Lower than normal transmisson temperature?

I'm puzzled why your glowshft gage starts out at 80 in the morning when it's 40F out. I don't know how low they read, but my glowshift started out at 59F this morning, which was the outside temp. Then it went up to about 90 after 5-10 minutes of driving, but I have a B&M cooler.

I can see that if it's 40F out, it may not get above 80F after only a few minutes, so maybe you can take it for a longer or more stressing drive and see if the transmission fluid gets above 80F eventually.
 
I'm puzzled why your glowshft gage starts out at 80 in the morning when it's 40F out. I don't know how low they read, but my glowshift started out at 59F this morning, which was the outside temp. Then it went up to about 90 after 5-10 minutes of driving, but I have a B&M cooler.

I can see that if it's 40F out, it may not get above 80F after only a few minutes, so maybe you can take it for a longer or more stressing drive and see if the transmission fluid gets above 80F eventually.

My Maxtow gauge works the same as [MENTION=138943]thegipper[/MENTION]. The digital gauge sits at 80F until the fluid warms up and gets over 80F. In the mornings, it does take a while for the gauge to start registering anything.
 
My Maxtow gauge works the same as [MENTION=138943]thegipper[/MENTION]. The digital gauge sits at 80F until the fluid warms up and gets over 80F. In the mornings, it does take a while for the gauge to start registering anything.

OK, maybe there are different models of the Glowshift gage.
 
My Maxtow gauge works the same as [MENTION=138943]thegipper[/MENTION]. The digital gauge sits at 80F until the fluid warms up and gets over 80F. In the mornings, it does take a while for the gauge to start registering anything.

What Tim said. My glowshift gauge (analog only) has a lowest reading of 80 degrees so the needle wont move until the fluid temp gets above 80. I did verify the accuracy of the gauge with my IR gun and its pretty damn close.

I really haven't given the tranny a good workout and it has been cold here in WI. In fairness though, I would still see the needle move some with my old engine doing the same drive to work.

It just baffles me that a new/used engine would some how correlate to cooler transmission temperatures. Maybe it runs much better (feels the same though?) and doesn't make the tranny work as hard?

I did a generic google search for "can too cold of transmission fluid temperatures be bad" and from what I found the answer is generally no.

Some vehicles won't allow the torque converter to lock up until the transmission temps get above a certain level. Mine is locking up fine even when the needle is less than 80 degrees. I'm not sure my 97 even has that ability anyway. I cannot use an OBD2 reader for transmission temps like all other 96-98 3rd gens. Supposedly there is only a sensor that tells the ECU if the tranny temp gets to like 300 degrees which trips the ATF light on the dash. I'm assuming that also means the ECU isn't getting any tranny temp signal to do anything to the torque converter but I'm not positive.

Beats me...
 
... you want an external cooler ONLY The internal cooler is a time bomb...

Until you drive in stop/go, climb modest hills, go thru mountain passes then the trans temps on Bypass Only cooling will climb to over 245. Haven't mentioned towing yet....

Ask me how I know. :cowboy:
 
[MENTION=138943]thegipper[/MENTION]. just a thought what if you put it in third gear and drive it. The torque converter won't lock and that should result in atf getting warm faster. Monitor your gauge and the temp should climb faster. Don't push it see what happens. When I am going up mountain passes i turn of OD cause the converter sliding in an out creates more heat.
On a side not i wish I had your problem going up vail pass looking at my phone monitoring the atf temp on the torque app would have made for a more enjoyable experience.
 
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Hey Mike, I had a thought this morning driving home from work. Are you skid plates still off the vehicle after the engine swap? With the temperatures you currently have where you live, I imagine the wind chill could drop the temps to the 20's or teens. I'm thinking before the engine swap, your skids were on and blocking most of the wind that could hit your trans temp sending unit. With the skids off, the sending unit is getting pelted with cold wind and doesn't get past the 80F mark while you're driving.
 
Hey Mike, I had a thought this morning driving home from work. Are you skid plates still off the vehicle after the engine swap? With the temperatures you currently have where you live, I imagine the wind chill could drop the temps to the 20's or teens. I'm thinking before the engine swap, your skids were on and blocking most of the wind that could hit your trans temp sending unit. With the skids off, the sending unit is getting pelted with cold wind and doesn't get past the 80F mark while you're driving.

Good suggestion, I was thinking the same thing (great minds think alike!). I put the skid plates back on last night but again this morning, it never registered above the 80 degree mark.
 
Another crazy thought - did you swap the lines so you are now reading the return line with the gauge?

-Charlie

Another great thought and also one that came to my mind. When I looked at it yesterday, it was hooked up correctly. In fact, I don't think you can hook them up backwards as the send line is not long enough to fit on to the return end of the radiator.

I may be towing my boat home on Friday. If that doesn't raise the temps, something is definitely "wrong".
 
Of course if fluid wasn't flowing, I'd imagine my tranny wouldn't be working as good as it is.

I checked the TV fitting again after work today (IR gun) and it was only 85 degrees.



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 
Of course if fluid wasn't flowing, I'd imagine my tranny wouldn't be working as good as it is.

I checked the TV fitting again after work today (IR gun) and it was only 85 degrees.

Well only a portion of the fluid gets routed to the cooler. So it would work just fine with low or no fluid through the cooler circuit, until it overheats :).

85 sounds a little low without an external cooler, but I'm not used to 40F driving. What was the pan temp according to your IR gun?
 
Until you drive in stop/go, climb modest hills, go thru mountain passes then the trans temps on Bypass Only cooling will climb to over 245. Haven't mentioned towing yet....

Ask me how I know. :cowboy:

So run an electric fan for the trans cooler. Worth it IMO just for the peace of mind. 3rd gen runners are one of my favorite, I plan to buy one sooner than later. This will be one of my first mods.
 

So with the gauge reading 80, the IR of the Tee reading 85, and the pan reading at 130, that suggests that it's not your tranny per se, but either the gauge or more likely the cooling circuit (plugged, reversed, etc).

I'd drop the send line and check for flow volume and direction.
 

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