How necessary is it to have a Tran’s temp gauge? I was looking to get a 3 pillar pod but I was thinking about the fuel pressure instead of the Trans temp.

Thanks

 

I would get a trans gauge if you are towing w/o question.

 

What can you actually monitor with the trans temp? Im getting my trans built really strong with heavy duty torque converters new/ better valve bodies billet shafts, the whole 9 yards. And im even putting in a better trans cooler...so theoretically there should be no problems with the internals of the trans getting so ungodly hot that they would blow into little pieces....

But ill probably go with the trans temp anyway....just looks cooler to have 4 gauges on the pillar haha

 

The other aspect of it is that while my factory temp guage shows the trans is to normal operating tempature fairly quick, my pod guage shows quite the opposite. It takes it about 5 miles or better to get to about 130 and when I tow I see about 190, but the factory guage never moves up or down....

 

HA, so you think. No matter how built an automatic is ANY one of them can overheat. Bottom line you should never have an auto transmission, towing or not, without a trans temp gauge. While having it built is good and will make it last, its no gaurantee that its not going to melt down. What TC are you running, who's billet shafts, and who is doing the build? Just be careful because there are alot of "performance" transmission shops out there that really can't build a trans much stronger than stock. Very few trans shops I've found can build a 4R100 to the level capable of handling a high hp diesel. I'd like to have gone with a BTS, but went with BWD instead as Brian (aside from being a local to me back home) has one of the highest hp PSD trucks in the country right now.


With a PSD I wouldn't worry about monitoring fuel pressure. Get a regulated return fuel kit (a must have for power anyhow) and that will show pressure on the underhood gauge. It usually does fluctuate that much prior to the injectors unless your pump is taking a dump. The thing you want to watch is the high pressure oil pressure as this will tell you if you're asking more of the system than its capable of handling.




Also as stated the trans gauge used on the 02+ trucks is nothing more than an idiot gauge. It shows a "normal" condition as soon as it sees something between a minimum temp and maximum temp. I've seen these read normal when the actual gauge is reading close to 300*. By the time that gauge reads hot the trans has already been cooked.