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Best Tranny Temp Gauge Sensor Location

  • Return line

    Votes: 4 8.3%
  • Feed line

    Votes: 10 20.8%
  • Pressure test port

    Votes: 21 43.8%
  • Pan (drill and tap a hole)

    Votes: 13 27.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

best tranny temp sensor location

19K views 40 replies 17 participants last post by  Shadofax 
#1 ·
i want to hear where you think is the best place for an aftermarket tranny temp sensor to be installed. this has been debated many times i think its time for a poll
 
#3 ·
really any auto tranny. C6 AOD E4OD. anything really that you would think helps to know the temp. i dont think you would need to know in say Unforgivens KIA but in say anythnig that offroads or tows or even races

i see really good reasons for any of the spots but not so much for the pressure test port. the return line lets you know how cool the fluid is coming into the tranny and lets you know your coolers are working properly. the feed line tells you how hot the fluid is comnig out which says how hard your tranny is working. the test port doesnt really say much because the fluid doesnt really flow so its really jsut the tranny case temp. the pan tells you more of an average of how hot the tranny fluid is.

i myself might even put in 3 sensors and use a 3 way switch to change the guage back and forth between them
 
#4 ·
I use the pressure test port and think it's fine. the hole is already there and it's a convenient location.

but hey if you want to use 3 sensors, go for it and post up the results..would be interesting to the how much of a variation in temp there is between the different locations.
 
#8 ·
PTP....it's there and easy to plumb. I don't want to go cutting into lines all over and risk leaks later on. I can compare with others that have installed there as well. The tranny guys that rebuild on this site also recommend this location. Once I had the gauge, I would never want to confuse myself with multiple gauges for a tranny. I moved on to a manually activated puller fan for the tranny external cooler for summer high temp traffic or slow going on trails at altitude.
 
#9 ·
Test port. I just added mine last night.

That being said, I think other locations would give more accurate results. The readings at the test port will give a relative temperature of the trans and fluid, so I am aware of any issues. Any overheat at one portion of the trans will likely be an overheat of the whole trans.

BTW- Don't be fooled by easy, convenient holes.
 
#11 ·
Test port. I just added mine last night.

That being said, I think other locations would give more accurate results. The readings at the test port will give a relative temperature of the trans and fluid, so I am aware of any issues. Any overheat at one portion of the trans will likely be an overheat of the whole trans.

BTW- Don't be fooled by easy, convenient holes.

Hmmmm, good advice, I'll try not to get fooled into anything I'll regret, but the temptation.........:toothless:hump
 
#10 ·
yo,
as the Kingfish, JER, da Shado, SACK, mnl advised & Paul (thePUNISHER) wrote elsewhere in FSB, the best place to get the trans temp is the line pressure port (shown as "TAP" in diagram) (1/8" NPT ID according to SEATTLEBRONCO) in the driver side of the trans. the auto meter sender threads right in here. nice clean install..."
Jasonhughes wrote that it is a 12mm pipe plug.

Also, I was thinking of using the E4OD's internal Transmission Oil Temperature Sensor (also ref to as Transmission Fluid Temperature (TFT)) Sensor for readings;
Location in Valve Body Diagram

Source: by SeattleFSB (Seattle FSB)

. It is a temperature-sensitive device called a thermistor. The resistance value of the transmission fluid temperature sensor will vary with temperature change. The powertrain control module monitors voltage across the transmission fluid temperature sensor to determine the temperature of the transmission fluid. The powertrain control module uses this signal to determine whether a cold start shift schedule is necessary. The cold start shift schedule lowers shift speeds to allow for the reduced performance of cold engine operation. The powertrain control module also uses the transmission fluid temperature sensor input to adjust electronic pressure control pressure for temperature effects and inhibit torque converter clutch operation during the warm-up period


This is for the 94 (see below)
 

Attachments

#12 ·
My pressure test port is in use on my AOD so what would be a good fall back? the feed line going to the cooler?
 
#13 · (Edited)
I did a lot of research into this before I put my sensor in, and I will tell you that every location has positives and negatives, and you will find people who adamantly support each location.

In my opinion, after all the research I did, is that it doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that you look at the guage often and get to know your truck. If your guage usually reads 160* and you're wheeling hard and it says 260* - then you're in trouble.

So where ever you put it, learn where normal is for your truck. And when you're wheeling, pay attention to the guage so you don't cook your trans.
 
#17 ·
#19 ·
Those are nice too just a little plain like the old SW gauges! http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sww-82322/media/images
I just like the double outline and the White face with the half Red pointer, just caught my eye.
I picked them up off Craigslist, new in box, for half price but he didn't have the trans.....:thumbup -Kevin-
 
#21 ·
i installed my guage today to the test port. very unimpressed. the guage was very slow to repond to anything. if i was udner extreme load, the guase would raise up 1 degree ever 10 seconds or so. i htink feed line would be alot better
 
#22 ·
There is no doubt the tranny takes time to warm. It's winter, not a biggy. It's a good thing you are seeing slow changes. You just installed it today. I remember being worried when I first installed that it took so long for some temps. But in the end, with summer and wheeling you will see it is accurate. You might consider a puller fan for your tranny cooler. Bottom line, you don't want to see big changes in tranny temp or you have something wrong.
 
