juice w/ attitude - tranny temp sensor

btw, for a 2001.5 2500 4x4.

i used the plug on the rear of the tranny and it fit fine. picture shows to use the plug on the side. gonna have to contact edge about that.

tomorrow i ride on the new juice w/ attitude. :-)

Nathan In Montana

Typically, you get a short 1/8" nipple, a 1/4" to 1/8" bell reducer, and an

1/8" to 1/4" bushing - put all together, they make an extension to accept the length of the sending unit.

if ya want to actually get the hot temp of your trans install it in the hot cooler line just outside of the case. otherwise all you do is check the temp of the cooled oil, might be

100* difference or more . IMO putting it anywhere else is just for giggles, just to show off to your friends. if ya really want the scoop on temp the out line to the heat exchanger is the place to put it. my 95 ctd runs 130 or so in l/u 140-150 runnin around town. with lots of stop and go. btw, its the line that comes out right by the shift linkage.

i found this on trans oil temps, check it out and you will see why i like to check the oil at its hot point.

...wish i had known that prior to the install! :-)

Nathan In Montana

? did edge products really miss the mark that much?

Nathan In Montana

In my humble opinion .........yes, I am sure I'll get slammed for that remark . if i am wrong tho, why, may i ask, does the factory temp sending unit run from that same line? also running your tranny temp off a servo or passage that dont see much flow makes no sense.

btw a industrial grade "tee" 1/2 compression with locks thru with a

1/4"npt (or 1/8" if thats your sender size) dont buy a cheap brass one , go to a hose and fitting shop and get the good stuff, still only about 8 bucks for the tee.

thank you sir, for the information. youve given me a lot to think about.

Nathan In Montana

You're right - measuring at the cooler line is best. Most places recommend installing in the test ports out of convenience.

Rather than cutting the line and installing a compression tee in the middle (potential for leaks), you could simply remove the front flare fitting from the tranny, and put in an 1/8" tee with a close nipple. Put the flare fitting in the other end, tweak the cooler line so that it lines up again (on the diesels, the front cooler line already has a rubber flex section to it, so this would be easy), then install the sender in the third port of the tee:

-----| |C T F cl Trans|=|=|=>---- | |

-----| S

Cut-paste the above into notepad to align...

C is the 1/8" NPT close nipple screwed in to the case, in place of the stock flare fitting. T is the 1/8"NPT tee fitting. F is the factory flare fitting that came out of the trans. cl is the stock cooler line, and S is the sending unit for the tranny temp.

That's one method. The other, since the diesels have that section of rubber hose in their cooler line, is to just cut a section of hose out, install

1/8" NPT barb fittings in each side, with the tee in the middle, holding the sending unit.

..where is yours plugged into tom?

Nathan In Montana

The cooler line. I got a replacement cooler line from Mass Diesel that had a fitting in the middle to accept an 1/8" NPT sender.

can you link me?

my tranny temp today was 133 degrees while travelling at 70mph on the interstate. if the picture/graph posted ealier is correct and that the actual temp is 100 degrees warmer than what my attitude shows me, ill kill my tranny just driving normal and this is with an outside ambient of -1F....i would expect it to be a lot hotter when its 100F. what am i missing or misunderstanding? i cannot see how everything here can be correct, as i dont see how cruising will kill a tranny prematurely.

Nathan In Montana

Here's a link. Scott is a real stand up guy. He's done a bunch of work on mine and my friends trucks. No muss no fuss.

Roy

I don't think John meant to say that the temp is always 100 degrees warmer - I'm sure he meant that the differential in temps between the fluid flowing to the cooler, and that of the fluid in the transmission itself could be UP TO 100 degrees off, if you're really hammering on it.

My sender is in the cooler line, and I'll barely ever break 140 degrees - and that's in stop-n-go traffic. So, your 133 reading is pretty accurate.

The real benefit of reading the temp in the cooler line is you get to see near-instantaneous changes in tranny temp - since the most heat is generated by the torque converter, and the fluid flow is from the torque converter to the cooler line. You notice the temp increase right away. By measuring temps in the case itself, it's going to take some time for the fluid heated by the torque converter to make it's way through the cooler and back into the case (remember that it's also being cooled), and for all the fluid to reach a constant temperature.

Another point to consider... the factory temperature sensor is in the valve body - essentially immersed in fluid in the pan.

So you can relax, you're not cooking your transmission - but you will get more accurate readings by moving the sender to the cooler line.

got it, thanks. any links to the hose you run?

Nathan In Montana

I looked - don't see anything about it on their site anymore. Roy gave you some of their details - give 'em a call and see if they're still making them. It should be easy enough for you to make your own, though.