Looking to install a temp gauge for the transmission. Should be a 46re. I've poked around old threads for awhile and keep seeing a reference to the servo/test port, then someone else quickly shutting it down because it's not the correct location to accurately monitor temps. Then no follow up to the correct location. It seems an inline adapter on the hot side would be the easiest and most accurate. I saw some links that I think referenced what I needed but the links were dead. Any suggestions?

Also, when it comes to hacking into transmission lines, what does a person need to know? Are these lines where you can just cut the line and use barbed fittings and clamps? Or does line pressure make that not feasible?

 

A quick Google search will bring up what you need. Glowshift makes the inline adapter you need.

 

Cooler lines are low pressure, so, cutting/splicing is a viable option. There are also adapters that just clamp to the line, and sensor, so, no cutting required. Not quite as accurate though.

 

Got it.

It appears that someone bypassed the radiator cooler and is just going straight to the aux cooler and back to the transmission. How important is that?

If I need to fix it, how do I know which lines go where? What is hot coming out of transmission, and where does that go in the radiator?

 

I found the t adapter and gauge for $80.

 

The line at the front of the trans is output to the cooler(s), normally, that would go to the bottom fitting on the radiator, top fitting goes to aux cooler, then back to trans. Some folks, when they rebuild the trans after a failure, will bypass the radiator cooler, as opposed to flushing it out.... Depending on where you live, determines if you really need it or not.

 

OK. There is some debate in my household of what does the bulk of the cooling - the radiator, or the aux cooler. I understand it warms the fluid I'm the cold - but how much cooling does it provide when it's hot?

And, how hard is it to flush the radiator? Just run a bit of fluid through that section? Obviously before connecting the rest of the system.

 

There is a LOT of debate about how much it cools/warms the fluid. Of course, after it warms the fluid, it then goes thru the aux cooler...... so, six of one, half dozen of the other. We havin' fun yet?

Yeah, just run some hoses, to make it easier, and run some variety of solvent thru the cooler till it runs clean. Flush again with clean trans fluid, and call it a day. (flush from the top fitting, so it runs out the bottom fitting. cleans better that way.)

 

OK. As far as the aux cooler, I thought I could get some cheap improvement by getting a bigger cooler because it felt small and dinky. After looking online, they're all roughly the same size, 11x11x.75 inches or so unless you get into the multiple hundreds of dollars. So I'm not sure I'll see any benefits to replacing the cooler that's already there.

 

If it's small, then I would certainly plumb the other cooler in as well...