Is it bad to place a winter shield on the front of the ram.
I was driving the other day for an hour and the trans temp was at 118-120, the pickup was running about 180-190.
Also I was just wondering if there is a recommened temp for the trans to run at. I know there is an over heat. but is there a minimum temp there should be maintained.
The outside temp here is about 7 degrees. I am trying to plan a head for with it gets in the double digits below -0

 

heat = bad... in the cold all that heat can be dissipated.
just a general engineering rule

 

I don't know what Dodge's recommended trans temp is for optimal effeciency. The hotter the fluid temp, the lower the viscosity, and the less pumping losses you have in the transmission. This means at cold fluid temps, the trans will shift slower, and waste energy pumping the fluid around the trans. I don't think that you can overcool the trans fluid if you live in the contentinal US to the point of doing damage. In Anartica, you might have an issue but IDK, particulary because the RAM's only use an external trans cooler, and do not plumb it through the radiator like most older vehicles do. Wosst case to think about it is, if you live somewhere where it gets down to -40 very often, you are probably reducing the life of the pumps in the transmission more than where I live in AZ. I could'nt tell you if that added stress on the pumps is significant over the life of the trans or not.

How hot is too hot? There are trans temp charts all over the internet that show 175 as the threshold before oxidation starts to occur, and you shorten the life of the transmission. These charts are probably based on non-synthetic stock. IDK if you can gain any temp due to the fact that ATF+4 is sythetic.

In a nutshell, I think you are fine with your trans temps.

Engine temp, on the other hand.... The Hemi comes from the factory with a 203 degree thermostat. This temp was selected for optimum efficency of the engine. Lots of people will swap out the thermostat for a lower temp one in an attempt to gain some hp. Will you be ok with the engine running at 180 for extended periods, yeah. will you get the best gas milage, probably not.

 

yea, that neg -40 is the part of what i am concerned with as it could happen, and does frequentlyin North Dakota. Tonight it is to be -5 so that is why i am getting prepaired for the cold months of mid dec through jan