Transmission Getting HOT!

[Vanganator]

Hello,

 

Haven't posted here for a while. Now with the warmer months here in the Mid west. I've been noticing my tranny gets HOT! I can feel heat radiating up through the shifter, and feel heat radiating from around the pan. I don't think that is normal. I'm afraid to drive it far as I'm afraid I might blow the tranny. My pathy is a 1990 SE V6 Auto.

 

Any thoughts? Or anyone experience this before? 10 years ago, I also had a 1990 Pathy, but don't remember it getting hot like this.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

btw, here is the pic of my Pathy:

 

Before:

 

After a Make-Over:

 

[silverton]

Add an external transmission cooler NOW. The auto trannies are prone to failure because the stock cooler clogs and creates excess heat. Heat is the worst thing for automatic transmission.

 

So yes, add an external cooler immediately, or you'll be looking at a rebuild, or swapping in a known good one.

[OldSlowReliable]

I have a cooler and gauge, Mine will read anywhere from 110 to 170 depending on what I'm doing. Highway after dark going 65-70 it will steadily sit around 110-120F, but when it gets up to say 170 I can definately feel the heat combined with the 90 degree weather outside.

 

Before I had a cooler, on a 4 day dune trip the heat was so intense it made my right leg unbearably "burnt" as in just dried out a ton...that is not something I wish to experience again, for the truck's sake.

 

 

 

A brand new as-big-as-you-need-it cooler plus a cheapo (but perfectly functioning) HF water temp gauge, and $12 in brass fittings from lowes will only set you back 70-90 bucks, and its money well spend imho

[Tungsten]

You can also tap into the transmission computer to get the temperature. See the Factory Service Manual on how to do that.

[RJSquirrel]

Get an external cooler ASAP. If your cooler is clogged, odds are good your trans filter isn't far behind. Seriously consider an external filter as well. Nothing less than 18000 GVWR, and bigger still(2x) if you do any long climbs, especially at altitude(Colorado). Get a temp gauge. Your tranny temp should really not exceed 180F for longest life for the transmission. If you're planning on using this rig in the winter, seriously consider a fluid thermostat also. All this gets into maybe $200 once your all done, but its way cheaper, and way less hassle than dealing with a transmission swap. There are tons of threads dealing with this, so there's quite a bit of guidance out there.

[Vanganator]

Wow! Will add one on ASAP then. Maybe it is clogging. Sometimes it gets hot, and then one time it'll be cool as a whistle. I stop at a store for 30 minutes and drive it again, and bam! it's getting hot again.

 

Thanks for all the help guys/gals. Much appreciated.

[tmoore4512]

I just put one on mine, it was getting warmer than I liked...and it took care of the problem. You would be surprised at how much a $30 or $40 cooler from your local parts house will help. Hope it works out for you bro!