Big Climb - Worry about Trans Temp?

[JakeV]

I've been keeping an eye on my trans temps with Torque Pro. I have a new radiator, but no external trans cooler. Driving around town temps are fine, but I live in Denver and occasionally drive up over Loveland Pass, which means a climb from 5200 feet to 10,000 feet at freeway speeds (60+), and then a climb from 10,000 to 12,000 feet at 40 mph or so. I saw a high temp of 240 F at the top of the pass, but by the time I descended it was back down to 180 or so. Something to worry about, or is a short (15 minute) temp spike nothing to get worked up about?

 

[Atomic6]

I'm interested in what others think about this as well. I've done the I-70 drive from Denver to Vail/Breck/ect a few times and my trans temps are about the same. On hard climbs it'll peak at about ~235, but on the descents it'll back down to ~190. I have an external trans cooler too.

 

[jgue467]

Did you guys turn the OD off?

I've done the same drive several times during July and never see temps above 190 for both engine and trans.

I wouldn't like to see those temps (240) for even 1 minute but that's me. :cowboy:

 

[JayRolla]

Like stated turn OD off when climbing.

I have a 96 and I have taken so many climbs and have never turned off overdrive till lately. Im not able to see my temps and not worried. I think the data logger can make you worry to much sometimes.

 

[alumarine]

Spikes in temperature are just fine.

 

[mtbtim]

Turning overdrive off has its limitations though. If you're traveling up a steep mountain road and are in the lower gears, turning overdrive off does nothing for you. Even with an external trans cooler and having overdrive off, I saw 240 going up a ridiculously long steep mountain road to attend a wedding. The road must have been a 15% grade for at least 2 miles.

 

[JayRolla]

Turning overdrive off has its limitations though. If you're traveling up a steep mountain road and are in the lower gears, turning overdrive off does nothing for you. Even with an external trans cooler and having overdrive off, I saw 240 going up a ridiculously long steep mountain road to attend a wedding. The road must have been a 15% grade for at least 2 miles.

Yeah and it seems those spikes are normal on heavy climbs. You still have trans cooled through radiator?

 

[mtbtim]

Yeah and it seems those spikes are normal on heavy climbs. You still have trans cooled through radiator?

Yeah, I'm still running my cooler in-series with the radiator cooler. After extensive research, bypassing is not the best choice for me based on how I use my rig.

 

[reelamin]

I've been keeping an eye on my trans temps with Torque Pro. I have a new radiator, but no external trans cooler. Driving around town temps are fine, but I live in Denver and occasionally drive up over Loveland Pass, which means a climb from 5200 feet to 10,000 feet at freeway speeds (60+), and then a climb from 10,000 to 12,000 feet at 40 mph or so. I saw a high temp of 240 F at the top of the pass, but by the time I descended it was back down to 180 or so. Something to worry about, or is a short (15 minute) temp spike nothing to get worked up about?

240....is really not too high especially for a short time. Our PU's pulling lots of weight are continually well above 200...no issue. Don't lug it...you will be fine.

 

[Brveagle]

As i am sure you have researched, your torque converter is unlocking allowing the fluid to really heat up. If it were me, i'd turn OD off and not sweat the dip in the gas mileage.

Also, how old is your fluid? Consider changing it so that you can get some fresh stuff in there.