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ECT/EOL TEMP DELTAS

6K views 56 replies 14 participants last post by  MKT 
#1 ·
Just found out my Torque apocalypse accessories much more than the default data. Is this normal readings?


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#4 ·
Not enough information. Were both temperatures stable (ie was the engine fully warmed up)? What were the driving conditions. What are the temperatures on a cold engine (after 12 hours of engine-off conditions)? These temperatures should be within .5 to 1 *F on a cold engine.
 
#5 ·
Get a new ECT sensor and replace it. What is your delta before startup after sitting all night? Should be within one degree of each other and if they are and you still can't reach 192 it's the sensor. Just replaced my EOT sensor last week because I didn't have a delta. Before start up after a cold soak my EOT 59.52 and ECT was 60 inside my 60* garage. Replace sensor and now I have a delta of 195-196* EOT and 192* ECT.
 
#7 ·
Warmed up engine , probably 20 minutes into the drive, going 65 MPH on flat an level ground for a good reading.
 
#10 ·
...and save the old ECT sensor until you know for sure if you have a sensor issue and/or an early opening thermostat issue.
 
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#11 ·
I think your fine, but keep monitoring it.

I'm not positive about the thermostat. I have a 25 minute drive to work, and 10 minutes is flat level highway, and my coldest days in AZ are 50, so with the rain I don't think it's unreasonable for the engine to only be at 189 after 15 minutes of highway. I'd keep an eye on it when you get a chance to do a longer drive, and if it does not go up, then you can think about changing it. It's not that difficult a job. The thermostats aren't all the way on or off, they kind of slowly open up. My thermostat once warmed up, does a good job at keeping the temps around 200 degrees.

Also, the cold spread is less than a couple of degrees off. I would keep an eye on it, but it's within a couple of degrees of each other so don't worry. I have a Edge, and it reads coolant in 2 degree increments. I have a feeling the sensor and PCM reads to the nearest degree Celsius and our monitors convert it to Fahrenheit for us to read.

To me the delta looks reasonable enough to not have to create a long drive to see it get up to temp or change the thermostat.
 
#14 ·
Looks like 2.5 *F difference to me ..... if in fact it is a true "cold soak". IMO 12 hours MINIMUM (1 day is better) is needed for a cold soak as G8orFord stated.

It doesn't look too far off of a cold soak if the outside temp is 55 degrees, but it is still not totally cooled.
 
#13 ·
If that was just an overnight soak, I don't think I'd assume the sensor was even out 2°. Let it sit a full day or so, then check it. You could also swap the oil and coolant sensors. They are the same part.
 
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#16 ·
My sensors are within .5 degrees and so are most I see, but you seem to know your truck's sensors .........

My oil temps do take a little longer to drop and stabilize than the coolant temps.
 
#21 ·
Last year, my ECT during winter (35* - 45* here) was 190-192 (delta was always 6-7*). This year, I noticed ECT only getting up to 184-186 and only 182-184 one day when it was really cold. Even once we hit 50* it was still 184-186. I changed the thermostat, and i'm back up to 190-192 now. It wasn't like it was running at 170 like some that fail, but I wanted it back to the baseline that I knew, so I changed t for my peace of mind (and to calm my OCD :D).

My point being, You're still getting a baseline of your truck, and you said you changed the thermostat already, so I would just monitor for now and take action if anything changes.

-jokester
 
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#23 ·
That's why you have a monitor to keep an eye on things. Running blind and lack of maintenance is what leads to big repair bills and unhappy wives :wink:

-jokester
 
#25 ·
#26 · (Edited)
Gauges to get live engine data is important. HOWEVER - this engine is complex and relys on MANY sensor inputs (these include ECT and EOT). Sensors do not last forever and they frequently begin the failure mode by drifting.

That is why it is good to keep them accurate. It is possible that BOTH your ECT and EOT are off. When ECT reads 186, how do you know it isn't 180 (or whatever)? Same with the oil temp - how do you know it is accurate? Afterall, they could BOTH be biased in the different directions (ECT could be reading high and EOT could be reading low) which is a worst case scenario IMO. The easiest test to use to evaluate things is the cold soak test that has been suggested. If they are off by more than .5 to 1 degree, then one or both are beginning to drift. This is the time to do something instead of when they drift more and start causing poor combustion, etc. The best test is to get the cold engine readings and then get hot engine readings. Then swap them when hot and see if the readings change. Sometimes temperature can affect the amount of bias.

But if you want a gut feel without proper troubleshooting, your thermostat is off a little and one or both of your sensors is off a little. Not an emergency at this point, but if you are already having questions, then it seems that you could make some improvements.
 
#27 ·
I will say, from what I see, I think everything looks ok. I'm fairly new to owning my truck and had similar concerns in the beginning. I have noticed on my SG2, after a cold soak when I get home from work in the evening to when I crank it up in the morning. I noticed the EOT and ECT temps are not exactly the same. I have also wondered this but never brought it up on here. I have seen where my SG2 would sporadically show deltas 25 degree difference. I freaked out when I saw this and thought for sure I had issues. But I basically hit the main menu screen, went back to gauge display, and all of a sudden the temps were well within 10*. This has happened to me twice that I'm aware of and reset the gauge. I'm assuming this means one of the sensors maybe failing. I say all this only to say that it is possible the temps are ok, and you have less of a concern of any major cooling issues and it may be just a sensor issue. Definitely keep us posted
 
#29 ·
I don't want to hijack the OP's thread, but yes. It's already brewed. It's possible you have some sensor bias, but you definitely need to do some checking. A 30° delta is nothing to ignore, especially if you still have your EGR cooler.
 
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