My friends/family always ask me why I call them idiot lights and I always say that because by the time they kick on, the damage is already done!

Whats a rough cost on putting in a trans temp gauge anyways?

 

where do you put the temp gauge? in the side of the tranny or inline of the cooler?

what type of tranny fluid do you ask for at the autoparts store? i know regular dextron won't work in mopar

 

I think you put it into the fluid pan, but I'm not really sure I guess? You can use any ATF +4

I had a crack in my transmission somehow and I drove it about 20 miles away before the tranny light came on pumped all the fluid out through the crack.........BYE BYE TRANNY i gotta rebuild now

 

wtf is the point of a tranny light that comes on to tell you that its ruined.. retardation

 

I've covered this topic a lot in the past, but heres some info again. There are basically 3 good places to put a trans temp sending unit for a gauge.

First is in the pan. This is the most common place, and is ok I guess, but not my favorite. It will give you the coolest reading because the pan contains fluid that has just come back from the trans cooler. It is a little labor intensive to install a sending unit in the pan too because you need to remove the pan, drill and tap in a port, and then insert the sending unit. Or, you can just install a new pan that has one already built in. This is what I did, and I recommend it. A new pan made of alum (for better heat release) and extra capacity is a good cooling addition to your trans system.

The second place you can put a trans temp gauge is in the front servo port on your trans. Installation is very easy (remove the port plug and screw in your sending unit). There is some uneducated debate about the accuracy of this port, but having used it for years now in conjunction with a sending unit in the pan, I can tell you it is just as accurate as any location.

Lastly, you can put a sending unit in the pressure line leaving the trans on its way to the trans cooler. This is a great place to put it, but requires the installation of a t-manifold to be able to insert a sending unit into the line. Not hard, but you have to cut the line. There is a good write-up somewhere on here on how to do this, just do a search.

I personally run two sending units, one in the front servo, and one in the pan. This tells me how hot the trans is getting, and how cool the fluid is getting after it goes through the trans cooler.

Mounting the gauge in the cab is easy, and there are lots of options for locations, including a-pillar, steering column, dash, and just about anywhere you can fab up something to mount a gauge too.

Use only ATF+4 in your trans on these trucks.

 

thanks, that was a very knowledgeable and helpful wright up

 

You would suggest not changing the fluid, just the filter? I would figure that at 87,xxx miles that trans fluid would need to be changed? I would be able to get away with just a filter and adjusment of the bands?

 

Of course you have to change the fluid too when you do the filter. What he means by not doing a flush, is garbage can get pushed back into places where it doesn't want to be. When you drop the pan just replace the fluid that comes out when you drop the pan. 6 to 8 quarts.

 

Since your already in the bottom of the trans, I would install a trans drain bolt and I would change out the fluid. If you just drop the pan and dump that fluid, then it will only take about 6 qts if i'm not mistaken to fill the trans back up. I wouldn't try to re-use the old fluid.

 

I removed my pan the night before and let the trans drip over night. Took 8 quarts the next morning.