Normal 4L80E temp?

[LVJJJ]

You need to replace the stock trans cooler (if it has one) with the biggest one you can find. I tow so I did that and keeps the flat land towing at 150 and pulling mountain passes at 190 to 220 for short distances. 94 k1500 burb has 383, 4L60e and 3.73 gears. We only tow 5000 lbs but the burb weighs 6,000.

 

[EmeraldCityGuy]

Pulling 10K with a truck rated for 8.5K could get you into real trouble with the folks at the weigh station...or troopers with portable scales.

You get into a collision, your insurance company may deny the claim.

You kill or injure someone, you might want to start thinking about what you're gonna tell the judge about your knowingly-overweight rig.

Transmission temperature is the least of your problems.

I don’t know what the loaded trailer will weigh. I am planning for the worst scenario I can think of. I’ve rebuilt the brakes, including upgraded Master Cylinder, shocks, flushed/cleaned radiator, every sensor replaced & complete tuneup, Air-Lift 5 air bags, 4pt weight distribution hitch, new 10-ply tires on truck and trailer, new heater, A/C, LED headlights, towing mirrors, back-up camera on truck and behind trailer, complete front-end inspectio, new trailer brake controller & trailer brakes & battery…..I have not taken this towing trip lightly, but thank you for your words of caution.

 

[Erik the Awful]

upgraded Master Cylinder

What did you do to "upgrade" the master cylinder? What brakes did your truck come with?

 

[someotherguy]

Be very careful depending on infrared temp guns. The guns operate on reflectivity. If a surface is not flat black temps can be way off.

You do raise a good point - while the reflective vs. flat surface thing can be an issue with IR thermometer accuracy, I haven't had any trouble in this particular area with them. In both cases where I installed a temp gauge on a transmission (one 4L80E, one 4L60E), scanning all around the case, pan, torque converter, etc. and watching the max temp reading - I always came in with readings extremely close to the gauge I installed. If there was more than a degree or two discrepancy I would be doubting either my process or one of the measuring tools, but when they both read essentially the same, that's confirmation in my book.

Richard

 

[Supercharged111]

Mine was 180 on the laptop cruising locked in OD on a cool winter day with the camper in the bed. A little warmer than I would have expected, but I do have a larger cooler to install. OP regardless of whether or not the gauge is reading correctly, is your converter staying locked? Factory temp readings come from the pan, is your gauge installed before or after the cooler?

 

[stutaeng]

What is the argument about locating/placing the temperature probe anyways?

I always didn't bother to listen to the cons. of the guys saying "you are wrong if locate the temperature sender at X location." I've seen that being said/implied before on some older threads and I think that's just so dumb.

The way I see it: having a transmission temperature reading is better than none, regardless of where you locate it. These trucks should of come with one from the factory if you ask me!

 

[Supercharged111]

What is the argument about locating/placing the temperature probe anyways?

I always didn't bother to listen to the cons. of the guys saying "you are wrong if locate the temperature sender at X location." I've seen that being said/implied before on some older threads and I think that's just so dumb.

The way I see it: having a transmission temperature reading is better than none, regardless of where you locate it. These trucks should of come with one from the factory if you ask me!

They kinda did. If the factory decided to put it in the pan, and base their fail-safes around that, then that's probably a good place to consider truth. Before the cooler may give an artificially high reading. I can see a 15-20 degree difference in water in my Camaro just reading from the front of one head vs the back of the other. Factory put theirs up front and based fail-safes off of that, so to me when that one reads high is when I should be concerned. I've run it up to 250 countless times reading from the back of the head for 20-30 minutes straight and it didn't care. Because the rest of the engine was around 230. So yes, location does matter if you're trying to decide whether or not you're hurting something. I wonder if those older trucks still had a factory sensor to compare data to?

 

[stutaeng]

They kinda did. If the factory decided to put it in the pan, and base their fail-safes around that, then that's probably a good place to consider truth. Before the cooler may give an artificially high reading. I can see a 15-20 degree difference in water in my Camaro just reading from the front of one head vs the back of the other. Factory put theirs up front and based fail-safes off of that, so to me when that one reads high is when I should be concerned. I've run it up to 250 countless times reading from the back of the head for 20-30 minutes straight and it didn't care. Because the rest of the engine was around 230. So yes, location does matter if you're trying to decide whether or not you're hurting something. I wonder if those older trucks still had a factory sensor to compare data to?

Ok, you are correct. They did have a sensor, but the driver doesn't know what the temperature is because there wasn't a guage on the cluster...

I should have been more clear: they should of had a transmission temperature "guage."

I see your point, and would agree about the location of it...I guess the user just needs to be mindful of where the sensor is located then?

 

[EmeraldCityGuy]

I installed the sending unit in the hard line just before the cooler. I understand and accept that this may give me higher readings than the pan, but I'm okay with that. As Stutaeng said, I'll be mindful that it may be reading higher than if in the pan. The whole point of installing the gauge is too pull over and let things cool if, while towing, the temp starts climbing too high. The problem I've having is the cheap-ass gauge I bought is reading too high and it doesn't have a zero set for the needle (when off it does not return to zero but rests on the 60 degree mark). I ordered a new, better gauge. Supercharged111, are you saying there is a temp sending unit in the transmission pan? I can't find it if there is supposed to be one. Being a 92 and OBDI, I'm doubtful of that.

Eric, the Awful, being a K2500HD, I have the larger front disks and larger rear drums. I just rebuilt the drums and installed new rotors and pads on the front. I deleted the rear ABS sensor and installed a larger model master cylinder (from a 2003). Brakes work so much better than before.

Supercharged111, regarding your question about the torque converter staying locked up, I always have troubled determining that, especially where I live since I'm rarely on a flat road - there's always a grade. However, it seems to be fine. I can see by the tach it holds pretty steady unless I'm accelerating. I think some of your comments are leading me to believe you have an OBDII, especially if you're reading it from a laptop. I can't do that with an OBDI truck.

Appreciate all the comments and help.

Rich
Maple Valley, WA

 

[Schurkey]

Eric, the Awful, being a K2500HD, I have the larger front disks and larger rear drums... ...I deleted the rear ABS sensor and installed a larger model master cylinder (from a 2003).

JB/JD7 brakes?

I don't know what you deleted, but it wasn't the sensor.

More likely, the valving/accumulator unit.