• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Transmission Temp

ghettocherokee

NAXJA Forum User
I replaced my transmission about a year ago and have been thinking about putting a transmission temp gauge in. Would this be something that is worth doing? Also my stock transmission cooler is dinged from the abuse the previous owner put on it. No leaking or anything like that, would it be a good idea to replace with another stock one?
 
I have both and I would have to say it has been one of the better upgrades I have done to my Jeep. Peace of mind knowing what is going on inside the transmission and definitely helped with cooling it. In the middle of the summer on the highway pushing 33s up a hill at 75 mph for an extended amount of time, it would downshift and overheat to the point that the fluid would expand and come out the dipstick tube. With all the turbulence under the Jeep it would blow back on the exhaust and leave a trail of white smoke behind the Jeep. This has also been cured! And my Jeep is now at 230,000 miles! So this is again peace of mind that it won't overheat and die.

Here is where I put my gauge if you need a little inspiration!

IMG_1067.jpg
 
Last edited:
? Also my stock transmission cooler is dinged from the abuse the previous owner put on it. No leaking or anything like that, would it be a good idea to replace with another stock one?
The stock cooler is fairly small, consider getting a larger one is you plan on off-roading or towing. The stock cooler makes a decent power steering cooler.
 
How would I go about installing a temp gauge? What is the best, yet cheap option for a cooler?
Install a tee in the transmission cooler line, for the temp sensor.
Check the JYs for used coolers. Many vehicles come with them.
 
Install a tee in the transmission cooler line, for the temp sensor.
Check the JYs for used coolers. Many vehicles come with them.

Yup... I pulled the transmission and PS coolers from a F350 out of our local pull & pay for next to nothing. Easy to install, just make sure the PS cooler is installed on the return line, not the feed line.
 
The best bang for your buck in getting a temp gauge is the one I used from B&M http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-80212/

This kit gives you everything you need to install the gauge and get it working. There are other gauges but most of them are just that, the gauge, then you have to get everything else to make it work.

As others have said a decent oil cooler of any kind, engine oil, power steering fluid, or transmission fluid, from a junk yard car will work and there are alot of nice ones out there.

If you want a new one then B&M has an answer there as well. I used this one http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70268/

Comes with mounting brackets and hose to hook it up and get it working.

Now the B&M gauge I listed above has a mounting fixture that comes with it but I didn't like it and I wasn't a fan of the places other people had found to mount the gauge in a 97+ XJ so I bought this AutoMeter gauge pod http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ATM-15211/

I posted a picture above of what it looks like mounted up and I really like it! its right where I need it to be to easily keep and eye on it, I didn't have to hack up my dash to mount it, and its different! By the time I was done I had close to $150 invested in this setup. Like others have said though, you can save some money getting a junk yard cooler and you don't have to buy the gauge pod so I think you could get this done for $70-$80 depending on what you pay for the junkyard cooler.
 
Heat breaks down the ability of the ATF to do its job. Depending on how hot your fluid runs would determine when and how often it needs to be replaced:

Transoilheatchart.jpg


Thanks,
Fred
Explorer 1
 
You don't have to use the stock connectors. You can just use rubber hose and clamps. Mine has been this way for several years...without a single leak.

Front.jpg


...and then...the sender is a one wire set-up, it's grounded to the mounting point so the sender has to be on metal, somewhere. I just cut and flared the steel trans lines and got some fittings from the hardware store.

trans001-1.jpg


I spent $60 on a new cooler, $40 for the gauge, hoses and etc.
AS far as the A pillar gauge mount goes...you can put a gauge on any flat surface in the cab. I used the useless space under the stock clock, my stereo has a clock so I could eliminate the stock one.

trans003.jpg
 
You guys finding room between the AC and grill for mounting the cooler? Mine has cooler intergral to radiator but I like running auxiliary cooler as well.

New to me 99 XJ

Gary
 
You guys finding room between the AC and grill for mounting the cooler? Mine has cooler intergral to radiator but I like running auxiliary cooler as well.

New to me 99 XJ

Gary

Plenty of room to run an oil cooler between the grill and the A/C condenser. Just don't plan to run it with its own fan.
 
Back
Top