Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 242
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From: Dodgeville WI
Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
Hello all, on my 1978 Ford F150 Explorer I have installed a tranny cooler and would like to monitor the Tempurature of the transmission, for my truck I will be using it to pull a 20 ft car trailer and chevy cavalier Race car to the local dirt track Where due I want to monitor the trans temp the Temp coming out of the transmission or the Temp going into the transmission? I dont' even know if I need to due this but would like to know the tranny temp as I will have a few big hills to go up ane my way to and from the track,
thanks for your time and attention to this matter,
thanks for your time and attention to this matter,
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,157
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From: Central Kali
Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
Hi, It's a good idea. You may have seen the chart that shows how long your fluid is good for at different temps. Get it hot enough and it's only good for 300 miles, etc. If it was me, I would weld a sender fitting to the side of the pan. Since you must be tapping into the lines, I guess I would install it at the input to the cooler. Or better yet, if you are using an electric gauge, put a sender on both sides. You could wire a switch to connect to either one. It would be interesting to know how much the difference is. I've always wanted to wire up a truck to measure everything, differential temp, etc. 
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 242
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From: Dodgeville WI
Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
Thanks for the Help MikeW, I just want to know what temp the Tranny is going to run at and I might get an electric gauge and be able to switch from input to output temp at the Tranny, the old truck only has 52,000 miles on her and is in really great shape for the age, so I want to keep her in one peace and rolling along but I also need to get my Race car to the track
Senior User
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 375
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From: nc
Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
hey guys the trans temp id a great idea. have one my self and ask the same question about location of the sending unit. installed a aod in my 64 falcon street/ strip play toy. i puchased the aod from art carr, and while i was on the phone with their tech dept the location of the temp unit came up. they strongly suggested that the sending unit needs to be located in the pan. well after much idea crunching and prior planning. first i sourced a second trans pan and picked up the correct fitting. i had the brass fitting brazed into the pan. the electric sending unit works well and can be protected and packaged with little fuss. i found going the second pan route better. i could plan and purchase all parts needed prior to breaking the seal on the trans. hope this helps
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 7,157
Likes: 1
From: Central Kali
Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
I once put a mechanicial temp gauge on the oil pan of a 302. Usually it ran a few degrees below the water temp. I took a long trip one time, and after 2 hours at speed, it sometimes got 10 to 20 degrees over the water temp. Just a bit of trivia. Now I'm thinking...one electric gauge and a bunch of senders...you could measure all sorts of stuff. 
Lead Driver
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 6,628
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From: Albuquerque
Trans temp on 78 ford Explorer
What I did.
I installed an aluminum extra capacity pan that came with a drain plug. I replaced the drain plug with an Autometer temperature sensor. I also have one in my oil pan and the engine coolant. The temp. gauge is mounted in a chrome case under the dash. I put a miniature three position swith in the bottom of the gauge case. Now I can select which sensor to look at with the flip of a switch.
Observations. The oil and tranny temps tend to all rise to the same value on a hot day over time. They are all tied together thermally through the radiator. On a hard drive the oil and tranny will go a little higher than the coolant.
If you can keep your tranny below 200 degrees it will last a long time. 230 would make me cringe. Above that and the fluid is toast.
Bear Tracks
I installed an aluminum extra capacity pan that came with a drain plug. I replaced the drain plug with an Autometer temperature sensor. I also have one in my oil pan and the engine coolant. The temp. gauge is mounted in a chrome case under the dash. I put a miniature three position swith in the bottom of the gauge case. Now I can select which sensor to look at with the flip of a switch.
Observations. The oil and tranny temps tend to all rise to the same value on a hot day over time. They are all tied together thermally through the radiator. On a hard drive the oil and tranny will go a little higher than the coolant.
If you can keep your tranny below 200 degrees it will last a long time. 230 would make me cringe. Above that and the fluid is toast.
Bear Tracks
