trans temp gauge

[vegas39]

I just bought a transmission temperature gauge for my truck and upon reading the instructions, it says to install the sending unit in the return line back to the trans, after the cooler.
I would think a person would want to monitor the actual temp of the trans before it goes to the cooler. Is there a port on the c6 that allows for installing a temperature sender? I would rather do that than cut the cooler line but if I have to, I will.
I'm curious as to where members here with trans temp gauges, have them installed, pre cooler, or post cooler. Thanks.

 

[bookite03]

The C6 in my truck had the sender tapped into a welded bung in the pan. Seemed to work well. I'm not going to say this was the best or worst setup, but was fine for my application.

Now its all just sitting in the corner of my shop since the ZF went in. Waiting to find a cheap IDI with a blown up C6 in need of a transplant...

 

[Clb]

Seems like i saw one on the tech sec
Its under the park switch

 

[Wyreth]

You can also use the control pressure test port.

 

[icanfixall]

I too have heard that's the location for the gauge but I wonder. I have mine in the mag hi tech large capacity pan bung. Before that it was in the side test post. Same temps both places on my E4OD trans.

 

[bob_442]

I just bought a transmission temperature gauge for my truck and upon reading the instructions, it says to install the sending unit in the return line back to the trans, after the cooler.
I would think a person would want to monitor the actual temp of the trans before it goes to the cooler. Is there a port on the c6 that allows for installing a temperature sender? I would rather do that than cut the cooler line but if I have to, I will.
I'm curious as to where members here with trans temp gauges, have them installed, pre cooler, or post cooler. Thanks.

Replacing the pan with an aftermarket aluminum one, where available, and then drilling and tapping 1/8" pipe threads in the aluminum works great. I've done this for TH-400, TH-350, and TH-700 transmissions. I too would want to know how hot the actual transmission is...not how hot the fluid is going back in. That is not interesting at all.

Bob

 

[FarmerFrank]

I had mine on the supply line to the coolers when the bronco was a c6. R's it right at the trans. Always wanted it in the pan but never got to it

 

[tbrumm]

Where to put the the temp. sender is always being debated with advantages/disadvantages either way you go. I have mine installed in the drilled and tapped bung in the cast aluminum pan. The sender is reading the temp of the fluid in the pan, and that is the fluid that the trans will pick up and use next. So I know the temp. of the fluid that is going back in and the trans is going to use. Granted, that fluid will get warmer as it cycles through. The pan sensor also give me an idea of how well my cooler is working. If that fluid that is going back in is starting to get hot, I know I have to do something (but that has never happened with the B&M Supercooler with fan and extra capacity aluminum pan). Others will prefer to have the temp. sender somewhere it can read the fluid temp. up in the trans itself. This makes sense too as you know what the temp is at any given moment up inside the trans, but there will be higher temp readings there from time to time depending on how you are working the trans. Some go so far as to install two senders and a switch to the gauge so they can see temps at both locations. The main thing is get a gauge installed someplace so you can see what is going on. Good luck with your install.

 

[vegas39]

I had some time to do some reading last night and I see where quite a few people like to install it in the output line from the trans, right off the converter but that would be way too hot. My B&M kit says to install it on the return back to the trans but that seems like a dumb idea, because everything has been cooled down already.
I like the pan idea but dont really want to pull the pan and all that right now. I like the pressure port idea, where is that port at? I'll have to make sure my sending unit isnt too long to fit that port, if it is, I may just have to pull the pan.

 

[laserjock]

I installed the one in my F150 in the output line from the trans. I wanted to know what the hottest temperature in the system is. It's a real good measure of how hard the trans is working. You can tell immediately when the torque converter unlocks and watch it drop after the torque converter locks back up. Not real applicable to the C6 since no locking but I would think it is a good measure of how hard its working.

 

[trackspeeder]

C6 use the output line to the cooler.

E4OD can be the same or use the test port for accurate temp readings.

Using the return line or tranny pan will not give you a true temp reading.

 

[PwrSmoke]

I like to see all three!

In my old Diesel Blazer/Bum-Vee, I had senders in both lines and the pan with a three-way switch and I chose what I looked at. Interesting viewing for a gauge-o-haulic like me, particularly when four-wheeling in hot weather. You really got to see how much good the radiator cooler does on a hot day going slow with litle airflow, vs the air-to-oil-cooler. ****, I know!

I currently have a sender in the pan of my '86 but once had another in the line to the cooler and I could switch the wire over to read what I wanted. The line out will give you the hottest reading by far and a very few times towing, I could see 250F temps while the pan was only 180 or 190F. The non-lockup diesel C6 converter is pretty tight but slippage makes heat, lots of heat. Supposedly a E4OD converter generates lots of heat when unlocked, more than the old C6.

The logic to putting the sender in the return line is that it indicates an aggregate of how hard the trans is working and the cooler efficiency at whatever are the ambient temps. If you see hot oil there, you know the trans is hot, working hard and that your coolers are overwhelmed. If I can have only one location, I choose the pan for the reasons tbrumm said above. Second, the return line.

BTW, reading trans temp give you a great way to get a feel for how long to run your ATF. If you truck sees consistently high temps, you need to change it more often.

I

 

[Wyreth]

Test port is here: (figure 6) Just in front of the linkage & kickdown.

 

[vegas39]

Test port is here: (figure 6) Just in front of the linkage & kickdown.

Thank you. I found it last night, went ahead and put the sensor there and wired it up while I was wiring up the gear vendors. I'll see how it reads over the next couple days.

 

[icanfixall]

Doubt you will see much more than 160 round town Kenny. Might try the state line grade just to see what's going on.