Transmission Temp Gauge

[JeepJeepster]

I've always wanted a transmission temperature gauge and Ive finally got one. Is an autometer Jeep gauge and it appears to be of nice quality. It has a probe that can be used where ever you feel the need. Ive always been about keeping things as stock as possible, so I didnt want to mount the gauge right out in the open but I wanted it easily seen. It was hard finding a place that would suit both desires, so I ended up mounting it to the left of the steering wheel. Youve got to lean up to see it, and while you dont always need to stare right at it I wish I could.

Ive not got it finished yet. Ive got a dorman pan coming thats for the 06+ KJ's, guess its deeper or something. It has a drain plug in it, so Im hoping one of the adapters the probe came with will fit the drain plug. If it doesnt, I already bought a weld in bung for the probe. Ill have to take it to a shop to get it welded though.

I feel like an idiot. I wired it all up to the wiring behind my stereo. It already has a pioneer stereo, so an ignition, ground, and illumination wire was all easily available. Had it all wired up and done but I was only getting 3 volts on the illumination wire... Tore it all back apart, cut the illumination wire off I had ran, and ran it to a park light wire I had ran inside for my driving lights........ Then I figured out why I only had 3 volts..... Gonna have to take the stereo back out and run the wire back to the stereo.... Cant stand not having it perfect...

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It came with little rubber boots to put over the bulb. The green boot almost matches the dash lights perfect. Hopefully the pan will hurry up and get here! This crap is more work than it sounds like...

While were at it, if anyone wants to start arguments about the best place to put the probe that would be suiting. From what Ive gathered, the pan gives an overall average of the transmission fluid temperature. The temp may not change very much and when it does show the transmission is overheating, its probably too late. It seems the best place to have a temp probe is in the HOT line going to the transmission cooler. This reading will most likely be higher but, it lets you know if the fluid itself is getting too hot. If you burn the fluid going to the cooler you may never know it since the pan temp will be lower. Ive bought two probes and someday MIGHT just have two readings... One from the pan and one from the hot cooler line...

Ive also purchased a mechanical fan. Ive always wanted one, and mine didnt come with one from the factory. My luck the electric fan will soon be going bad and it will do it while Im sitting in traffic in 100F heat. Since the 3.7 self destructs when its overheated, I want the extra insurance. Yes tjkj, I know the mechanical fan cant cool it all by itself, but it will help. I plan on waiting to see what temp the transmission runs in different scenario's, then Im going to install the mech fan and see if there are any changes.

 

[LibertyTC]

Really like the Jeep Gauge! Ya nice to have a temp gauge for sure.
Why a Dorman pan? I've got a 42RLE auto, and installed the PML 1.5 quart over stock.
It has the magnetic drain plug and availability for temp probe.
Link: YourCovers.com 42RLE Transmission Pan

 

[JeepJeepster]

I would GLADLY use the PML pan if ya wanna send me one. :gr_grin:

 

[RenKJ]

I would GLADLY use the PML pan if ya wanna send me one. :gr_grin:

Ditto! PML i hear by give you guys permission to send me a pan, for testing purposes of course

 

[JeepJeepster]

Im probably one of the biggest 'hey its awesome I need it!' type of guy. As of lately Ive tried my dandiest to be more of a realist. Im getting older, money needs to be spent on other things. Do I really need a $225 or $280 transmission pan on a V6 liberty that does minimal offroading and towing. No, but geeze do I want one! I really want one for my 5.9 ZJ, but Ill spend that on Harland Sharp rocker arms instead.

I decided coming to work this morning that the gauge is just too bright. Gonna take the dash back apart and hook it back up to the illumination wire. :thumbsdown:

 

[LibertyTC]

Yes often it is difficult to justify the cost of a PML aluminum transmission pan.
Back in 2011 they were $205, with shipping mine landed at $250.
Looking back, I am so glad I have it! The pan cools off quick and the extra fluid helps.
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The drain plug is a bonus, and the next time mine is off, I may install a temp probe too! :gr_grin:
:sorry: about the nice photo...But...I Know you really want a PML!!

 

[JeepJeepster]

Finally got around to installing the pan. Had a local shop weld the bung in, charged me $25.. Not sure if thats high or not, but it seems high since I had the hole drilled, guess they gotta keep the lights on. Unfortunately the drain didnt work with the adapters that the gauge came with, it was worth a shot. The drain was some short of course thread and the probe was NPT, couldnt find an adapter and didnt feel like wasting time. I had already ordered the bung, so thats that. Not sure if it wouldve worked in the drain anyway, its right up against the valve body. The drain plug is very short.

Its pretty dang close to the cat so I ordered two spark plug boot sleeves to try and keep it cool. Hopefully it'll be ok till they arrive, gonna try not to drive it till they come.

Ive put 3 quarts in it just to see if the bung or sender leaks. Probably wont be driving it, were getting a good amount of snow and Im laying on the couch till thats over.

Supposedly they changed the pan in 2006 and dorman claims this pan is for 2006+ libertys. I had read they hold more fluid but I couldnt tell a difference, I didnt spend alot of time checking though. The dorman pan did take the 2006+ magnet and I had already ordered it. The donut magnet that was in my 2004 pan would not work with the dorman pan. The 2006 magnet is smaller, which I dont like, but mine never has much metal on it anyway. We'll, I guess the donuts magnet would stay in place, but the area is recessed for the 2006 magnet where as my 2004 is raised to fit the center of the donut. Whatever.