#23 ·
it may be winter where you are but its still almost summer here. 70 degrees outside is not winder....and dam do i love it

it to me jsut seems that it isnt really worth having a guage unless you were towing long distance with heavy loads. even from some hard wheeling it hardly would chnage
 
#24 ·
The reason I put a puller fan on my stock tranny cooler was after I put the temp gauge on (E4OD test port). Winter shows it hardly gets to an effiicient working temp (so I've covered the cooler at times). Summer here in the mountains, the tranny would definitely go over 215* or more, no longer. I wouldn't know about towing, would not think my tranny would have an issue with that unless it's a heavy load for a long distance. But in any case, the tranny does not really show any true heat until at aleast like 30-40 mins. running. But I guarantee you when wheeling for a few hours it's accurate and very helpful to keep an eye on.
 
#30 ·
its not as hard as you think. any towing or moderate offroading can easily overheat them pretty bad. driving with larger tires and stock gearingdoesnt help at all. OD can heat it up too. also if somebody used the really cheap really thin replacement radiator, its almost bare minimal for daily drivnig, yet alone anything i mentioned. never changing ATF or filter can really be bad also. best thing to do for a tranny is add an external cooler as a regualr radiator doesnt really cool it very effectivly
 
#31 ·
Exactly adding a cooler and an aux filter will about double your tranny's life if you reduce the temp by 20 degs. The lines that run into the radiator from the trans circulate the fluid in there to actually bring the trans fluid up to operating temperature quicker to reduce internal damage and build the pressure by thickening the fluid. That is why there is even a remote external thermal bypass available for cold climates that lets the fluid circulate through the radiator first to get it to an ideal temp which is about 165 degs, then it bypasses into the aux cooler fully opening about 180 degs, and doesn't need to use the radiator anymore to warm it. At least that's how it was explained to me a long time ago, IIRC :thumbup -Kevin-
 
#32 ·
It's been pretty cold here the whole week, and this reminds me I probably should put on the plastic cover I have for the aux. cooler. While this is not ideal I have found that it helps get the temps up more quickly, and the tranny runs closer to the optimal range.

Until you get that gauge on I think most people wouldn't understand how SLOW a tranny takes to get fully warmed up, it's nothing like a motor. I take a route once a week that in summer time I am pretty much up to operating temp by the time I get home (it's about 8 miles each way, 1 desitnation where the truck sits 5 mins). The other day I happened to notice that my tranny temp gauge was just moving off the 120* or whatever the lowest reading is and I was nearly back home. Course the high that day was like 15*
 
#33 ·
just out of curiosity, how long (time or miles) do you have to drive until the tranny will shift in 4th (*OD) above 40ish MPH up there? Here is TX, in the summer it is instant, in the winter now, it takes like say 3-5 mins when its cold (cold to me = 30-45 degrees F).
 
#36 ·
Admittedly it may not be the "best" place

but it was by far the easiest, if you're half as lazy as me.



Gives me an idea what my ATF is up to on a hundred degree day in a city traffic jam;



and on the hwy (smiling) later that same day (still 100 degrees)



Oh, and BTW, it's plumbed in on the return line from the rad (after the larger than stock stacked plate cooler).

Sixlitre
 
#37 ·
did that remote adapter have that port for a sensor or did you drill and tap it somehow?

i mgiht have to get one of those now. where do you get filters for it or are they jsut motor oil filters? i have a magnetic filter but i htink its been long full
 
#38 ·
Nope you don't have to do it

for $19.99 they come pre-drilled and tapped;



They take the same threads as our engine oil filters (which I use). Or you can get a proper "for transmission" filters at medium to large truck suppliers (or on the net).

Being a cheap b@$turd, I even use the dreaded "Fram" filter in the belief that cheap filters changed more often are more effective than $20.00 filters changed once a year or.......two.

I've got two write ups if you wish to peruse em'. One for the Bronco;

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/4970/17326

and a better one for my Lincoln;

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/9371/27528

Sixlitre

p.s./
BTW in no way is an electric sensor as accurate as a mechanical, but it's damned close and a heck of a lot easier to find, install and pay for. A "gauge" is just that, something to gauge what your ATF is up to.

My buddy warped his Edlebrock heads on his newly (almost) finished 68' AMX last Spring because his stock gauges were not hooked up. The beautiful, uber-expensive aftermarket gauges were on the bench, so he didn't have anything to "gauge" what his coolant was up to. Even the stock 42 year old electric gauges would have indicated there was a dead mouse (and his nest) in the header tank blocking his rad hose.

p.p.s.//
In many cases rebuilding your AOD or Ford OD transmission can run over the cost of rebuilding your engine, so............. cool and filter that ATF the best you can.
 
#41 ·
You want it to be around 160-180, that's fully warmed up. You just don't want to see that 220+, that's why I decided to install a puller fan behind the tranny cooler. Turn it on when in 4low going up long steep inclines and what not. That helped keep it maxing around 200 or so.
 
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