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Transmission temperature gauge install on outlet line

2K views 2 replies 1 participant last post by  thekid0311 
#1 ·
No pictures on this yet but most of them will be final product pictures. Keep in mind the way I did it put my truck out of use for almost 24 hours due to cure times of jb weld

Things you will need

Transmission temp gauge( I went with GlowShift Blue Digital LED gauge 50.00 on amazon)

40Ft of 18 gauge automotive grade wire - 8.99 at advance auto with military discount( I had about 8ft left over)

3/8ths inch brass T from lowes home improvement - 5.49 before tax

(2) 38ths inch compression fittings for each end of the T - 4.85 each

3/8ths to 1/8th inch reducer(or whatever your sender requires) - 3.15

JB weld - 6.95

Quick splicers for 16-18 gauge wire - 20 pack was 3.00 I think

Its your choice if you want to spend the money on the SRT10 gauge pod pillar or get the Glowshift universal single gauge pod and paint it like I am going to on amazon it was 16.00 with shipping and the pillar was 65.00 I think

Mini pipe cutter up to 7/8ths - 8.99 I think at lowes

Gauge pod install
If you buy the SRT10 gauge pillar this doesn't apply except for step one

1. take a small screw driver or pick to pop the nut covers on you pillar and remove the two 10mm bolts holding it on and remove the pillar.
2. Take the universal gauge pod and position it on the pillar and screw it on with the supplied 4 screws with a drill. I used a few extra screws on it that I had laying around to make have cleaner lines on it.
3. take a drill and a bit of you choosing and drill a whole in the pillar to run the gauge wires thru. A piece advice I have is drill the whole big enough where you can fit the plug thru that way if you take the pillar off you can take the plug all the way out that way you can completely remove the pillar and not worry about pulling wires out of the plug or breaking them.


T fixture install

1. Take the Reducer and put in the part of the T that sticks up that way you still have a straight line for you tranny outlet line and JB weld it on or if you prefer use Red lock tight which is the heavy duty one and tighten it down as much as you can.

2. take the ends off the compression ends and take out the little metal bevel tube thingy that comes with them and throw them away if you choose because they restrict the flow by about have and they are not needed to complete this and then put JB weld on the threads that way they wont leak and tighten them onto the T as tight as you can get them. The caps that actually compress the pipe stay off for now.

3. For the send I used Red lock tight that way I could still remove it if it failed and tightened it as much as I could into the reducer.

4. Measure out the over all length of the fixture from were the trans line will make contact with the fixture. Mine was 2 and 3/8th inches.

5. Here comes the scary parts. Select where you want to put the fixture. I selected the area right after the bend in the outlet line when it comes out the trans because it gave me the most room to work with and plenty of space from the cat. Take a fine point sharpy and mark the distance that needs to be cut out and take the pipe cutter and cut the pipe on the marks.

6. Take the caps from the compression fittings and put them on the pipe in the direction required to screw them on to the T. I put Jb weld on the those threads to make sure they weren't gonna leak. Again you can use Lock tight and tighten them down as much as you can.

7. Once they are on there I put JB weld on each end of the compression fitting that way I had the warm and fuzzy that they wouldn't leak. Let that set up while you do the wiring.

Wiring

1. Select which 12v power source you gonna use for the gauge. I used my cigarette lighter plug since I never use it and it only gets power when the truck is on. Get enough 18 gauge wire to route it thru the dash to the gauge wiring harness and hook the positive to the red wire and do the same with the ground but splice it in to black wire. Use the quick splicers for this. You will have to remove the kick panel under the steering wheel which has two screws under it and remove the panel around the radio and there is only one screw that was holding mine on and it was in the trash bag holder thingy on the passenger side and it will sound like you breaking the thing but you not. Once you have done that you can out that panel around the radio back on and put the screw back in it.

2. Decide how your gonna route the wire from the gauge to sender. I ran mine thru the dash and under my carpet to the passenger side door and out the rubber fitting that you antenna cable goes out and back thru my fender and to the sender. I zip tied the wire to the antenna cable and to my frame. I grounded the sender to my one of my running board bolts by loosening the nut and stripping enough of the wire to wrap around the bolt a few times and then tightening the nut down on it.

3. If your gauge has a auto dimmer on it when the headlights come on you and you choose to use it you route that wire down to the headlight switch and remove the switch by taking off the rounded panel that is between the dash and the door and there will be a few screws holding it in. Once those are out the switch will pop out fairly easily. Your looking for a orange an white wire if I remember correctly. There will be two, I don't think it matters but it might. I went with one that was closest to the top of the harness and used a quick splicer to tape into it and it works as it is suppose to.

Final thoughts

I did a test for power by turning the ignition to ON but not turning it over. My truck had been sitting all day so I couldn't get a temp reading or check for leaks until the next day. I let my truck set a full 24 hours before I started it to check for leaks because I wanted the jb weld to fully cured. I had no leaks but I also ended up using about a half a tube of the hardener and steel of the jb weld.


The first place I tried to ground my send on was the O2 sensor ground with a quick splice and it didn't work. When I did a road test my temp didn't change and I took a tester to make sure I was getting power to the sender and I was and that's when I moved my ground to the running board bolt. It was the only unpainted surface that I could find at the time and it works fine and I don't have any excess wire hanging down to get snagged on anything.

There are different ways to do this. The most common is using test port 3 and it is a lot easier and safer but I wanted the outlet line because if something serious is happening you will be able to tell quicker with the fluid temp sky rocketing then with the temp inside the case IMO. You can also spend the 60 bucks to get the summit racing transmission temp manifold that comes with everything to mount it and install it on the rubber tubing close to the cooler.

I will post pictures here soon of my final product and of where Im talking about routing the wires.

If you all have any questions let me know and Ill answer to the best I can.
 
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#3 ·
Had to change it up. My idea with JB weld failed. I did this last sunday and Ive towed my travel trailer and just did daily driving and well the JB weld just didn't hold up to the task and cracked so my line started leaking. I was able to still use the T I had originally used and I just went back to Advance and got a foot of 3/8th tranny cooling line(got for free because they had a scrap piece laying around) and went to lowes and got some hose clamps that fit up to 7/16ths and also 3/8ths barbed fittings. I fought with JB weld that wasn't cracked and got the compression fittings to bust loose and I put red lock tight on the threads of the barded fittings and tightened them into the T as much as I could and then took about 3inches of cooling line and but it on the barded fitting and then put a hose clamp on it and tightened it down on each end. When I get the remaining 3 inches of hose on my metal tranny line it was a tight fit and I used two hose clamps on it. I put one at the very end and the other where the metal tranny line stopped that way I had two means of preventing a leak again. Other than that it has worked great. Hind sight being 20/20 now I should have taken pictures while I was doing it but I was just a little irritated while I was doing it so that was the last thing on my mind.

Leasons Learned
Don't use JB weld like I did the first time and just go with rubber tranny cooling line and it will work out great. I love JB weld but I just wish it was meant for high continuous heat.

I tried to find a guide for this prior but couldn't so Im hoping that this helps someone else out who is considering the same thing and will save them some time and money. It really is easily done but it can be a pain if you just kinda hope for the best like I did.

Pics will be up in the next day or so of what it looks like when its finished.
 
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