I have used my D to pull my boat for a few weekends now without any issues. This weekend however on the way home we noticed that the a/c did not seem very cold, then started to smell something that smelled hot. Being less then 1/2 mile from the house I pulled the Durango and the boat into the drive way and man was it hot. The fenders and hood were hot to the touch. The Temp gauge on the dash showed 210 which was slightly higher then normal. I then immediately checked the oil which was fine, then I checked the coolant which was fine as well. I started it today and it ran fine however get hot very fast under the hood. The temp on the dash showed normal so i am at a loss. I tested the fan by pushing it with the truck off and it spun a little more then 1/4 of a turn which from previous posts is normal. One other note there was a the smell of oil under the hood.

We pulled the boat with over drive off going about 65MPH for 20 miles, the boat is a 18' tahoe which weights about 2300 lbs. Is there anything I should check? Any help would be appreciated.

 

This morning I checked the Trans Fluid and it barley showed on the stick. Is it possible that a tranmission low on fluid could generate that type of heat under the engine bay? Also if the trans gets to should the trans temp light illuminate?

 

210* is not overheating. Since your pulling the boat, I'm guessing its fairly hot and doing 65 with no od will yield a little higher temperature.

The low trans fluid deal....keep an eye on it! No relation between the 2

 

I respectfully disagree The aux trans cooler is in front of the radiator, and I have found that when I am pushing the trans to get me places I probably shouldn't go with my camper, there seems to be a higher under hood and engine temp created by my hot tranny... I know there is a joke in there somewhere, so I'll wait for it! If he is low on fluid and there is less thermal mass from fluid to keep the trans cool, then the low fluid could cause a higher temp, or at least less efficient cooling.

 

I was thinking the same thing that Groggy was thinking. I noticed that the transmission pan gasket is leaking so i will replace that then add fluid. Groggy do you pull with OD off on the interstate?

 

I try to use overdrive when I can, If I find that the transmission is down shifting often, I just turn it off. I look for a speed that allows for me to run in overdrive, but I seem to always be going uphill into the wind, both ways, so It does not happen very often...

 

After I changed the Transmission pan gasket and added fluid I have never seen the type of heat I saw that day. I will mention that I used a o'rileys gasket that came with the tranmission filter and it would not stop leaking. Went to the Dodge dealer near me and got a gasket from them much better seal. Still seems to have a little leak but I think my pan may be warped. Is this pretty typical for these trucks to have the transmission pan leak after a gasket replacement?

 

nope trans pan leaks are not common simply bc of a gasket replacement