trans temp gauge

[642buteo]

Hello I Was Wondering If Anybody Has Installed A Trans Temp Gauge In A Automatic And If The Oil Pan Is Thick Enough To Weld After I Drill Hole In Pan And Put Temp Sensor In, Or Should A Gasket Seal Be Enough To Prevent Leak . Im Just Considering Project And Would Use A Autometer Gauge With My Th350 Tranny . Not Sure How Practical This Is Put I Like Gauges. Would A Engine Oil Temp Gauge Be More Useful. Thanks

 

[mike weyman]

i've just had mine rebuilt, new shift kit,new 2400 stall b&m torque convertor.i am very interested as to wether or not the external cooler is doing a good enough job.let us know if you go ahead with it.mike

 

[UKPaul]

Hi,
I've fitted a 200-4r in mine & the supplier (Bowtie Overdrives) had fitted an oil drain fitting in the pan. It's a large fitting that looks like maybe it's a 2 part piece that screws together to clamp on the wall of the pan? Bowtie probably sell the fitting so it may be worth caling them.
I've replaced the drain plug in the fitting with a temp sensor. I found that it was running too hot so I fitted a small external cooler in the trans output line, between the trans & stock rad. The temperature of the fluid has dropped down appreciably due to the cooler. One warning: don't fit a large cooler as you may over cool the fluid. Mine is a small B&M one & the temp is running below the ideal of 150F.
Cheers

 

[WayneLBurnham]

I had one installed when my T400 was rebuilt

Yes, you can cut a hole in the pan and weld a backing nut in the back of it, but it is fairly easy to warp the pan in the process or have a less than leak proof fit. That is the method I'm using for the oil temp sensor I am shortly to install. I hope to use the filler or the drain plug hole for the temp sensor in the differential.

My tranny shop preferred drilling and tapping a hole in the casing and putting the temp sensor in from the top since the tranny was out getting a rebuild and having an electronic sender attached too. On the T400 there is a convenient flat point on the same side as the speedo sender.

Mine both go to digital gauges from Nordskog. I have noticed the tranny typically runs at 165-175 until I get it to real speed, when it goes as high as 195. We're only in late spring here, with daytime highs in the 80's and I've already seen over 200 a few times on the trans temp gauge. I am curious to see what the summer with 105 and 110 (and 150-170 on the road surface) will yield. I am adding an extended capacity pan with my coming engine upgrade, it will be interesting to see what that does too. Interestingly it takes a good 15 minutes of hard driving to get it up to normal operating temp.

 

[Thumper]

I've got an Autometer Sportcomp trans temp guage. Autometer has a junction block they sell that accepts their sending unit and mounts in-line up towards the radiator. There was a recent car magazine article (don't remember which magazine, I get so many) where they put two sending units in, one on the supply line, and one on the return line, hooked up to a toggle switch so they switch from sending unit to sending unit to see how much of a temp drop the trans cooler gave them.

 

[norvalwilhelm]

The unit mount in the pan with a pipe thread. A metal pan is too thin for tapping a pipe thread so I drill a hole in the pan and make a brass nut with pipe threads. I then silver braze the brass nut to the pan on the outside. Silver brazing is what the air conditioner guys do when installing air conditioning. It is silver that flows like solder but is alot stronger.
In the cast aluminum pans with the thicker walls I drill and tap for the pipe thread.
I had a oil cooler with a 10 inch fan and it came on at 170 degrees. I do not want to see temperatures at 200.