Engine Temp how hot is too hot?
So I was just wondering what any of you guys think about this? A few years ago I went camping in the Eastern Sierra Nevada. A place called Tuff Campground. I drove an all stock other than a 4in turbo back exhaust '05 F-250 6.0 dsl and pulled an approx. 10k lb fifth wheel. My question is this, When climbing a grade that is approx. 6% for about 8 miles with ambient air temp hovering around 100*f how far would you want or allow your temp gauge to go b4 pulling off and allowing it to cool off? 1/2, 2/3 , 3/4 or until the light comes on? I kept the boost pressure at or near 20 psi and this formula translated to climbing the grade around 32-35 mph, I think it was running around 3000 rpm or so, and the temp gauge remained for the entire climb at its normal position, it never moved, could I have pushed the truck harder? Is the cooling system designed to run for long periods say like 15 minutes or so at the 2/3 mark or higher on the gauge? I am sorry I do not have actual water temp numbers since my gauge is stock, so I have to give points of reference on the gauge as a description. Any thoughts will be appreciated. BTW I am not looking to drag race up the hill, I just want to know if my truck can handle more?
