Reading trans temp on 1st gen

I've actually never heard of someone cooking a transmission simply from bigger tires.

I can't imagine a set of 285s causing more harm than my 3000# trailer I was towing it up the Sierras. I know my trans got fairly warm at one point (I could feel the heat thru the floor), but my trans temp light never came on (this was before I installed a cooler).

Now, when you're wheelin, (or towing) a tranny cooler is definitely a good idea, almost required, really...

 

Well he was going to Utah and he seemed to have quite some gear front and rear bumpers with two racks as well. He was struggling going up hill I guess.

 

Wonder if maybe the guy on IG never took it out of overdrive when going up all those mountain passes and steep grades with all that extra weight and bigger tires.

Granted Ive got a manual trans and don't have to worry about trans temp, but I always keep it out of 5th gear going up grades with how much my truck weighs + 33s. Going up grades in 5th gear I can watch the engine temp climb on my scangauge and makes the supercharger angry (more likely to ping with heavy load and lower RPM)

 

I think having it out of overdrive for so long could be the reason? Ik it doesn’t sound right but possibly

 

Yeah if you're pulling up a steep grade with overdrive on and carrying weight + bigger tires, I can see the trans constantly wanting to shift 3 - 4 - 3 - 4 - 3 - 4 etc, which will make it heat up real quick

Better to keep it out of overdrive so it holds 3rd gear, RPMs will be higher but the engine can handle that better than the transmission can handle constantly shifting under heavy load

 

I’m on 285s rn on a 4 cylinder so with 4:10s

 

Manual trans swap is the only answer

 

If it's anything like my auto, it'll shift out of OD when going 75 over a freeway overpass, I don't see how it's possible to force it to stay in OD for long periods. LIke you say, going in and out of OD is what does the damage.

Nah, riding a gear higher (and keeping it there) is actually better for the transmission. That's why you shift out of OD when towing. You rev higher, but it's easier on the trans.

Being a 4cyl, it's even more important for you to keep it "on the pipe" so to speak. You need to rev higher to stay in the powerband. A v6 like mine can lug it a *little* more than you.

 

Yeah, I test drove a regular cab auto 4cyl prerunner back in the day. There was no way I was buying that thing. Gutless. I did end up with a 4cyl 5 lug, but it was a manual, so that was at least something.

v6 autos aren't too bad though.

 

for me i keep the od button in because if i drive on the highway and take it out its alright but once i put it back in the trans doesnt like it sort of kicks so i avoid trying that i have 330k on original trans

 

Is that stock gearing you have with those 33's?

 

4:10 gears which isnt bad for 33s

 

I see my lowest transmission temps when I’m wheeling.
I also shift into low range before I really need too.
It’s the long highway climbs that get mine hot.

 

Not if that is your stock gearing. It doesn't really matter if some other guy with a different truck, with different transmission and a different engine is runing 33's on 4.10's.

What matters is how much larger than stock tire size you are running.

I have 4.10's in my v6 4x4 on 32's, and I'm very likely to go up a gear when I switch to 33's...

 

well stock is 31's or 265 same thing so.

 

Same here. Even wheeling in 100+ summer heat in 4low I don't see engine temp get over 195. Pulling up a long highway grade at 70mph it'll hit 205

 

You only get 150-175??!?
I just clocked my mileage on a full tank to near empty. 271 miles on a 15 gal tank.
Here are the photos to prove it
364,794 At fill up
365,065 at my next fill up
I only filled up half tank this time because I was in a rush. Next time I’ll fill up full and do it again to confirm. But that’s like 18 miles a gallon

 

As I said, it doesn't matter if other people run 4.10's with 33's. If 4.10 is your stock gearing and you've gone up 2 sizes in tires (33's), you're over geared, *especially* for a 4cyl. That's why you can't drive on the highway with the OD off.

Yeah, good point. I've never actually tracked my trans temps while off-road I just kinda always assumed it wasn't that great because you're still stressing the motor/trans, and aren't getting any airflow.

 

I was having that issue before the new tires... so

 

Driving habits influence mileage a lot too. If you live in a rural area driving on back roads you’re probably optimizing your mpg with speeds not high enough to fight wind load and not sitting at lights or in traffic.