I have did some searching with nor real answer to my question. But for our dodge rams gen 2's. what is a good transmission operating temperature? I just installed my trans gauge and i went for a drive at 60 for about a 16 mile loop and it was 30 to 35 degrees out side today and i was only able to get a temp of 120 to maybe 140. is this ok?

 

im not sure on what your answer is but,

was it an easy install to do the guage?

 

I have a trans. cooler from B&M installed and trans. gauge. Mine gets to 150 cruising around the freeway and never above 180 during traffic. But the temps are getting cold like 30 today and was reading about 120-150. So I would say your fine. OEM operating temps are as high as 175 IIRC.

 

180* is a perfect operating temperature for a transmission. Mine is at 180* when I tow in the summer, and 150* with no loads in the summer. But right now my trans temps are around 120*. I wanna take off the huge cooler I have and just run the fluid through the heat exchanger in the radiator.
I also have an external transmission filter.

 

Mine struggles to get above 140 unless I'm towing or stuck in traffic. Never gotten above 180. Did a 200 mile drive today with dirt bikes in the back and about 48-55 outside and it never got above 125 even on the hills. Some people mistakenly think it should get as hot as the engine, but what they fail to understand is that engine oil needs to get hot enough to burn off combustion byproducts and condensation in order to prevent sludge buildup. Tranny oil doesn't have this problem, so running cooler is better.

 

An automatic transmissions normal operating temp is usually in the same ballpark as an engines,..around 195*...tranny oil/filter should be changed more often than most people actually do change it,..since oil break down causes the most damages in our rigs. *(torque convertor oil temps,..under heavy loads, can easily surpass 350*).

 

Well i have to tow package on my 5.9 gas, so its got that aux cooler. So i was just wondering if i was getting the right temp from the gauge since i mounted the sender in the farthest test port on the passenger side if under the truck, and thats what i was getting when i went on a 20 minute cruise to see how it would work out. So i guess guys i have nothing to be afraid of then. 120 135 for a day when its 30 to 35 outside is ok, and i was driving 60.

 

I dont think you have anything to worry about, though. ATF+4 has excellent cold flow characteristics.

 

You're good. I'm going to say it again, the tranny does not need to run at the same temp as the engine. Besides what I said earlier, consider this, engine oil gets most of its temperature from heat transfer. The combustion process heats up the block which then heats up the oil and coolant. Some of the heat comes from friction, but most is from heat transfer due to combustion.
In a tranny almost all the temperature comes from friction with a little being transferred from where the tranny and engine mate. A tranny is nothing more than a hydraulic pump. The oil inside it moves through various channels in response to engine RPM and gear selection. It needs only enough heat to make the fluid viscuous enough to flow properly. If you have a truck that when unloaded the tranny temp is nearly the same as the engine temp, then you will probably overheat it if you tow or haul anything heavy. Even on a hot day here in sunny CA my tranny is generally 20 degrees or more cooler than my engine oil when not towing or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. You need that cushion if you haul heavy loads or tow because your tranny will definitely run hotter in those situations.

 

Miami is exactly correct

even the 10 speed in our KW never gets more than 170, even under a load (factory installed gauge, also has them for the rear ends)

now, you can run an auto too cold, doing so can cause the fluid to sludge up