Transmission temp. gauge

[Slufoot733]

I had an Perma-Cool aux. transmission fluid filter and temp. gauge on my '99 F-250 diesel/auto. trans which I believe helped maintain a good tranny. Now I have an '08 F-350 with diesel/auto combo. My '08 has larger fluid lines and Perma-Cool does not make a kit which will fit. Has anyone installed a temp. gauge for their auto trans on an '08 or later? I do not want to monitor the fluid in the pan but rather in the line immediately after exiting the transmission. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

KT

[mcgiver2]

iam not to sure but doesnt the 08 ford now have the transmission temp in the dash ? i know my Chev. does.

[Art-n-Marge]

My '06 Ford F-250 diesel/auto came with a Trans gauge in the dash. Are you saying your '08 does not have one? It took the place of the Alternator gauge on my dash. The gauges I have for comparison case are small Eng Oil Pressure and Fuel gauge on the left side, then a large Tachometer combined with the Turbo Gauge, a large Speedometer in the middle, then small Transmission Temp, and Coolant Temp on the far right. I have seen that there are 2 or 3 dash setups but I believe they all have the same information.

As for a trans cooler, I believe the Ford Superduty trucks now come with one of those too. I suppose you could install another one just for good measure, but you might not need one.

Other than the Alt gauge (which was replaced by the Trans temp), I wish the truck had come with an Exhaust gauge. Maybe one of these days I'll have to put one in - but I don't have the correct drill bits to drill the hole in the exhaust for the sensor and don't want to buy one just for this.

[Bruce Lenhardt]

My '08 F350 Diesel has the transmission gage in the dash.

[Carl n Susan]

Unfortunately, the gauges in the newer Fords are well disguised idiot lights. There are no temperature gradients on them. The on-board computers hold the needles at mid-point until it is too late. They look like gauges but they aren't!

[Slufoot733]

Yes, there is a trans temp gauge on my '08. But like Carl states it's nothing more than an idiot gauge, just like the oil pressure gauge I had on my '99. What I want is a real gauge that will imediately indicate when the temp rises or falls. As for the filter (not cooler) I can take it or leave it. The PermaCool unit I had came with the filter and the temp sensor was installed in the filter mounting fixture, thus I used the filter. Several speed shops have good gauges and remote oil filter mounting fixtures so I suspect I could build a kit myself. I'm just fishing for advice & suggestions from folks who have 'been there, done that'.

Thanks,

Kevin

[grampachet]

My 04 V-10 has the factory trans temp gauge in the dash as others have mentioned. It usually goes to the middle area and seems to not move much after that. I have seem it go up just a little in the hot summer climbing a few hills in Idaho/Montana area last August.

[Carl n Susan]

Since the transmission temperature is just one of the hundreds of pieces of data available via On-board Diagnostic Port, why not get one of the electronic gauges that simply plug-in. That way you can watch EGT, Water, and transmission temps or anything else critical. You want one that only monitors (not a tuner) to avoid jeopardizing your warranty. I think richfaa has one he really likes.

[ols1932]

I had a deep pan installed giving me about 8 additional quarts of transmission oil. Helps the transmission run cooler. Installed a larger, after market oil cooler. It's installed right in front of the little dinky one that came on the truck new. In addition, when I had the larger cooler put on, I had a column mount transmission oil gauge installed. It gives the temp in degrees. Is not an idiot gauge, although I use it!

Orv

[sreigle]

I had a temperature gauge for the transmission installed on both my '03 and '05 Ford automatics. I had the work done by a truck accessory shop. The '03 was installed in the pan. I didn't like that because it didn't really show me the temperature at its hottest, which is as it leaves the transmission headed for the cooler. On the '05 I had them install the sender in the line just after it left the transmission. I used AutoMeter gauges although other brands are good, too. I think they had to order the gauges with the sender specific to installation location.

Both trucks had a builtin transmission temperature gauge on the dash but, as you probably know, that gauge is of marginal value. These gauges have a wide "normal" range and so long as the temperature remains within that normal range the needle stays in one place, usually in the middle. And it does not move unless the temperature rises above the normal. Then it suddenly moves to above normal. I prefer to see that the temperature is creeping up so I can take action. Once it jumps up high, it's too late.

Good luck.

[Clyde n Deb]

"I had a deep pan installed giving me about 8 additional quarts of transmission oil."

