After some research, it seems like installing a tranny temp gauge is beyond my expertise For those of you with a tranny temp gauge who didn't do it yourself, how much did that install run?
I'm sure it is not beyond your abilities (if you could type this thread up, you can install the gauge). There are just a few ways it can be done (mainly relating to sensor location). I think it's a real nice idea.
Post up if you wanna try it yourself (worst case you just have someone finish the install, right?).
I don't know, man, just looking at everything it seems like a bitch to do. Drilling holes in my tranny pan, taking the dash apart, running wires (i hate wires), I'm like damn!
To be honest, all the research I did was one link on google and searching the forums here. Is the the information I found the only way to get this job done, with the drilling and everything? I'll gladly take yours and everyone's opinion on this.
Did you see this article? It sounds like you did. It does give a bit of an overview.
You can install the gauge on the line leaving the transmission too - that's how I did mine. I like this idea because I see the temp of the fluid at its hottest. Autometer sells a manifold (glorified Tee-fitting) which allows you to cut your hard trans line and put the sender at that location.
Because I had soft lines going to a stand-alone trans cooler (the cooler is way more important than the gauge IMHO - if you dont have a cooler and have limited funds, get a stacked plate cooler instead!), I have my sending unit Tee'd into the cooler line (this was cheaper and easier than the gauge manifold).
There is reportedly a plugged port in the trans case itself which can be used for a sending unit. I'm not sure if the AODE guys on here have used it - if not, I can give you contact info and pics from a gentleman whom has. I wont recommend this personally because I havent done it. If it works, it would be really slick.
Then of course, there's the drain pan method. I dont like it personally but I'm an oddball.
You would come up with your desired location for the gauge and what kind of pod you want. The most common are pillar pods, cluster bezel pods, column pods, radio plate gauge plates and replacing the dash clock with a dual or triple gauge pod. If you want other gauges, now is the time to get and install them. Once you choose a location, we can explicitly tell you which wires to use for your gauge. It's really quite simple.
Really do consider the trans cooler idea though. You arguably cannot have your trans fluid too cool so if you have a 20K+ GVWR stacked plate cooler, you really should not have trans temp issues. You can always use the TOT (trans temp sensor for the computer) to infer occasional temps if you just want to have an idea.
I dont wanna go on too much because I've already derailed your original thread-intend quite a bit already. There is definitely nothing wrong with having someone install the gauge and/or cooler (don't forget that local mustang club members are actually a neat resource too - in case that's worth considering).
i have a phantom electric and the install was easy. for sensor location, i put it in the tranny test port. its found on the drivers side just above the pan on the case. just remove the bolt and put in the sensor. run the one wire up to the guage. give it a ground, a 12 volt power source and tap into the interior lights to make the gauge illuminate.