rad1
Lebanon, NJ
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OK, my new coach has a trans. temp. gauge and I never had one in my old coach. My question is, how long does it take for the trans. to come up to a normal temp. range? I drove the coach about 30 miles to get back to our park and the gauge hardly got off cold. I'm not sure if it just takes longer to come up to temp., or the gauge or sender are not working properly.
Bob
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rad1
Lebanon, NJ
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Sorry, it's an Cummins ISL diesel.
Bob
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Thunder Mountain
Buena Vista, Colorado
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My Allison with the ISL barely moves as well. The gauge is pretty much bogus. Check you Aladdin system if you have one. You will probably see that the tranny temp and ISL temp run pretty close together with the tranny a few degrees cooler.
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rgatijnet1
Florida
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As long as it is consistent and above 150 degrees, it is pretty normal. Extremely cold temps can also affect how long it takes for the fluid to reach the maximum temperature.
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bgholson
New Waverly, Tx
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My transmission guage seldom moves. Took it in for service and determined it was working....still barely moved. Later had it replaced since it worried me and still just barley moves if at all. Now I just don't worry about it............much........which is why I read all related topics.......which is why I will probably take it back in to be checked again. thanks for posting
2003 HR Imperial 40 PKDD
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zmotorsports
Utah
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A lot of it depends on how soon you are able to get into fourth gear and get the torque converter to lock up. If I leave my driveway and can get to the interstate with minimal lights and traffic the transmission temperature gauge will sit just under 130 degrees and pretty much stay there. If I get away say at evening rush hour and it takes a little longer to get up to the interstate and I have more stop and go then it will get up to around 150-160 range. It is doubtful a short drive will put much heat into the transmission, especially if the ambient temperature is low and the entire engine/trans is cold soaked from sitting dormant.
When really working it on some of the mountain passes and having to downshift to fourth it may climb as high as around 180-190 but then after topping the mountain pass it drops right back down.
The key is once you get all of that weight moving try to keep it moving. This is also best for economy and engine heat as it requires energy to get moving and energy is converted to heat.
The clutches in the transmission "slip" as they are shifting which create heat and heat is generated in the torque converter as it is slipping or "multiplying torque".
The entire system is designed to handle all of this as they are tested in quite extreme environments but I like to drive accordingly and tailor my driving to keep everything operating as efficiently as possible.
Mike.
2003 Monaco Dynasty/ 26' Haulmark Edge trailer
2011 Jeep Unlimited Rubicon
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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IF the weather is cold and you don't climb any hills it may not move much. Best way to tell is to just watch the gauge and see how long it takes in different weather conditions.
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Mr.Mark
California/Tennessee
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On our Allison/Cummins set-up, our normal temps run about 197-200 for the engine and 203-207 for the trans. This has been typical over the 50,000 miles I have driven it.
I just recently had my 50,000 mile service done (49,300 miles) for the engine and trans. While leaving Quartzsite a week or so ago I was caught in the typical heavy traffic. I was stuck in the worst stop and go traffic for a good 45 minutes over about 3/4 mile. This is the first time I noticed it but my trans temp started going up, it reached 236 degrees at the highest and the engine temp was normal.
Once I got on the I-10 heading back to Palm Springs, everything went back to it's normal 203-207 degrees and acted normal over the 650 miles on my recent trip this past weekend to Morro Bay.
The trans temp gauge will move slow on normal cold days until I hit the freeway.
MM.
Mr.Mark 
2008 Monaco Dynasty, 42.2 ft., 4 slides, 425 hp clean-air Cummins diesel
2007 Honda CR-V EXL, 4WD, w/Nav and the M&G braking system
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rad1
Lebanon, NJ
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Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to hear that mine isn't the only coach whose trans. temp. gauge doesn't seem to work quite right or show much more than cold. The gauge is just a cold/normal/hot gauge and doesn't provide temperatures numbers. I don't have Aladdin to cross check the temp. but I do have the Freightliner Information Center system which may also provide that info. I haven't tried to use that system yet...it's another book to read.
Bob
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zmotorsports
Utah
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rad1 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I'm glad to hear that mine isn't the only coach whose trans. temp. gauge doesn't seem to work quite right or show much more than cold. The gauge is just a cold/normal/hot gauge and doesn't provide temperatures numbers. I don't have Aladdin to cross check the temp. but I do have the Freightliner Information Center system which may also provide that info. I haven't tried to use that system yet...it's another book to read.
Bob
I wouldn't say that it doesn't work right. I would just say it depends on how long it takes to get the fluid warm/hot. Getting up to speed with less slippage and getting the torque converter locked up sooner rather than later will yield lower transmission temperatures than of stop and go traffic and high ambient temperatures.
Best thing is to find out what is 'normal' for your coach and then you know what to look for or can expect certain temperatures based on driving conditions. If anything is all of a sudden out of the norm then it should draw some attention.
Mike.
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