We just took our first trip in the MH. We left yesterday and the temperature was about 85 degrees. As soon as we got on the freeway we sat in traffic. It took over 3 hours to go 65 miles. This included some long hills etc. Anyways, I had just installed a new tranny temp gauge and watched the temp slowly climb from about 180 when we were initially moving to 195 then 210 and finally 225 when we finally started moving and were climbing some long grades. As we were finally moving and after the hills the tranny temp finally dropped to about 210 right before we got to our destination. The fluid is new and the MH has an external cooler. It is a 1997 460 with an E4OD tranny. Is this tranny temp ok or do I need to do something? The engine temperature was in the middle of the gauge.I will be installing the Banks Transcommand later this month.Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

Your tranny temp is on the warm side, but not anything I would worry about. I would start to worry in the 260 degree and above range sustained. If it spiks to 260 on a hill and then drops, I would not worry.Your stop an go traffic will spik your tems, as you are moving slow and not getting any cooling effect over the tranny/cooler. I would also swap out teh flid to FULL Synthetic like Amsoil Brand.

Ill also add that I like to idle my rig at the stop location and let my tranny temp drop to 180 or lower...

That sounds a lot like mine. Mine will stabilize at about 220 towing the toad and fully loaded, sometimes it will drop down to 180 but runs about 220 most of the time. I am going to install a larger cooler when I change out my radiator this fall because I believe it should run about 180 to 200.

Our normal driving temps are 197 for the engine and around 200 for the trans. Climbing the mountains on the I-15 to Las Vegas four days ago the engine went to 222 and the trans to 225 then leveled back down once we made it over. Once I let the engine idle when we arrive at a park, the engine will go to 183 and the trans to about 195.Your temps seem normal to me (as a non-mechanic). MM.

I'd recommend adding an additional transmission cooler to the system, preferably one with a cooling fan you can activate when you feel the need.

Tranny Temperature - First trip and ???s | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

ThorResidencyNe
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
Not sure. There is about 4" between the back of the tranny cooler and the front of the A/C unit. I've always seen that electric fans work best as pullers than pushers, so figured that would be the best location. Any thoughts?

Thanks.
edm3rd
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
Would there be any concern with the heat the fan is exposed to when mounted behing the cooler rather than in front ?
ThorResidencyNe
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
chazh2616 wrote:
Thor, still interested in where your purchased your Banks system

I bought the kit from Camping World. They had a big sale a couple of weeks ago and it was for in stock Banks kits. They have raised the price back to around $1,980 now.

Today I measured the space and I have room to mount an electric fan to the tranny cooler. There is actually room to mount it behind the cooler which I think will help more than in front. We will see.
2Bargos
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
I dont see where you have any problems with those temps.I owned a 99 superduty My temp gauge was also installed in the test port on the trans.while towing my f'ver I experienced nearly the same readings you are getting.I ran the truck over 200,000 miles and never had any transmission problems.Followed the good advice given about yearly service on the trans and you should be good to go
chazh2616
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013
Thor, still interested in where your purchased your Banks system
ThorResidencyNe
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
Will do. I hoping for great things between that and the Banks kit. I'll keep everyone posted with a before and after report.

Thanks.
Timster
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
let me know how the Transcommand works for you as i have the same set-up as you do and am intrested on putting one in my rig
ThorResidencyNe
Explorer
Jun 17, 2013
Well, we made the return trip yesterday and even though we initially hit traffic for about the first hour and the tranny temp only got up to about 210. However, once we started moving and over the next hour of the trip the tranny temp stayed between 195 and 200 the whole way even on hills. I'm guessing the tranny didn't have enough time to get back to normal on the prior trip.

Anyways, I will be checking the space on the tranny cooler and probably install an electric fan. I will also be having the Banks kit and Transcommand installed next week, so that should help with the heat.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.
John_Wayne
Explorer II
Jun 17, 2013
If you have the room put a fan on the external cooler with a switch you can turn it on when stuck in traffic like you were.
427435
Explorer
Jun 16, 2013
Auto tranny's in MH's are a good place to be using a good synthetic transmission oil. They will handle higher temps better.