Just curious Orv, who makes that pan?

[kmh3212]

I bought an Edge Insight that monitors and displays many temperatures of the transmission, EGT, coolant temp, fuel pressures and tons of other readings from the on-board sensors. Took 5 minutes to install and plugs into the under dash ODB port. About $350 with the mount. My truck is an '08 f450. Works like a charm!

[Tom S.]

A deep pan will cause the oil to take longer to heat up, but eventually it will reach the same temperature. Think of it this way: put a large pan and a small pan of water on the stove and turn the heat on low. It will take longer for the large pan to reach the same heat as the small one, but it will reach it eventually. If the pan is one of those with pipes running through it for better cooling, or is large enough to hang down in the air flow under the truck, there could be some benefit. A large pan can help in another way though. More oil means it will take longer for the oil to reach the same contamination level as less oil would. The best addition is a larger (or additional) oil cooler. If you add a second oil cooler and live in a cold climate, you might want to consider putting a by pass on it for winter use, otherwise the transmission may not reach the temps it needs for normal operation.

[clutch]

quote:Originally posted by Clyde n Deb

"I had a deep pan installed giving me about 8 additional quarts of transmission oil."

Just curious Orv, who makes that pan?

I have a Mag-hitech on my Dodge. They come with a temp port on the side and have the extra capacity. Mine is in the pan and I recognize that the temps there are lower so I adjust my driving. My truck has never gone over 140*.

[Clyde n Deb]

quote:Originally posted by clutch

I have a Mag-hitech on my Dodge. They come with a temp port on the side and have the extra capacity. Mine is in the pan and I recognize that the temps there are lower so I adjust my driving. My truck has never gone over 140*.

I have an extra capacity pan to ala using the Allison deep pan that is used on the bigger trucks. I am aware of the Mag HiTec as I have their rear diff cover. Opted not to get their tranny cover because they are so pricey. Was just curious who made Orv's trans pan that added 8 quarts capacity?

[Art-n-Marge]

Tom S. - I am thinking your analogy is not quite accurate in the case of a transmission. I agree that a larger pan will take longer to heat up, but it will eventually heat up, but that assumes there is no attempt to cool it down. For example, in the case of the transmission, there are attempts to cool down the fluid as soon as its warmed up after being used by using tranny coolers and the like. so I think in Orv's case having more fluid available helps conduct the cooling that is going on since the fluid gets warm when it's used and it takes that much longer to get in position to get heated back up.

I do think an additional cooler is a better option than a larger pan for the temperature reasons you mention. I guess Orv hasn't had an issue caused by fluid. I recall that older Ford's were notorious for tranny fluid boiling over when heavily stressed, but it sounds like Orv solved his problem with the help of a bigger pan.

I am gonna have to look at the stock gauges on my TV. I am not happy hearing that the gauges are bogus. I am familiar with Edge and Banks stuff and maybe I'll seek the gauges sans tuner. My truck warranty JUST expired, so maybe I'll go for performance too (Edge, Banks, BDdiesel, etc.). But wait, that requires money, don't it? It's on the wish list.

[Art-n-Marge]

Rats, my warranty did not expire. Apparently I purchased an extension I forgot about. I guess that's probably more a good thing that bad.

[richfaa]

We have the 08 F-350 6.4L we use this http://www.aeroforcetech.com/
We constantly look at EGT and Trans temp.

The only gage on the Ford dash that is accurate is the Boost gage.

[mlh]

Go look at the Dashdaq you can monitor transmission temp. and about 400 other things. do a goggle search for dashdaq. its most likely the best on the market today. Check it out.
Lynwood

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by Clyde n Deb

"I had a deep pan installed giving me about 8 additional quarts of transmission oil."

Just curious Orv, who makes that pan?

For the long run, a bigger pan won't help, but an additional cooler will. Think of it this way: a 60 gallon water heater takes longer than a 40 gallon water heater to heat up, but eventually they both get to the same temps. Same thing for a bigger pan, the extra trans fluid takes longer to heat up, but eventually it will get to the same temp. An extra cooler however adds additional area for heat transfer. Just be aware of the fact that automatic transmissions are made to reach a specific temp to operate correctly, and if you add a second cooler, it may adversely affect the trans in cold weather, which is why I recommend plumbing it with by-pass valves if you live or plan to drive up here in the north.