New Mishimoto extra capacity transmission pan - but higher fluid temps?

[Danzona]

Hey guys, looking for a quick sanity check.

I got a new Mishimoto extra capacity transmission pan installed this past Thursday - the mechanic is well known to me and has worked on all my vehicles for over 20 years. I have no concerns about the job he did - no leaks, he also installed my Fitzstick last year. He indicated that he'd added 7 quarts of Mercon ULV when he refilled it.

However - in the 2 days since I got it back, I've been keeping an eye on the transmission fluid temps using the OBDLink app on my Android phone - and under normal driving conditions (around town, out doing errands, short freeway runs of ~8-10 miles and back, etc.), it's consistently going all the way up over 200 degrees pretty quickly. Yesterday after I ran out for some dinner and came back home again, the log shows it went all the way up to 211 degrees; today after my errands it hit 205.

I'm not towing, there's nothing in the bed, it's only me in the truck, I'm not going crazy off-roading or driving super fast, etc. I do live in Arizona and the daily temps are up around 105 right now, but the engine isn't even breaking 200 - it's staying right around 190-195. Transmission feels as thought it is behaving exactly as it was before the pan change - shifts are fairly smooth and I'm on the stock tune (no tune upgrades have been installed yet).

Today I checked the fluid level after running a few errands (probably heated things up for around a full hour or so; stop-and-go traffic, then parked for a few min while going into a store 3 or 4 times, then driving home again) - sat it on level ground in the garage, put it in Park, pulled the Fitzstick while it was running, wiped, re-inserted, then checked, and it appeared to be sitting right up around the 5 mark. I actually checked it twice and got the same result both times.

Should I be concerned? I feel like this is a bit odd, as I had expected a reduction in temps to show up pretty quickly, but instead I'm seeing the opposite.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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[Joeiconic]

What were your baseline temps with the OEM pan?

 

[Frenchy]

Just because you have the extra capacity and some extra fins on the pan does not mean that you're not going to get up to operating temperature. If anything it will help to an extent on keeping things cooler when under heavy load. Also keep in mind that normal temperature for the 10R80 in the Ranger is around 200° F

 

[ctechbob]

Do a sustained 20 mile or so run on the interstate at high speed (65-70mph) and see if it starts shooting up over 210-220 (or more). If it does, it is overfilled.

Monitor the temp closely in case it starts to spike. It doesn't take much to overfill these and if you do you can end up with a temp spike and vented fluid.

 

[awd.nv]

What were your temps before? That seems normal to me. I'm in Vegas so similar weather here.

Extra capacity would only delay the time it takes to reach normal temps, whatever they may be for your trans.

So, say it takes 10min for the trans to hit normal temp with stock capacity, with the extra capacity maybe it takes 15-20min.

So where this can help you, maybe towing up hill. Say you are towing at 220F, a one mile climb makes your trans hit 235F. The extra capacity in the same scenario might keep peak temp at 230F.

 

[Danzona]

What were your baseline temps with the OEM pan?

Hey Joe - generally speaking, I recall that it rarely got much past the engine temp (usually around 190-195 tops when I paid attention and wasn't towing), but in truth I did not do a very specific test of baseline temps.

 

[Danzona]

What were your temps before? That seems normal to me. I'm in Vegas so similar weather here.

Extra capacity would only delay the time it takes to reach normal temps, whatever they may be for your trans.

So, say it takes 10min for the trans to hit normal temp with stock capacity, with the extra capacity maybe it takes 15-20min.

So where this can help you, maybe towing up hill. Say you are towing at 220F, a one mile climb makes your trans hit 235F. The extra capacity in the same scenario might keep peak temp at 230F.

Hey Anthony - before, when I paid attention, it was usually below 200 (but admittedly that was prior to the summer heat kicking in, and I didn't always run my OBDLink for everyday driving).

Your comments make me feel better, though - if these temps seem normal to you in Vegas, maybe that's more the issue than I thought it was. And I was definitely ignorant of what you had said about the extra capacity being more of a help with towing and keeping max temp down, plus making it take longer to reach higher temps due to the extra fluid.

A big part of why I'm leery is because the last time I towed a travel trailer, I had an issue where my transmission seemed to slip - didn't want to downshift, then it revved really high before catching gear, and sent my temp up to 245 degrees for a couple minutes - and I was NOT climbing any hills. That's part of why I chose to get the new pan, hoping that I'd be extending the life of the transmission since I do plan to tow again in the future.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Danzona]

Do a sustained 20 mile or so run on the interstate at high speed (65-70mph) and see if it starts shooting up over 210-220 (or more). If it does, it is overfilled.

