trans temp guage...where to buy, hard to install?

[Need For Steve]

thinking seriously about a trans temp guage for the lesabre, just to keep an eye on things with this kinda mileage (110K+).
What do you guys recommend guage-wise, and about how hard are these guages to install on a 4T60e?

i'm not looking to spend a whole lot. i don't need a fancy glowing or digital guage or something, just a simple analog unit.

[bonnevillain]

I don't know about a '94, but obd-II vehicles already have a tranny temp sensor, you just need the right software or scanner to monitor it through the obd2-port

[Need For Steve]

wow...that's actually super-convenient. anyone know if '94 was similar?

i have a feeling it doesn't, however, since now that you say that, i think i may know where a stock one would be installed. there's an empty threaded hole about 5/8 in. in diameter on the top of the transaxle directly under the TB. could that be where a temp probe could be installed?

[myfirstbonnie]

No, because that is where the torque converter is. It would be internal and wired trough the connector on the side of it.

[Need For Steve]

hmm, ok i gotcha. welp, assuming i'm gonna go ahead and install an external guage, anyone have any tips on install, or know of a good tutorial? search has failed me yet again :(

[JMH1950]

Not sure about the Buick but on my '94 Bonnie, I can get temps from the OBD 1.5 port with my scanner.
As for the place to put a sensor for an external gauge, well, I've had a few different suggestions. The trans shop suggested installing a "T" fitting on the pressure side of the cooler and putting it there. Others have suggested using the pressure test port on top of the transmission below the TB. However the trans shop says that the test port may not be as accurate because of "stale" fluid. ie, the fluid is not circulating at that point, just sitting there.

[Need For Steve]

ah, so i could indeed get temps from a scanner...i hadn't really thought at all about getting a scanner since i figured OBD 1.5 wouldn't provide enough detailed info to justify the price...

i also have no tranny cooler...what about some sort of fitting welded into the transmission pan for the sensor to go into?

[Jrs3800]

Not a lot of room there and the pan is very shallow..

The 1994 3800/4T60-E did have a temp sensor in the trans at the lowest point of the valve body to measure the fluid temps... The PCM monitors this and will display the trans temp on a scan tool..

[Need For Steve]

sweet...any advice on an inexpensive scan tool/diagnostic unit i could look into? maybe something small that i could keep in a specific spot in the car to monitor different things?

[Boss455]

Actron CP9145. Scans for KR, tranny temps, etc. Not a great 96+ scanner but does the job. Has a ton of scanning parameters for the OBD 1.5 but I couldn't hook up to my 92 OBD1 Grand Prix. I got it for 99 with free shipping from Amazon.com.

[JMH1950]

A lot of us here use the Actron CP9111. This is actually an OBD 1 reader and needs a custom made cable to use it on the OBD 1.5 cars.
There used to be a member here who would make up the cable for a reasonable price his user name was "slug" I believe. I haven't seen him on for a long time, problably someone else can make up a cable if you enquire about it.

[bonnevillain]

the CP9145 works great too, I had one which i sold to Paul for use on the grizz.

[Ol' Timer]

thinking seriously about a trans temp guage for the lesabre, just to keep an eye on things with this kinda mileage (110K+).

Wouldn't it make more sense to just change the xmission oil and filter and not worry about the xmission at all? Or if you live in the hot spot of the nation, install an external xmission oil cooler.

I don't know about a '94, but obd-II vehicles already have a tranny temp sensor,

If it is not the coolant tmperature, then my '91 (Oh-bla-dee I)has a some sort of trans sensor that prevents it from going into "Hyper-drive" when it is cold.

[slug]

There used to be a member here who would make up the cable for a reasonable price his user name was "slug" I believe.

I'm still alive and well and have parts to make more cables. At cost for club members for the Actron 9110 scanner. It's a "Buttermore/slug" work-around for the extinct Actron 9115 cable that fits into the Actron GM 9111 cartridge.

Around 14 bucks I think. A club project.

Slug