Can anyone tell me if the C6 in my 77 has a port I can hook up a trans temp gauge or will I need to braize in a threaded sleeve?

Thanks!

 

No, I've wondered about using one of the tv ports on the side of the case though, but never tried it

 

Just run an inline tee fitting in the pump outlet line before any coolers.

Josh

 

Gold. You're so good Josh. Thanks man, cough syrup clouding my head.

 

nothing wrong with either, and not arguing.

when i bought my B&M gauge it said to put it in the cooler return line (after the cooler).

putting it before the coolers will tell you the hottest fluid in the trans, putting it after the coolers will tell you if the coolers are scrubbing all the heat, or if they are being asked to do more than they can.

both can be helpfull.
nothing wrong with either, just a matter of what you want to see.
just something to think about.

FWIW, mine is after the cooler.

 

Well, think of it this way. Is the engine temp sensor before or after the thermostat? Is the sensor before the inlet to the radiator or after?

I want to know how hot the fluid is BEFORE the coolers and not after. You're going to know how well the coolers are doing by how hot the fluid is as it comes out of the trans.

I used Cyberdyne gauges and they specifically mention BEFORE the coolers.

FWIW I put B&M in the same category as Fram oil filters.

Josh

 

^^^ ^^^

 

I follow what you are saying, and like i said i wasn't arguing.

you could put your coolant temp sender in the hottest part of the engine if you wanted, it could be 230* right above the exhaust valves, but it doesn't matter so long as the radiator is scrubbing the heat you are doing all you can for the system as a whole. GM's put the coolant temp sender in the cylinder head on the small block, that seems to work just as well as in the outlet neck, though they don't always read what the same temp at which the thermostat should be open.

you could also put it on the water pump inlet. if you know that the water is 150* coming in, then it must not be beyond the radiator's capacity to cool and the motor must not be too hot. if it coming into the waterpump at 200, best belive that it is too hot going in and you are over heating.

it is all realitive. neither is wrong.

the way i look at it, i dont really care how hot the fluid is coming out of the trans, it is what it is and will be whatever it is. If it is coming out of the converter at 280* up a hill, there isnt much i can do about it, it is what it is. but if the coolers can bring that 280 down to 160, then you have done all you can to scrub the heat.

once your coolers are heat soaked beyond capacity, they can no longer shed the heat and your trans is doomed to a heat problem. doesn't matter at that point what the input is.

other than always seeing my trans temp gauge at an unexciting 100*, it is kind of nice knowing that the coolers are removing nearly all the heat. could be 230 going in, dont matter cauz it is 100 coming out, cant do anything more to help it.

two ways of knowing the same information. neither is wrong.

you could install a bung in the pan and put the sender there as well. this will give you a more "average" temp, and is also helpfull to know.

as for B&M's quality ... no one else offered a gauge kit with a t-fitting, gauge and pod. and for 75 bucks plus 40 to have the t-fitting installed, it is certainly better than not having a gauge at all.

 

Well, I baught a remote filter kit that has a temp guage in the filter housing. Lets face it, the c6 filter screen doesn't clean the fluid very well. I built my tranny with furnace braised converter, 4140 hardened input shaft, shift kit, filed the governor, 5 disc drums and 4 pin planetaries, even doing it myself, it wasn't cheap, and I realize heat won't fry the input shaft or the planetaries, but I wanted clean fluid and to know the temp. I have cut the filter apart twice and it collects plenty of gunk, even in a new tranny. I felt the filter and guage should go in the pump side of the lines rather than the return, I thought hot fluid would flow better that cooled fluid.

Mine has a B&M cooler, the second biggest they make, and I agree, B&M charges plenty and their stuff is questionable to me. I'm not saying it is bad, but I can build heat in my tranny climbing a hill, and I feel that a different style cooler might work better. I would prefer to know how hot the tranny is making the fluid rather than how cool the coolers are keeping it. Who cares how cool the fluid is? We want to know how hot the tranny is making it.

 

The general thinking is... You want to know as soon as possible there is a problem. Getting the temp after the coolers will only mask and delay the warning signs.

Josh

 

just two different ways of getting to the same answer.

if you can shed the heat, there is no problem, so to me both make sense. If you know your coolers are working then you know your trans isnt over heating. If you know your trans isnt overheating, then you know your coolers are working.

for me, it was nice to know that my cooler size is adaquate. i know this because the fluid is always 160* or less coming back to the pan. I have little or no input into how hot the transmission makes the fluid, but I do have input on how cool it comes back.

i think one could freak out when you see the temp is 280 coming out of the trans on it's way to the cooler. but if that is what it takes to pull that hill, what can you do? slowing down might help, but it also reduces airflow to the cooler, so it might not. On that same hill, you might see that your coolers are getting that down 100* to 180, so you dont have a problem. the average temp is probably 230ish in this case, so you are fine (warm, but not overheating).

having the gauge on the hot side (280) will tell you there is a problem. having it in the pan (230) or in the cooler return (180) will tell you there is no problem.

i guess i dont really care how hot it gets, so long as i can cool it. I don't think having it in the cooler return "masks" the problem, it just takes the "emergency" out of the reading.

like i said, neither way is wrong, it is just a matter of how you want to look at it. I think if you put a temp gauge in, you can't do it wrong. just know where it is and what reading you are getting.

 

Both answers are correct and have their uses. It's usefull to know the fluid going into your tranny isn't boiling and that the coolers are doing their job as intended and it's also nice to know at what temp the tranny fluid is reaching during normal operations.

Sill, and I can't believe no one has said it yet, but install 2 gauges, one before and one after. Then with 2 temp gauges, no matter who asks, you will always be right!!


PS.... I like mine "after" the cooler.......

 

These are temps BEFORE the cooler. If you're seeing 280+ after the cooler, that's downright retarded.



Josh

 

no where does it indicate what you are implying. just shows the temperatures at which problems start to occur.

perhaps the fluid coming out of the TC into the cooler line is 240, and in danger of causing varnish, but that fluid is not in contact with any clutches or seals, so it doesnt matter much unless it returns to the pan at that temperature, at which point it will be recirculated thru the trans and caus problems. but if it returns anywhere south of 200, it is fine.

That being said, if my gauge in the cooler return line shows 200, i know my coolers are not shedding the heat and i should look for a place to take a break. this happend once while i was 4-wheeling at low speed, and once while i was backing my boat into the shed (uphill). both times there was no airflow and the cooler couldnt shed the heat.

i doubt very much that the fluid going into the cooler was much over 200. so in this case i caught a potential problem quicker than i would have had the gauge been before the coolers. I wouldn't have known they weren't working until it was too late, had i done it your way. my way showed the problem right away .. the gauge told me i wasnt getting rid of the heat.

as i said before, heat is only a problem if you cannot get rid of it.

all three installation locations have merit and make for a worthwhile discussion. unless you are just convinced that there is only one right way of doing it and there is no need for a discussion.

since you brought up TCI you are likely aware they make pans with bungs for temp gauges. being they are promoting nothing better than an idiot light, perhaps an email to the company to inform them they are doing it wrong is in order?