Worried about engine temp

[jdelrizzle]

Ok, so I got a 2011 Sierra and when I'm going through stop and go traffic, or when I'm stopped in park or in drive with the brake applied for a while (not towing anything ) the engine temperature goes past the 210 mark, it climbs to about the 230 mark, when parked or at a stop( for a while) the transmission temperature climbs to 200/201, that is the hottest I've seen it get to, I left it with the dealer and they told me it was fine nothing wrong, but it doesn't seem right to me it's not even summer yet what do you guys think? Is it normal? I'm more concerned about the engine temp, oh and by the way at a stand still while idling it goes all the way up to 230 but climbs down back to 210, while all this is going on the Transmission is at about 200.

[markw8]

Does your truck have electric fans? If so did they tell you at what temp they come on. With ele. fans if they aren't on there is no air thru the radiator.

 

On my 01 Vette the first fan comes on iirc at 226 the second at 235. With the ac on in warm weather, at least one fan will come on with it.

 

Mark

[jdelrizzle]

I think you might be right about the fans that explains the temp coming back down to 210 when it reaches 230 or so that's probably when they kick on, what aBout the tranny, is it normal to reach 200 while at idle.

[crankman]

Does not seem normal to me, we have three Silverados in our family they all sit on 210 engine temp no matter what you do, and 200deg tranny temp is high especially with only city driving. Markw8 has a good idea to see when and if your 2 cooling fans are working. Your dealer is scary saying thats normal.

[jdelrizzle]

Ok, biggest problem is the the temperature when the truck has been idling for a while, it doesn't seem normal to me either, I mean I've had Chevy cars (impala) and the only time it went passed the 210 mark was when I was driving up a hill for a long time and it was really hot outside, the other day I went up a mountain in el paso Texas, and I was flooring it the temp did not pass 210 at all, for it to get hotter than that at idle is puzzling.

[SouthCo]

All 3 of my gmc trucks' engine run at the same temp regardless of time of year, or if they sit and idle, or run down the highway. Seems like yours is a little high. Could just be an inaccurate gauge. I'd take it back to the dealer under warranty.

[DaveH71]

230 is not normal, your temp shouldn't get over 210 with a properly functioning cooling system. You need to take that back to the dealer and insist that they find the problem. Most likely a bad thermostat or fans.

[jdelrizzle]

What's the temp between the 210 line and the 260 is it 230

Because that's we're it heats up to

[wurgs]

doesn't sound right to me. Even when towing a 7000lb camper the engine temp in mine never moved and tranny temp never got above 208.

[jdelrizzle]

i guess to the dealer it is, i just went out and drove around for about ten miles let the truck idle for like thirty minutes, and SURE enough it past the 210 mark, im sure ive seen it get to or close to 230 but today it only got to about 220 and then very quickly came back down to 210, at that point the tranny was at 201 and this was after a little 10 mile drive and a 30/40 minute idle, im not going to lie im pretty upset, its annoying, i noticed the truck doing this back when it had about 7000 miles, now it has a little over 13000, which in all reality is nothing, like i said i took it to the dealer all ready and they told they couldnt find anything wrong with it, that was back in my home town where i bought the truck, tomorrow im going to try here in the town where im stationed maybe ill have better luck. One more thing, if the tranny is usually about the temperature of the engine due to the lines cycling through the radiator, shouldnt it be normal for the tranny to get to about 200 degrees operating temperature and still be good to go.

[Knowklew]

are you going by the dummy gauge on the dash or are you using an external gauge?

 

I have a dashhawk and the factory gauge is nowhere near accurate.

[SouthCo]

Transmission has a separate cooler. Even on '03 Tahoe transmission doesn't cool in engine radiator. It has it's own cooler. Had my 03 Tahoe's transmission cooler replaced last year due to a small leak.

 

 

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[SouthCo]

are you going by the dummy gauge on the dash or are you using an external gauge?

 

I have a dashhawk and the factory gauge is nowhere near accurate.

 

I suggested earlier it may just be a gauge issue. My stock gauges are accurate though. What does your stock gauges read?

 

 

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[jdelrizzle]

Fred m, dummy gauge? How much is the one on my dash off by, and yes that is the one I'm using, southco, I have a 4.8 crew cab and it doesn't come stock with an external Trans cooler. The one on my truck sits inside tHe radiator. I only have what appears to be a temperature problem when I'm not moving, I've towed stuff across Texas and hauled some pretty heavy stuff on the highway and in town and never seen the engine heat up past 210 it's only when idling at a stand still for long periods of time but it very quickly gets back to 210.

[SouthCo]

Might just be fans not kicking in soon enough. 2 of the 3 Gmc's I currently own have electric fans and none go over 210. They can idle endlessly in summer heat. Even stop and go traffic to FL didn't get it above 210. Dealer will have to check with external gauges but since your trans and motor share cooling source and both run high, Id bet fans not coming on soon enough or often enough or radiator issue. Keep us posted.

 

 

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