High Transmission Temps After Drain & Fill

[m0ist]

I sort of doubt a 1/4 quart of fluid low or high would make any difference whatsoever with your temps. It's confusing why you were overheating, but if everything is working well, I guess just leave it as is.

So I added enough to fill to the correct range. Was only a few ounces, maybe 1/4 quart. While holding the brake and accelerator at 1100ish my trans temp wanted to climb and climb. I stopped at 205 and let it cool back down to 180 before checking. Wonder if I have a clog somewhere?

 

[LittleCaesar]

Doubtful. How are the temps in town and on the highway? Still shifting well?

 

[alumarine]

So I added enough to fill to the correct range. Was only a few ounces, maybe 1/4 quart. While holding the brake and accelerator at 1100ish my trans temp wanted to climb and climb. I stopped at 205 and let it cool back down to 180 before checking. Wonder if I have a clog somewhere?

If you hold the brake and accelerator while in gear the temps have to continue to rise until you stop doing that or something breaks. It's not a valid test for anything.

 

[mtbtim]

If you hold the brake and accelerator while in gear the temps have to continue to rise until you stop doing that or something breaks. It's not a valid test for anything.

I agree. The whole point of using this technique of putting the vehicle in gear with the brake on is to get the trans up to operating temperature without having to drive it so you can check the fluid level and make sure it's in the hot range. I told the OP to use this technique to get the trans to 180 degrees so he can then make sure the trans dipstick level was at the top hot mark.

Of course the temperature is going to keep climbing because you're putting a strain on the transmission. This is not a test that mimics normal driving conditions. It's just a technique to raise the trans temp quickly to operating temperature.

 

[alumarine]

I agree. The whole point of using this technique of putting the vehicle in gear with the brake on is to get the trans up to operating temperature without having to drive it so you can check the fluid level and make sure it's in the hot range. I told the OP to use this technique to get the trans to 180 degrees so he can then make sure the trans dipstick level was at the top hot mark.

Of course the temperature is going to keep climbing because you're putting a strain on the transmission. This is not a test that mimics normal driving conditions. It's just a technique to raise the trans temp quickly to operating temperature.

I agree with what you had said.
Good technique to get the temps up to the hot range.

 

[m0ist]

Driving fine did about 30 miles with temp steady at 170. I stopped watching the temps thinking I'm all good, randomly looked at it and I was at 240....

 

[Bad Luck]

Driving fine did about 30 miles with temp steady at 170. I stopped watching the temps thinking I'm all good, randomly looked at it and I was at 240....

Need more details. Speed? Stop and go? Constant? Hills/flat? Have you considered routing through the stock cooler first then your additional cooler? What aftermarket cooler are you using? Last time transmission filter was changed? Any lurching or weird shifts?

 

[repo]

What kind of temps should I see on reasonably flat highway doing 70-80 mph in summer? At 65 it's about 185* but at 75 it shoots up to 195* sometimes as high as 220*. Or am I simply driving too fast for this thing?

 

[phattyduck]

What kind of temps should I see on reasonably flat highway doing 70-80 mph in summer? At 65 it's about 185* but at 75 it shoots up to 195* sometimes as high as 220*. Or am I simply driving too fast for this thing?

If you are driving in a way that unlocks the torque converter, the trans temps will rise a fair amount. Over 200 is easy to achieve with the stock cooler setup. Normal trans temp, cruising with torque converter locked will be around 100*F above ambient.

The trans temp reported by the ECU via OBDII are from the hottest location in the trans (outlet to the trans cooler). The temp in the pan will be lower.

Keep in mind that there are hundreds of thousands of 4Runners out there with stock trans coolers still driving just fine...

(to the original poster - 240 in 'normal' driving is well above expected - 200-220 in traffic or extended unlocked torque converter operation is normal)

-Charlie