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We'll see how she works once the snow is over and the sleeves arrive.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Something I found in the 2004 FSM. It talks about a special bolt that has a 'patch seal' on it. Says to make sure and separate this bolt when removing the ****** pan. Has anyone ever seen that? Says you need to put a new seal on it when you install the pan, but Ive never done so nor seen such. Talks like its important.

 

[Neal]

Seal trans pan bolt w/ RTV

Something I found in the 2004 FSM. It talks about a special bolt that has a 'patch seal' on it. Says to make sure and separate this bolt when removing the ****** pan. Has anyone ever seen that? Says you need to put a new seal on it when you install the pan, but Ive never done so nor seen such. Talks like its important.

Troy has mentioned this-It's either the second from the front or second from the back on the drivers side of trans pan. You can see that the threaded hole goes into the sump reservoir and can leak past the threads. The other bolt holes are blind holes into the case and will not leak past threads. If unsure which one, just do both with rtv to seal bolt threads. Works for me-zero leaks

 

[VAPoorBoy]

I went with the factory looking autometer gauge with the white face to match the dash of my 04 Libby. I have the PML pan and it works and looks great. I mounted my gauge low and too the left of the shifter at an angle so I can see it by just glancing down. Since I have an aftermarket stereo I used the wire on my adapter from the stock radio wiring that was unused to illuminate the gauge. Since it is the "stock" wire the gauge adjusts with the normal dash lights. Here are some pictures of my setup.

 

[JeepJeepster]

I really like it in that location, I just cant bring myself to cut such a big hole in the console. I decided tonight that I hate where mine is mounted. Shouldnt have to lean up to see such an important gauge, but Ive not had one for 10 years so... The only reason i didnt mind to drill into the panel I did is bc its not the factory panel...

I drove it for the first time tonight. It was 20-24F and when driving at 50-60mph the ****** was hardly above 100F. Stayed right around 115F or so.

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Only when I got on a back street and started going up a hill at ~15mph did it go up. I was wondering if it was working at all before this.

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It went up to 160F and stayed there till I was moving again. Kinda amazed me how quickly it went to 160F after it was hardly above 100F when moving. Ive read ~175F is about right for a transmission and anything 200+ is bad long term. Im worried what it will get up to in hot weather at low speeds now. Untelling what Ive been putting my transmission through this whole time, shouldve gotten a mechanical fan years ago. As far as Ive always been able to tell the electric fan never kicks on when Im moving in the summer, and since I rarely use ac its not on then either. Im going to wait till summer to put the mech fan on so I can see what if any improvements it makes in low speed hills when the electric fan isnt on, Im hoping it makes a nice improvement but we'll see.

This also makes me wonder about several other things. One, does an in radiator cooler actually warm the transmission up on cold days. My argument has always been no bc its on the cold side of the radiator and I imagine at hw speeds the radiator has very little heat in it.

Two, if the pan temp went from ~115F to ~160F that quick, how hot is the fluid in the hot line going to the cooler. Even if the tranmission is sucking up cooler fluid in the sump, the fluid may still be getting burnt before it gets to the cooler. So now i want to add a probe to the hot cooler line.... Sigh, so much work.

I also want to add a gauge(probably use this one abd just swap it out) to my 94 zj that has a cooler in the radiator along with the aux cooler to see if the radiator warms the transmission at all.

Edit: something else, the dorman pan held exactly the same fluid as the stock pan(5.5qts on this change). That disappointed me since everything made me think it held more since it was for a 2006+ 42rle. Supposedly they up'd the pan size to help with the shuddering 42rle's have but I dont believe they run out of fluid, so idk how that would help.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

This is anecdotal since I don't have a trans temp gauge, but on cold days the trans feels like it shifts far smoother and quicker on initial startup since I put in the '02 radiator with the in-rad trans cooler. My theory is that even though it is on the cold side of the radiator there is warm engine coolant circulating very quickly and that brings the trans fluid temps up more quickly than they do just running through the cooler in front of the radiator alone.

In the summertime I believe the opposite is true. The trans fluid temps will rise much faster but they won't spike as severely since the radiator temp is more steady due to both the electric and mechanical fans keeping air moving over the radiator. On average I believe the trans fluid stays at a higher temperature but the harmful spikes are eliminated.

My 2 cents...

Bob

 

[JeepJeepster]

Ive always wanted a 2002 radiator but Im not going to swap mine out just for that. If mine ever starts leaking Ill replace it with a 2002 though.

Got the spark plug boots in and slid them over the wire. I drove it for two days with both trips being around 2 hours round trip. I couldn't tell the heat had hurt the sleeving I had on it (not really high heat but good to 300F) so I'm sure it will be fine with the spark plug sleeves.

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[JeepJeepster]

Since I hardly ever drive the Jeep I dont get to see what temperatures the ****** gets up to. Yesterday was the first time in actual stop and go traffic. Sat in traffic I good hour but it was only 73F out. It jumps to 180F pretty quick which isn't bad but after a bit it went up to 210F. Turned the A/C on so the fan would kick on and after 10min I couldnt tell that the temp had moved, so I turned that back off. The fan would cycle on and off as the engine warmed up to 218F. Once moving again the temp went back down to 180F fairly quickly then settled on 150F after being on the interstate for ~25min.

From a cold start jumping right on the interstate it hung around 125F (45min drive) till I got in traffic.

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