Transmission temps

What transmission temps are you all running on your 2018 Expeditions? I have an XLT with just shy of 3k miles, 4A, no tow package or anything. For the most part it is a family taxi so a lot of short trips 3-5 miles for school, church, shopping, etc. I’m trying to start early with preventative measures to prolong the life of the vehicle and it’s components. My transmission temp gauge read mid range but the digital gauge show my transmission temps getting up to 225 degrees. I’m not sure what the new 10 transmission should be reading and I’m not worried except that when I research online people claim they rarely go over 200 degrees. So I’m just wondering what everyone else is getting. I can’t remember what I was getting on my longer trips but I’m going out of town this weekend and will update.

What is the outside temp when you see the 225 deg. are you on the highway or city traffic. OE' want the trans to run around 180 to 190 for max fuel economy.

My Navi 4x4 w/ tow package stays at 197° most of the time once it’s warmed up. It’s gotten to 210° A couple times during long drives, drives in the mountains, and towing a 10 foot utility trailer.

proeasy said:

What is the outside temp when you see the 225 deg. are you on the highway or city traffic. OE' want the trans to run around 180 to 190 for max fuel economy.

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I’m in southern NM so we are already running high 80s during the day. I will have to see how it does on our road trip. I know short drives are harder overall on vehicles. The reason I’m asking is I’m wondering if I should start looking for a transmission fluid cooler to mount up front.

st381183 said:

I’m in southern NM so we are already running high 80s during the day. I will have to see how it does on our road trip. I know short drives are harder overall on vehicles. The reason I’m asking is I’m wondering if I should start looking for a transmission fluid cooler to mount up front.

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How quick are you achieving those temps? It may take mine 10 min to get to the 190°s.

Like I said short trips of about 3-5 miles. It will bump up to 216 degrees within 7-10 minutes or so. It kinda of levels off and can either decrease or increase depending on how heavy my foot is. The reason it’s On my mind is I’m about to do a tranny service on my 99 Silverado that doesn’t seem to go over 190 degrees.

Does the 10 speed transmission running hotter due to the amount of shifts it makes? It seems hard to believe that Ford designed these as a set it and forget it no service transmission. The analog guage is just shy of mid range, but the digital guage just makes me think that it’s running a tad warm. I think if I was out longer the temp would drop as the Expy got settled in and everything stabilized. My main concern is I want the vehicle around for at least ten years so I’d rather spend a little money on preventative care than repairs.

I don’t have an 18 but that seems high to me. My 17 model will sit at 195 and has never gotten higher then 205 pulling my 9000lb toy hauler in the middle of the summer.

It makes sense the 10 speed would build more heat since it shifts more. A long time ago 225* would cut a trans fluid life in half. Today they can handle heat a lot better. Not sure it’s something to worry about.

Mine holds at 199 almost 100% of the time.

Related: the new 10 speeds really don’t shift more than a “normal” transmission. They skip a lot of gears on the way up and down. On a normal run up to cruising speed mine will go 1-3-5-8-10; I have never seen it go all the way up sequentially. My understanding is it would only do that under very heavy load. So it’s really only taking the same five or six steps a “normal” one would.

Found a Ford 10 speed transmission specifications on line, it said the normal ATF operating temperature of 206-215 degrees. I have only clicked on my temperature display one time and I recall it reading 210 degrees on my Expy with HD Trailer Tow.

3rd Expyowner123 said:

Found a Ford 10 speed transmission specifications on line, it said the normal ATF operating temperature of 206-215 degrees. I have only clicked on my temperature display one time and I recall it reading 210 degrees on my Expy with HD Trailer Tow.

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That puts my mind at ease. Thanks. I just finished a 400 mile trip running 82mph over 6 hours of driving and the temp was fairly stable at between 205-207 degrees. I would be happier if it didn’t break 200 but it is what it is. I think I’ll do some regular tranny service starting at 30k or 49k miles though. I’m sure it won’t be too much longer before someone makes an 2018+ Expy tranny cooler. I truly hate not having the ability to at least check transmission fluid quality and health. I know there is a drain and fill plug on the transmission, it’s just a PITA to deal with. I imagine one could use the cooling lines to do a drain and fill.

Does anyone know what type of filter Ford is using in these? Is it disposable or wire mesh?