Was thinking about adding a transmission temperature gauge.
Any idea where the best place is to put the pick-up?
Not real sure what type pick-up to use yet, guess it depends on where mounted.
Was going to do a separate gauge set with engine vacuum, trans pressure and temp.
Would also like rear end temp, outside air, etc., etc., but gotta stop somewhere!

 

Not sure for the best place either, but maybe one of the ports on the P/S. There are three, the middle one is for pressure testing.

 

Trans oil temp sensors go in the pan.

 

I prefer to have the temp sensor in a port in the case. It gives a better idea of the internal temperature of the transmission. A sensor in the pan will always read the coolest temperature in the transmission.

 

You cant have in the port in the case you need to have flow around the sensor all the gauges are calibrated temp wise for pan installation.

 

It doesn't need flow. Gauges are not calibrated temp wise for pan installation. Gauges should be calibrated to be accurate in the range of temperatures that they will see.

I used to be an automatic transmission cooling engineer at Ford. I instrumented cars and trucks and tested them under extreme cooling conditions. I usually had 15-25 thermocouples in the pan and one in the test port. I also recorded the temperature the TFT sensor saw.

The test port was always closest to the TFT temperature. The pan temperatures were uniformly quite a bit cooler.

I also saw tests run with clear plastic pans to try to get an idea of fluid movement in the pan. I was surprised by what we saw. There were many places in the pan where the fluid was stagnant. It didn't move around, it just sat there. So if you're reading this fluid you are not getting an accurate transmission temperature.

 

ALL aftermarket trans temp gauges are calibrated temp range wise for an in pan or return line install.
B&M's and Automemters gauge are actually installed in the return line from the cooler.

Yes the true internal temp of the trans will be most accurate from a port of the internal workings.

But it is the temp of the trans fluid we are really concerned about much like the coolant in an engine, many internal parts of a motor are far hotter than 205-210°F of the coolant when at temp. And what is in the pan is what feeds the trans.

Basically none of the after market gauges have a sending unit design for an in port install nor are in temp range to read internal trans temps.

Unless you wanna start fabricating your own thermocouples and your own gauges then you are left with what the after market supplies and they supply in pan or return line kits with gauges set to read the temps seen in those locations.

And given the option of a return line install or pan install I'll take the pan install thank you very much.


http://static.summitracing.com/globa.../bmm-80212.pdf

http://www.autometer.com/media/manual/2650-267X.pdf

 

A pan probe would not be a bad idea.
It would kill two birds with one stone as it would also give you a place to partially drain the pan before removal.
Not sure but, don't think my pan has a drain plug. Will have to check, been awhile.
Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I disagree with everything in the post I quoted here.

 

Okay Mark.....
Iffin I was to use a pan probe and you have seen fluid circulation in a clear pan.....
Where would be the optimal place to put the probe?
Just wondering!!!

 

I think the test port on the side of the transmission is the best place to put the probe.

If you want to put the probe in a pan, any spot works about as good as another. There is no optimal spot in the pan. None of them are good.

 

Are you talking about the port where I need to put the pressure gauge?

 

Yes, that's the place.

 

So if I put a tee in to get pressure and temp from that one port, I don't think I will get the flow across the temp probe that I need.
Probably will use pan for temp.

 

So where is the 2015 6.7 temperature probe, what is ideal temperature and max before oil start to brake down. Thanks
Frank.