’ll stop. You won’t see me removing any air shutters.

 

[BaseBD]

The cooling system on these are designed to run at that 220 range. I also thought it seemed alittle warm running empty, but the coolant system has alot of capacity. When running at a total weight of 20K lbs at 65 mph my coolant temp only went up ~5 sometimes 10 degrees on a big hill from empty.

 

[gimmie11s]

Water boils at 212 degrees.

50/50 Water/antifreeze mix boils at 223 degrees.

"220 is not that hot" is kind of a crazy statement if you are expecting this engine to go for 200 or 300k miles.

 

[jetrinka]

Pressure in the cooling system raises the boiling point substantially or everyone would be boiling coolant - especially right next to the water jackets. A healthy mix of coolant under 14-16PSI of pressure should boil around 270. We're fine.

Edit: Pressure held by a healthy radiator or expansion tank cap.

 

[gimmie11s]

Pressure in the cooling system raises the boiling point substantially or everyone would be boiling coolant - especially right next to the water jackets. A healthy mix of coolant under 14-16PSI of pressure should boil around 270. We're fine.

Edit: Pressure held by a healthy radiator or expansion tank cap.

How long does your radiator and expansion tank (and oil cooler) stay "healthy" at the psi 220 degrees dishes out vs 195 or so?

Also -- 195 degree coolant temp is over 100psi water saturation safer than coolant temps of 220 -- meaning you are (obviously) MUCH closer to steaming the water at 220 than 195. A little too close for comfort.

Is anyone saying the system as designed won't work? Nope. But a blind allegiance to 220 "normal" operating temps could leave you stranded.

Id be looking for ways to get that "normal" temp cooler in the Hemi platform by at least 20 degrees.

 

[jetrinka]

How long does your radiator and expansion tank (and oil cooler) stay "healthy" at the psi 220 degrees dishes out vs 195 or so?

Also -- 195 degree coolant temp is over 100psi water saturation safer than coolant temps of 220 -- meaning you are (obviously) MUCH closer to steaming the water at 220 than 195. A little too close for comfort.

Is anyone saying the system as designed won't work? Nope. But a blind allegiance to 220 "normal" operating temps could leave you stranded.

Id be looking for ways to get that "normal" temp cooler in the Hemi platform by at least 20 degrees.

14-16PSI of pressure is a normal range across the board for many different makes and models of vehicles. Some older ones were designed at 13ish but most I see are in the 14-16PSI range. Well within the radiator/expansion tanks abilities to withstand. The pressure is regulated by the cap vent so regardless of temp, that pressure should remain constant.

My whole point is that the entire powertrain was developed to work in unison as one large system - the cooling system is included in this and the design factor of that should not be overlooked. Blindly just removing components to "get it cooler" without any real data is foolish IMO. Again these trucks have been running at these temps just fine for years and years now as have many vehicles before it. Its just a solution looking for a problem.

My .02 cents and I'll just bow out and leave it at that.

 

[gimmie11s]

14-16PSI of pressure is a normal range across the board for many different makes and models of vehicles. Some older ones were designed at 13ish but most I see are in the 14-16PSI range. Well within the radiator/expansion tanks abilities to withstand. The pressure is regulated by the cap vent so regardless of temp, that pressure should remain constant.

My whole point is that the entire powertrain was developed to work in unison as one large system - the cooling system is included in this and the design factor of that should not be overlooked. Blindly just removing components to "get it cooler" without any real data is foolish IMO. Again these trucks have been running at these temps just fine for years and years now as have many vehicles before it. Its just a solution looking for a problem.

My .02 cents and I'll just bow out and leave it at that.

You could be and are probably right.

However, the 30+ year wrench-turning gear head in me says hell to the no.

 

[Darkside]

I bought my daily driver used, 2015 Ram 1500… the previous owner did the radiator shutter “mod”, put a 180* thermostat in it, removed the mechanical fan and put the V6 electric fan in it, and a Diablo Sport tune… The Electric fan ran constantly and the truck ran cold and horrible fuel economy.. I spent over $1000 getting back to as close to stock as possible, went from 15 MPG to over 22 MPG, on top of just the poor fuel economy I couldn’t get the truck to put out any heat in the winter… these trucks have a 203* thermostat and I believe on the 2019+ they went to a 216*, I personally have never seen my 2021 2500 Hemi get over 221*, you’re only asking for trouble when you start messing with the cooling system.

 

[kevin588127]

I bought my daily driver used, 2015 Ram 1500… the previous owner did the radiator shutter “mod”, put a 180* thermostat in it, removed the mechanical fan and put the V6 electric fan in it, and a Diablo Sport tune… The Electric fan ran constantly and the truck ran cold and horrible fuel economy.. I spent over $1000 getting back to as close to stock as possible, went from 15 MPG to over 22 MPG, on top of just the poor fuel economy I couldn’t get the truck to put out any heat in the winter… these trucks have a 203* thermostat and I believe on the 2019+ they went to a 216*, I personally have never seen my 2021 2500 Hemi get over 221*, you’re only asking for trouble when you start messing with the cooling system.

There are valid arguments on both sides of this issue. However, you will not convince me that running these trucks this hot will do anything good for their longevity. Most likely it was done to meet some wacky EPA standard. Now that I know this is normal, I will likely just leave mine alone. I don't intend to own it much past the 100k mark anyway.