So this morning was the first really cold morning here in Nebraska. Got down to about 5 degrees overnight and my truck's transmission was oh so crabby this morning. Slow shifts, soft shifts, etc. Got better and back to normal as the whole thing finally warmed up.

So I've read a lot about block heaters and oil heaters and recirculating heaters and was wondering:

Does anyone have a oil heater for their transmission?

Does anyone see a need for this in these temps? Or is it just overkill?

 

I know there are block heaters for the engines, But haven't heard anything about the transmission. What you may want is a heating blanket at low setting on the transmission. And no I don't think its an over kill.

 

Knowing what type of transmission we're talking about would help.

 

The member most likely has a 44RE or 46RE transmission. Because the upper right of the post shows a gas motor.

 

So why can't it be a 5 speed manual? They offered them??

 

When the transmission fluid is in cold temps, it will have a long delay to upshift because the fluid is below 32F degrees. Normal operation temp is 80 degrees and above. And sure it could be a 5 speed. In which case I would recommend replacing the gear oil to ATF for the winter.

 

Sorry about the missing trans info!

It is the famously reliable 46RE auto trans. I've just lived in Nebraska for years and haven't ever seen this before. Caught me off guard!

What I was looking at was a pad heater like these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000I8...110_SY165_QL70

And since I'd be doing that, putting a block heater in as well.

 

Since you're unfamiliar with living in a colder climate, let the vehicle warm up for about 10 minutes in really cold weather before proceeding to drive. 5º isn't that bad.

 

No, I am familiar since I've lived here for years, and 5 degrees isn't that cold or unusual here. It's just the first time I've had a transmission so obviously affected by a cold snap and I wasn't sure if these 46REs were particularly prone to cold temps.

Sounds like most people don't bother with heating the trans. True?

Anyone with experience with these types of heater pads?

 

Biggest problem is securing it to the bottom of the trans pan. (ya wanna heat the fluid after all.) Don't want a permanent mount, you want to be able to remove it to service the trans. I would also have it on a timer, so that it fired up 30 minutes or so before you actually wanted to drive away. May have to tweak that time frame, depending on outside temps though.

Should solve your issues.