Temperature ATF - measuring with IR thermometer

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Ndx

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Hi Guys,

Topping up ATF and car calls for sump temperature of 35C
I don't have software that can read it ...

Using cheap IR thermometer pointed at pan - is that an option ?\\

Opinions please.
( car has no dipstick )

Thx
 
Correct, but it should be done when transmission is 35C.
I guess that fluid expands ?
 
I guess the IR thermometer is better than nothing, but what is the vehicle in question exactly, maybe someone already has some tips for it? I know on some of these fills people fill them full and let it run til it stops then plug it.
 
Very platform specific. Most auto trans are very picky about fluid level.

Note that my car ships with no dipstick yet requires a calibrated one for fluid level checking as well as the fluid temp spec.
 
I was able to get the instructions for jumpering the 4 and 12 pin on the OBD for my wife's Lexus. You jumper the pins then go through a series of shifts like D to N 6 times to put it in operating mode. Once the light quits blinking you can top off until runs out the internal dipstick hole. If the light blinks again, it is above the fill temperature. If it is a Lexus you have, I can give you the exact instructions.
 
The car is Porsche Cayenne, only method that I know to read real temperature is Piwis2

Thx guys

I will use IR thermometer plus whatever will drip out will be measured as well

Does ATF circulate from pan when car is running but in parking ?
 
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If it's like the AISIN in my MINI, they give a range of temps. I figure if you're in the ballpark with an infrared thermometer, you're probably fine.

35c is 95F, right below bath water...stick your finger in the running stream and if it feels warm, you're good.

ATF is always circulating when the engine is running.
 
Its 8 speed Aisin.

I ordered dual thermocouple from Amazon.

One will be taped to the pan and one will be in catch container.

I guess I can overfill and then get it at right temperature and drain until it drips.

?

Thx
 
The Audi has the same fill procedure and temp, and I have the thingy to read the temp. When at 35°C, the pan is warm/hot to the touch but not hot enough to burn. Poor man's way of telling the fluid temp.

Yes, the fluid will be pulled from the pan when the engine is running and in park. It will flow throught the converter and be sent out of the unit to the cooler and back to the trans.
 
Originally Posted By: Ndx
Its 8 speed Aisin.


I guess I can overfill and then get it at right temperature and drain until it drips.

?

Thx



Mines a 6-speed AISIN and that's what I do.
 
I believe the oil needs to be pre-heated to a given temp for the correct oil volume and level to be achieved due to expansion, since there is no dipstick to measure. Just like the trans fluid level is checked when hot in a vehicle with a dipstick.

But, just like the FJ Cruiser, it may very well have trans fluid in it that is for the life of the vehicle. If the fluid genuinely needs changing, then something mechanical has failed in the gearbox and you have bigger issues. It sounds so wrong on many levels but is becomming a common practice in new cars.

It's a very expensive gearbox to get wrong.
 
Originally Posted By: HueJarse
it may very well have trans fluid in it that is for the life of the vehicle

IMHO There is no such animal in the real world.
 
Originally Posted By: HueJarse

But, just like the FJ Cruiser, it may very well have trans fluid in it that is for the life of the vehicle. If the fluid genuinely needs changing, then something mechanical has failed in the gearbox and you have bigger issues. It sounds so wrong on many levels but is becomming a common practice in new cars.


Self-fulfilling prophecy. If you wait until something is failing, then of course the fluid needs to be changed. But was it failing because the oil failed long before, thus killing whatever died?

I'm not sure what annual milage nor vehicle lifespan is down under, but I do know it's a bit warmer--then again most AT's seem to have coolers so perhaps that is mitigated. All I know is I would be peeved if I had to replace/rebuild a transmission inside of 200-300kmiles. A 150kmile lifespan is short; I'm not sure I'd accept using a clutch up (in a manual transmission) inside of 150k either, so I would not expect an A/T to die in that time frame either.

Vehicles are trouping past 200kmiles regularly these days. A couple of decades ago a fluid that managed to go 150kmiles may very well be considered "lifetime" but times have changed.
 
Supton, I totally agree with you. But I'm just telling it like the Toyota service guys say it is here. Then again, all they care about it getting the vehicle to 100,000km / 3yrs and whatever fails after that is out of warranty and isn't their problem.

Personally, I run a full synthetic trans oil in my A442F and fully flush it every 15-20,000km/1yr. I subscribe to the theory that oil is cheap and rebuilding gearboxes is not
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