3.6 Pentastar coolant temp 222 degrees at idle

[willys 41]

You have to ask yourself
Why push these motors to there max temps on a regular bases

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[Lunentucker]

Let's not forget, Jeep did redesign the new grille to improve cooling. That tells me that are very much aware that there was a problem with heat. They also stopped shipping with the engine cover a couple of years ago.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

You have to ask yourself
Why push these motors to there max temps on a regular bases

That's not maximum, not at all. I've posted all of this before - that's always been the normal.
It's not new nor unique to pentastar. it's not pushing them at all. If you look at how gauges have read over the years, it's where cars have been running since the 1970s, even Pentastar engines.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Let's not forget, Jeep did redesign the new grille to improve cooling. That tells me that are very much aware that there was a problem with heat. They also stopped shipping with the engine cover a couple of years ago.

Engine cover wasn't a heat issue, we covered that.
The grill redesign was not for normal operations, but for extremes. We're not talking towing numbers or maximums here.
The grill won't mean anything to normal driving. Remember, the new Rubicon JLU also has a raised towing number - so they needed to change the grill to account for that, and improve cooling for the high tow numbers on the JT.
They've also raised the openings to help those who run winches and other accessories.
It's not for numbers we are talking about here.
So those two things have nothing at all to do with this - his numbers are very normal.

 

[willys 41]

Just ask the jeep owner pull heavy lodes and big tire and going into limp mode

 

[Lunentucker]

Jeep grill

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Just ask the jeep owner pull heavy lodes and big tire and going into limp mode

Now you are throwing in tangents. That's overheating due to harsh use and excessive loads caused by big tires. And it seems to me that's mostly diesels - even the Wrangler people say 220 is totally normal and nothing to worry about (see my snippets)
you keep tossing in other things - extremes if big tires and excessive loads.
I've towed and never saw temps over the low 220s - 100% normal.

For those who have gone into the abuse territory, moving clear outside of the normal engineering of the Jeep - yeah, that's a thing.

Look at the others posting showing similar temperatures - all just fine.
Run too cool and you end up with trouble down the road, and shorter oil life.

Experts - but one or two, of course, non-experts, disagree.

 

[PuddleJumper]

welp now that i've read this post. is my truck not running hot enough? 195-199 at idle for coolant. 200 for oil. it gets in the 220 range when im wheeling hard but not much else. maybe its too cold where i live rn? will it normalize during the summer?

 

[willys 41]

I have always said my jeep is highly modified
When I first discovered my jeep was running hotter then I like was on a trip to Lake Tahoe / Rubicon trail
Going up HW 80 between Auburn and Donner summit on a 80 degree day my temps would clime to 235 at the top of the summit and would have kept climbing if I did not hit the top of the summit
This was unacceptable to me so I started looking for a solution
After the install of the PWM FAN CONTROLER same trip max temp hit 212 degrees
The fan running at 15% all the time keep air moving through the engine compartment pushing out all the hot air that is generated buy not only the cooling system put also the exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters
These PWM FAN CONTROLER are nothing new. They are used on other cars / trucks and motorcycles

 

[ShadowsPapa]

welp now that i've read this post. is my truck not running hot enough? 195-199 at idle for coolant. 200 for oil. it gets in the 220 range when im wheeling hard but not much else. maybe its too cold where i live rn? will it normalize during the summer?

Don't get too hung up on exact numbers.
Part of the situation is also time - how long does it run at xx degrees. So if all you do is short trips and it stays on the cold end - that's trouble for oil and you need to really reduce the miles before the next oil change.

There's a range - if you see ~220 - don't be bothered, it's 100% fine, it doesn't hurt anything, it's not destroying the oil or cutting engine life at all.
People don't realize that the gauges before specific numbers were given were actually in the 200s-220s as the middle of normal. Now that we have numbers, we get hung up on them.
Millions of vehicles operate in the ranges the OP was talking of.

If you get into the 220s when "wheeling hard" - sounds fine to me.
Normal driving, no real load, 200-ish for oil - that's ok, especially if you keep it up there for a few minutes.

Thinking you must keep the oil and coolant under 200 at all times is wrong.
I've worked on hundreds of engines, I've lost count over the years, and one of the killers of engines, especially bearings and such, but also valves due to carbon build-up that's never really burned off, is short drives or those who put in a cold stat because they hate anything else. I've had to literally chisel the coke out of engines from constant cold running but I've only ever seen damage from true over-heating.
220-230 is not overheating.

In the case of yours, and the OP's - it's not broke, nothing to fix.

 

[PuddleJumper]

Don't get too hung up on exact numbers.
Part of the situation is also time - how long does it run at xx degrees. So if all you do is short trips and it stays on the cold end - that's trouble for oil and you need to really reduce the miles before the next oil change.

There's a range - if you see ~220 - don't be bothered, it's 100% fine, it doesn't hurt anything, it's not destroying the oil or cutting engine life at all.
People don't realize that the gauges before specific numbers were given were actually in the 200s-220s as the middle of normal. Now that we have numbers, we get hung up on them.
Millions of vehicles operate in the ranges the OP was talking of.

If you get into the 220s when "wheeling hard" - sounds fine to me.
Normal driving, no real load, 200-ish for oil - that's ok, especially if you keep it up there for a few minutes.

Thinking you must keep the oil and coolant under 200 at all times is wrong.
I've worked on hundreds of engines, I've lost count over the years, and one of the killers of engines, especially bearings and such, but also valves due to carbon build-up that's never really burned off, is short drives or those who put in a cold stat because they hate anything else. I've had to literally chisel the coke out of engines from constant cold running but I've only ever seen damage from true over-heating.
220-230 is not overheating.

In the case of yours, and the OP's - it's not broke, nothing to fix.

i guess i'll give her the beans more when i drive to work. oil is a concern for me. need to make sure im burning off moisture and the like. or up my change interval.

 

[sharpsicle]

What this thread turned in to:

See y'all at the bottom.

 

[willys 41]

Take a jeep or any car or truck up north where the temps are in the 40 and 50 most of the time
With the heater running full time In most cases the oil temps will never get over 195
Answer. Change the oil more often
For the last 50 years I have always changed my oil at 4000 to 5000 miles and drain and fill Trans fluid at about 20K to 30K. I Have put between 300K TO 400K on all my cars and trucks and never had to replace a motor or transmission
On my 2018 and 2020 wrangler I put a drain plug in the trans pan so I can drain and fill very easily
My 2000 Toyota Tundra just turned over 400K and still running strong

 

[BlackRuby23]

Once again, notice I AM in the north, and the temp was 41 degrees outside.

 

[willys 41]

BlackRuby23
This is because the radiator fan dose not come on until the temps hit 221 and only at about 15% fan speed
The fan will also come on at 75% fan speed when you hit 231

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