This is a weird one.. my tranny takes forever to get above 135F. This morning with the outside temp being about 60F, my tranny temp gauge never got above 135F until I was done with my 25 mile drive into work. I cruise at about 70mph on a fairly level highway. My concern is that its not warm enough and that I'm not getting enough lubrication from the fluid being to thick.

Maybe its the Pro-Fluid Dana makes? It looks like 50W engine oil mixed with some tranny fluid.

Today on the drive back home in 90F outside air temp, at about 12 miles in my temp was just getting to 150F. When cruising a mile in traffic my temps were 180F. So I think my temp(brand new Autometer) guage is working fine.

Any help is appreciated, thank you.

 

Maybe I should look into getting a Tru-Cool LPD cooler instead? I found a really nice BTW, its called Tru-Cool Max. They have one model thats rated for 40,000 GVW! I'll probably get the 28,000 one though.

 

Tranny fluid can never be too cool. Sure it may shift a little later and firmer but heat kills them... I wouldn't worry about it, it's a myth that you need "hot" tranny fluid. Motor oil is a different story.

 

Thanks for your reply. It makes me wonder though, as I had the same impression that it could never be too cold. But lately after reading some posts about the Tru-Cool LPD cooler and how it allows fluid to return back to the tranny until its thin enough for lubrication purposes, it started to make me wonder if I was causing more harm then good. I'm trying to figure out why by default most car makers want the tranny fluid warmed up. Any input is always appreciated.. thanks.

 

When we talk about fluid being too cold it is in relation to outside temps below zero. It is possible to have fluid jell to some degree and not flow well outside the Tranny. This can lead to lack of lube as the returning oil is used as lube oil inside the Trans. That is one reason I use full synthetic in HP/HD use and then I don't have to worry about it. 135F? No problem at all.

 

Thanks for the reply Leo, always look forward to your insight and knowledge. About the 135F temp, thats when I reach my first stop after 25 miles. While driving those miles its just barely over 115F. My concern is that its not warm enough and getting proper lubrication. I think I'm going to buy a Tru-cool cooler or flush my stock radiator out and run it in series..

 

115F will be fine too. If you think you are running too cool then adding the TruCool is not what you want to do as it will lower your temps. I normally recommend bypassing the radiator but as long as the radiator is clear you are OK to run in series and it will bring it to temp quicker.

 

Thanks again Leo. Question though, I thought the Trucool was suppose to allow the fluid to heat up, then as if thins out flow more..?

 

Well, yes but that isn't exactly the right way to think of it. It will keep oil flowing via an orificed bypass that keeps the oil flow to a minimum through the cooling portion until it warms enough to flow more and more through it. This is one of the reasons it is more desireable than the conventional types. It is also much more efficient and thus smaller for a given GVW rating. So you see it isn't so much to warm up the Tranny, so to speak as it is to make sure the Tranny stays lubed. Again, these problems are when you get below zero and full synthetic will get you around that too.