[fcatwo]

Bill

Ray has posted quite a bit of trans temp info in the past and I'm sure he will again. He has an incredible capacity for answering the same questions over and over without apparent frustration. In the meantime I can share my experience. I DIY'd a gauge in our previous TV, a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan, and found it quite valuable. I haven't installed one in our Tundra however because Ray's readings from his Tundra are well below the danger point most of the time and our Tundra's torque converter stays locked up most of the time - even while towing. For instance, we towed the TM with the Tundra from San Diego to Seattle a couple of months ago with OD locked out and I don't think the Tundra downshifted or unlocked it's torque converter a single time during the trip. Although the mountains along that route are nothing like the Rockies there are several passes in the 2-4K range. The Odyssey which could not be locked out of 5th without also locking it out of 4th would have shifted or dropped out of lock up 500 times (my estimate) on the same trip.

I did see high temps in the odyssey on occasion but my gauge was reading the oil temp as it came out of the torque converter rather than after the coolers. Although professional opinions seem to vary, many feel the few seconds the oil spends at those higher temps is not a serious problem so long as they are cooled before returning to the trans pan. My experience was that if you could keep the trans locked up it wouldn't get too hot except in extreme situations like slow climbing in hot weather. One thing that surprised me was how quickly the temp rose while sitting in gear and idling at traffic lights in hot weather. Some Odyssey owners who drove regularly in those conditions reported brown trans fluid at the 15K fluid change point while mine with 14K of towing behind it was still pink at the 30K mark.

I might mention that I ordered a temp-sender "T" from a supplier and cut the trans fluid hose between the torque conver and the coolers and plugged it in. If I do it again I will put it in the hose between the coolers and the pan. All of the "not above X" trans temp charts I've seen are apparently referring to pan temps since that is where most senders are mounted.

IMO only those people who's TV torque converters are unlocked much of the time need a gauge. They are not a big deal to install however. I removed mine before trading and it's sitting on a shelf in my garage if I ever feel a need for it.

Frank