you guys think i'd be crazy to put a temp gauge on a six-speed trans?
i know people usually don't, but what would it hurt?? may be a good idea for
when i tow.... just looking for opinions!!!

 

There's nothing wrong with that. Information is a powerful thing, and watching temps could save you a scrambled tranny. Knew a guy that ran temps on his manual trans, transfer case, and both differentials. I thought it was a little overboard, but he knew when he starte having front differential problems before it let loose. Got to change bearings instead of possibly rebuilding or replacing the thing when it failed... Never can know too much about what's going on in your truck. Just my 2 cents.

Max

 

Gauges are like lights, you can never have to many, until they start to burn out,

I plan an having close to 7 aftermarket gauges in my truck, so I say do it. go where no one else has gone before.


Diesel Rod

 

Question? Is there a port to insert a guage below the fill plug on the tranny case?? If not and you put it in the fill plug hole, wouldn't you only be measuring the air temp in the case, not the fluid? Does the difference matter? I don't know, just got me thinking.

 

There should be a drain plug somewhere lower, but I have never looked that hard at a 6 speed, but I would guess thats where you could put it.


Diesel Rod

 

here's my .02.... if you had all those gauges... and got a good idea where they ran under normal or towing conditions... you would know real quick if something was running hot... and most of the time... hotter temps mean something is working too hard or is about to fail... in my book there is no such thing as too much info... the only problem is finding space on the dash for all the gauges so you can see them easilly and they look good...

 

I would recommend against using the drain plug. It's on the bottom of the tranny and your sending unit would be pointing straight down without the protection of a skid plate. I think the best options for the six speed would either be welding a bung into the PTO cover plate on the left side, or teeing in to the oil cooler out line on the right side. I don't think measuring the air temp from the fill hole would be accurate enough, but I don't really know.

I can't tell you where I saw it, but somebody is sellng a replacement PTO cover that has a bung already in it. That will likely be the route I take when (if) I install my tranny temp gauge.

 

There's a cooler on the 6 speeds??? I never knew that so.... thats the logical place to put I think.


Diesel Rod

 

Yep, there's a little gear pump in the belly of the beast just for moving the oil through the cooler.

 

Cookie:
any idea of what sort of temps i should be looking for with a stick??
or should i just note normal driving temps and go from there.
tony

 

Talked to one guy that said his never moved off the peg on a gauge that started at 140. Talked to two other guys that report 160-170 as bing normal, and neither have hit 200 towing. That's why put that little project on the back burner, doesn't seem to be a must have mod.

I would speculate that your temps would run slightly higher in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Ever been to Banner Elk NC, on Grandfather mountain? That's where my dad lives. About an hour east of Bristol TN.

 

yep, been there a few times.... better in the summer. MAN is it WINDY(can be)
up there!!! Beautiful place though....Does he have a hard time leaving the mtns for extended amts of time?? I do.

 

It is a pretty amazing place. He does have a hard time not being home. Especially when it's 100+ here and the all time high on the mountain top is like 78. Conversely, I freeze my butt off up there.

 

Does anyone know what kind of pressure we might see? The cooling lines are plastic, isn't that right?

 

I just found this thread and would like to inject a thought. When I first bought my truck I changed all the fluids and when I drained the transmission and transfer case the ATF that came out of my six speed looked like new and the ATF that came out of my transfer case was nearly black. I theorized that since the transmission has a cooler it was fine, but the transfer case was getting real hot. The previous owner pulled a 42' King of the Road 5th wheel with the truck. If I was to put a guage in my truck I would be putting it in the transfer case.