factory tranny temp gauge adequate
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Cargo Master
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,450
Likes: 13
From: Forest lake minnesota
factory tranny temp gauge adequate
Hi all just wondering your thought on whether the factory tranny gauge is enough or should I install a second one to be safe. I do lots of towing and dont want to cook the trannsmission.
FTE Legend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 65,938
Likes: 1,432
From: Millersville, MD
Factory is a glorified (but not great) idiot light.....built to look like a gauge but isn't. Same with the engine temp gauge. When my engine and tranny factory gauges say it's up to NORMAL, it isn't even close yet!
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,564
Likes: 11
From: Wayyy NoCal, USA
I don't personally have a factory gauge. But I know several who do, and read somewhere that the factory indicates "normal" until fluid gets well over 250.
Is fluid cooked or will tranny instantly fail at 250? No. But if in the middle of a hard pull, there are parts that are getting hotter than the average - and that is stressful. Failures occur instantaneously, but are usually the result of repeated cycles of high stress. Kind of like adding straw on a camel. I tend to keep my vehicles for several hundreds of K's. A key to getting there is to avoid high stress all along.
For me, I want to back off at 240 or 250 and definitely pull over and let 'er cool by 250 or 260 (depending on how safe it would be to do so). So a factory gauge would not be adequate for me. It is also nice to be able to watch the RATE of temp increase and adjust behavior to minimize risk.
With auxiliary gauges available for well under $100 and with test port so accessible, it is easy to do.
Is fluid cooked or will tranny instantly fail at 250? No. But if in the middle of a hard pull, there are parts that are getting hotter than the average - and that is stressful. Failures occur instantaneously, but are usually the result of repeated cycles of high stress. Kind of like adding straw on a camel. I tend to keep my vehicles for several hundreds of K's. A key to getting there is to avoid high stress all along.
For me, I want to back off at 240 or 250 and definitely pull over and let 'er cool by 250 or 260 (depending on how safe it would be to do so). So a factory gauge would not be adequate for me. It is also nice to be able to watch the RATE of temp increase and adjust behavior to minimize risk.
With auxiliary gauges available for well under $100 and with test port so accessible, it is easy to do.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,564
Likes: 11
From: Wayyy NoCal, USA
That is actually less of a concern to me than trans temp. Oil pressure fluctuation like that is perfectly normal depending on condition of oil, temps, and RPM. Some folks would freak to see that much, so I understand Ford damping it so much.
New User
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 17
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This just really surprises me, I just traded in my 05 Chevy 1/2 ton which had all except the tranny temp gauge and they were true gauges. It also had an outside temp and direction in the mirror as standard equipment, but that is another topic.
I now have an 08 F350 V10, can I just change the gauges or do I need different sending units/wiring as well?
I now have an 08 F350 V10, can I just change the gauges or do I need different sending units/wiring as well?
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2010
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we were just talking about this in the 7.3 fourm cause i was in the same boat
and the info the gave me i will be ordering a tranny gauge.
i dont know how to get u the info but look up which gaugeswhitch one to get in the 7.3 fourm there good info there
and the info the gave me i will be ordering a tranny gauge.
i dont know how to get u the info but look up which gaugeswhitch one to get in the 7.3 fourm there good info there
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Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,564
Likes: 11
From: Wayyy NoCal, USA
This just really surprises me, I just traded in my 05 Chevy 1/2 ton which had all except the tranny temp gauge and they were true gauges. It also had an outside temp and direction in the mirror as standard equipment, but that is another topic.
I now have an 08 F350 V10, can I just change the gauges or do I need different sending units/wiring as well?
I now have an 08 F350 V10, can I just change the gauges or do I need different sending units/wiring as well?
For the trans temp, the stock sending unit appears to be linear - the "damping" takes place in the ECM. But sending units HAVE to be calibrated to the gauge. The only aftermarket gauges that are known to work with stock sending unit are the electronic "PCM data display" style (Edge and others) that plug into stock electronics.
A gauge like an Autometer 2640 (what I have) require their own sending unit to read accurately.
On oil pressure, I think my stock sending unit is actually a switch rather than a linear sending unit.
Hotshot
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 13,484
Likes: 42
From: Stevens Point, WI
Yes, I believe the stock pressure sensor "switch" read normal if oil is anything over 5psi.
Posting Guru
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,318
Likes: 0
From: Sterling Heights, MI
Mine always stays in the middle. Once my trans temp gets to about 130 it does not move. On the 2011 with the productivity screen it has a digital readout with the temp reading. In the cold mornings it starts off at around 45, then goes up pretty fast once I get going.
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