ever since I have installed my trans temp gague I have been thinking to myself -- "what should this thing run at?

so I am asking what is the normal operation temp of the 4t60e

mine runs at 150* driving 30 miles at 50-70 mph. when I am in town it gets up to 180* but never over that

is this good or bad temps to operate at??

I measured mine once while driving with my scan tool. It was (don't remember for sure) either 15x or 17x on the highway. Either way, it was well within the acceptable range.

On a day that'* 80-90, mine runs a MINIMUM of 190. But I don't know how our sending units/gauges compare. And you also know the condition of my tranny.

what kinda coolers you guys using?... I was looking at a dual cooler... 4pass for trans, 2 pass for engine oil... with the thermo bypass'* inline so that below 180 or so it'* only passing 10% through the coolers (stopping air gaps in the lines while bypassing)

the main reason is here... lots of highways, mountain terrain.. and widely varrying temps from season to season (this winter it'll be -5 C coldest here... but where I am visiting for Xmas it'll be anywhere from -25C all the way to -60C on some occasions) ... BUT it'* not uncommon at all for me to see weeks/months of 30+C temps...

for the non metric types highs of mid/high 90'* F and lows of ...welll... REALLY FRIGGEN COLD!

holy ...., do cars un in that temperature? i have never seen a car run that low in temp.. I think the oil, gas, coolant, everything just freezes up, the engine seizes, and your done.. engine no crank, engine no start, engine break...


-justin

Opensourceguy... 0 to -25 or so.. most cars will start without help if it'* only been a max of like 12 hours. But car companies invented this wonderous device called the block heater... and then made it standard pretty much everywhere up here :lol but yeah with help in the way of plug in heating devices for overnight while sitting in your driveway in the -60C temps... however start and go is non existant in the morning.. gotta go out like 15mins early fire it up then run inside and drink your coffee hell during the winter where I used to live cars/trucks stayed running while we refueled

and with the engine oil, I'm doing a filter relocation anyways... but basically all of my first "mods" and under the hood work are the couple lil tune up things... and stuff to keep the engine and trans as close to 180F as possible and as clean as possible

For those that are wondering, the 92-95 SSE and SSEi get a 3 core radiator (coolant, ATF, oil), AND an additional external ATF cooler. Several of us have upgraded the external ATF cooler or added another.

Hey, ProjectHeavyTouring,
We live pretty close together. I'm in Powell River, just across the water from you.

I installed a small plate type heat exchanger. They are more compact than the tube and fin type and more efficient. 7"x10"x3/4"thk. It knocks the temp down about 20* F from 180 to about 160. Been running it a few years now, thru the cooler winter months with no problems......but never been in weather colder than -5*C.
You could simply put a piece of cardboard in front of it for the really cold trips.

is that the same for my SLE??

hey ... yeah I'm prolly going up to Quesnel for Xmas (visit some family and freinds) which is why I am adding the 180F thermo into the cooler lines... so the coolers aren't even used (other then the 10% to keep the air bubbles outta the lines) at really really low temps ...

I've also got an 86 delta88 ... I'm pretty sure the chunk of pipe used as a powersteering cooler works better then the Hot side of the radiator trans cooler I have right now (which is staying because I do understand it'* purpose)

but yeah I'm gonna measure behind the bumper in the next couple months (insurance doesn't go back on till october ) and see what cooler will fit and not block the rad too much... I'm also venting @ the back of the hood for some cooler temps (without messing up the stock steelmetal on the top of the hood )