Monitor the temp closely in case it starts to spike. It doesn't take much to overfill these and if you do you can end up with a temp spike and vented fluid.

I'll definitely try this, thanks! If it ends up that I'm a bit too full, I should be able to swing by my mechanic's shop and have him pull a bit out if necessary.

 

[Danzona]

Just because you have the extra capacity and some extra fins on the pan does not mean that you're not going to get up to operating temperature. If anything it will help to an extent on keeping things cooler when under heavy load. Also keep in mind that normal temperature for the 10R80 in the Ranger is around 200° F

Hey Frenchy - thanks for the tips, I definitely appreciate it - and had it in my head that 200 seemed to be higher than it should be. I do ultimately want to get a stronger transmission cooler and also a bigger radiator at some point, but mostly just trying to get as much life out of this transmission as I can - I'm at nearly 88,000 miles and I intend to keep this truck for the foreseeable future. I'm just barely starting to learn what it's capable of.

 

[Frenchy]

Hey Frenchy - thanks for the tips, I definitely appreciate it - and had it in my head that 200 seemed to be higher than it should be. I do ultimately want to get a stronger transmission cooler and also a bigger radiator at some point, but mostly just trying to get as much life out of this transmission as I can - I'm at nearly 88,000 miles and I intend to keep this truck for the foreseeable future. I'm just barely starting to learn what it's capable of.

Maintenance is going to be the best thing you can do for that. Now that you have that transmission pan, a drain and fill will be out friend. Simply do it every 30,000 miles and it will be happy.

 

[Cmar]

As others have said having more oil doesn't mean that it will automatically run cooler, because the thermostat in the trans controls the temp, not the volume of oil. However it will probably take a bit longer to warm up, and this is where the bonus is, it will take longer to heat up when say towing a big load up a hill, and the alloy pan will help cooling, particularly if it is finned and hangs down a little in the air stream. Also more oil means more additives to deplete, and so it will probably stay in better condition for longer, (this is why diesels generally size for size have bigger sumps than petrol engines) and last but not least a proper drain plug to actually facilitate oil changes, instead of hindering them.

 

[Danzona]

I'll definitely try this, thanks! If it ends up that I'm a bit too full, I should be able to swing by my mechanic's shop and have him pull a bit out if necessary.

Do a sustained 20 mile or so run on the interstate at high speed (65-70mph) and see if it starts shooting up over 210-220 (or more). If it does, it is overfilled.

Monitor the temp closely in case it starts to spike. It doesn't take much to overfill these and if you do you can end up with a temp spike and vented fluid.

@ctechbob I did the test this morning - was about 99-100 degrees ambient temp outside throughout the drive. Total time on the road was actually around 38 minutes, and ~40 miles or so.

I attached the log - transmission temp never even reached 190. Pulled the Fitzstick when I got back home after moving through P R N D S for 5 sec. each and it's still sitting right where it was yesterday, (it looks like it's just at the "4" line, so possibly a little on the high side), but there's no evidence of bubbling or venting.

Really appreciated your tip, and from what I can tell, I'm currently in good shape.

 

[ctechbob]

@ctechbob I did the test this morning - was about 99-100 degrees ambient temp outside throughout the drive. Total time on the road was actually around 38 minutes, and ~40 miles or so.

I attached the log - transmission temp never even reached 190. Pulled the Fitzstick when I got back home after moving through P R N D S for 5 sec. each and it's still sitting right where it was yesterday, (it looks like it's just at the "4" line, so possibly a little on the high side), but there's no evidence of bubbling or venting.

Really appreciated your tip, and from what I can tell, I'm currently in good shape.

Good deal, drive on.

 

[Grandaccess]

200F is not high for oil, its not going to boil at 212F either like water would, its designed to work in a range, so margin of err of 20% +/- I would think something is wrong....
just changing a Pan is not going to change specs far enough to make any difference
If you are towing and notice it getting hot add a real transmission cooler?

 

[Danzona]

200F is not high for oil, its not going to boil at 212F either like water would, its designed to work in a range, so margin of err of 20% +/- I would think something is wrong....
just changing a Pan is not going to change specs far enough to make any difference
If you are towing and notice it getting hot add a real transmission cooler?

@Grandaccess all good points....I'm not regularly towing, usually I plan a couple of camping trips every year and rent a travel trailer usually around 5000-6000 lbs but no heavier.

There is a pretty good transmission cooler already set up on the vehicle, but I do intend to upgrade it at some point in the future, most likely.

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