Coolant temp on 2002 Cummins 8.3 in my RE Bluebird?

[PNW_Steve]

Good Morning,

I made my longest trip so far in my Bluebird and the first involving hot weather and mountain passes.

Everything went well and the bus drove great on my 300+ mile trip over 3 passes. I am in the process of moving and used my empty bus as a "BluHaul"... It was about 2/3 full of tools & household stuff.

I do have a question regarding coolant temp. It was a warm day with temps ranging from 75F-90F over the trip. I kept an eye on the temp gauge and ran from 195-210. Pulling the passses I held 2000 rpm and dropped a gear if I hit 210.

When I brought the bus home back in December I thought it ran 190-200 but I may be mistaken. My 5.9 in my truck (empty) runs 185-200, over the same route that I took yesterday, in the summer.

Is the 195-210 Normal or is it running a bit hot?

I also wonder if the temp gauge could be off a bit.

Thanks.

S.

[Rusty]

210 is about as high as I'd like to see in that engine, but if you are going over a mountain on a warm day...

How is your coolant? Is super important to have proper coolant in that motor.

Cummins explains coolant

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Rusty

210 is about as high as I'd like to see in that engine, but if you are going over a mountain on a warm day...

How is your coolant? Is super important to have proper coolant in that motor.

Cummins explains coolant

Thank you for the link. Good information.

It still has the coolant that the school district put in it. I need to attend to that next. I need to send a sample off for testing, figure out what I have for a coolant filter and get test strips.

The coolant is filled to just above the sight glass in the expansion tank.

It is the green coolant. Can you tell me if Fleetcharge SCA would be the correct coolant for this application?

Thanks.