installing a transmission oil temperature gauge (manual trans)

[northguest47]

i was thinking this would be a good project for me to take on as its not that complicated. so the thinking behind this is that since i might be test-towing loads soon this year, and there is a mountain pass called the Coquihalla that has a long coolant boiling 4000ft uphill run with no flat spots to give the motor a break. the pass is similar to what one would find in Pennsylvania, Washington, Montana, Oregon, California, etc.. so i have had the pleasure of towing too much weight with a 4cylinder car and blowing the transmission, and typically there are warning signs before this happens, namely the transmission fluid overheating and breaking down. a buddy of mine said that his company actually installs an extra tiny radiator on the transmission oil, neat idea but i don't want to go that far. but after seeing those pics of sflindalls car with those three gauges right on that windshield panel where there is room and nothing is there.. so i was thinking if i wanted three additional guages what would i want - well manifold ambient pressure, transmission oil temperature and oil temperature probably - the scan guage has 4 spots on it so i use that for mpg, coolant temperature, voltage, and engine load

[camopaint0707]

pennsylvania has nothing like that, our highest elevation is 3200 feet. I've had an oil psi and temp gauge on my car for awhile now.

[northguest47]

this is true, ^ camopaint, but these hilly places are similar enough is all i meant. can you elaborate on your install? seriously, with transmission oil temperature, oil temperature, and oil pressure that's a great set of gauges to monitor the car with.

[camopaint0707]

is your car auto or manual

[xintersecty]

I am going to assume it's an automatic. Typically there is additional ports on an auto transmission for cooling. I would take the output port and put a sender on it. You just need to identify the port. My manual covers manual and I could not find a good diagram online for the chevy aveo automatic.

[northguest47]

its a manual.. you didnt check my garage entry?? no way i would tow with an auto. so what are my options with the manual?

[avguy]

.. you didnt check my garage entry?? ...

Frankly, with your questioning about transmission oil temp, I would have assumed it wouldn't have been anything other than an automatic. With a manual the only thing you can do is install heavy duty transmission components. But then you'll be facing the issue of the 1.6L engine. The Aveo was not designed to do anything like this, and IMO it will not be capable of accomplishing what you're trying to do. I'd be expecting an unhappy outcome.

[northguest47]

fair enough, Avguy.. i have towed 1300-1400lbs thousands of miles with a similar motor, and i'm targetting around 700lbs (thats towed weight and the car would be empty, i just realized its important to state that). so im confident it will work out especially with the smaller tires..the point is id like to install a thermocouple in the transmission oil pan or similar area.. looks like im on my own with that. but what about oil pressure gauge.. any thoughts on that?

[xintersecty]

My two cents, I am going with northguest47 and say towing up 700 pounds would just be fine. I have towed a bunch of stuff in my life mostly cars, airplanes, and boats.

There are several forces that trailer exhibits on a car
1) towing force
2) tongue force
3) yaw force
4) harmonic forces (all forces combined into a pattern)

If you keep tongue weight between 50 to 100 pounds and towing forces under 700 I think it will be fine.

I have a jetskit that weighs about 550 pounds including trailer. That should be no problem however to tow my big ski I would not. My only concern would be harmonic forces from bad roads and truck back wash. That crap can beat you around.

[avguy]

... i have had the pleasure of towing too much weight with a 4cylinder car and blowing the transmission ...

My comments were based on ^^, because the Aveo isn't going to be any better than the one you blew up.

But now that you've added the constraint of a 700 lb max tow, that would be approximately the same thing as 4 large people and luggage, with nothing in tow. And that's something every vehicle should be able to do with no problem. So if you're willing to drive up those big hills in whatever gear necessary (and corresponding lower speeds) to maintain reasonable revs, then what are you concerned about? Maybe I'm missing something here?