At what temp does the A.T oil temp light come on (88 FJ62)?

[jrcfj]

At what temp does the A.T oil temp light come on (88 FJ62)?

I had mine come on uphill in a headwind during a long climb at highways speeds. I was loaded with gear. I’m going to install an auxiliary cooler. I’m just curious how dire the circumstances are when the light pops on.

Feel free to point me to another thread. I could t find the answer after some searching.

Thanks!

 

[FJ Silver]

Pretty dire.. Its 275 degrees I believe.
I overheated as well last July crossing a macker of a mountain pass in 2nd gear.

Here's what you do to keep the trans on the 62 alive for as long as possible:

- Drain your current fluid, its burned....
- Remove the pan, so you can clean the filter and the inside. I added 2 more magnets on the inside of my pan.
- Add a trans cooler, find the biggest one you can fit. I bought this one for many reasons and after much research. Its Stacked plate, holds a lot of fluid, keeps pressure drop low and cools really well. I had to add like 3 more quarts, which is a great thing.
- Do not use AN6 couplings... they will restrict the flow by a lot.. factory inside diameter is more like 8 AN.
- I installed a temp gauge in the idiot light sensor position on the transmission. Can give you Amazon URL's to what you need if helpful. Its really nice to know what temps you're running at....
- Do a passive flush ( Rodney Flush - search the forum)
- Use an Allison trans. proof synthetic fluid. Transynd or Mobile Delvac 1. I use Delvac, such good stuff. I've tried many brands... Even Amsoil Synthetic ATF didn't work that great for me.
Rodney, a440f trans guru, said to use an Allison synthetic... I went with Delvac and it actually cured some of the issues I had with my AT, like not shifting to 2nd gear when cold.

These days I struggle to get my transmission hotter than 180 degrees when offroading in 4 low...
Peace of mind and the transmission feels and shifts solid. Hope that helps. I might go the manual route at some point, but I kinda like the AT.

Comparison with old Hayden 10x11inch cooler pre final installation:

Transmission Temperature :

 

[jrcfj]

@FJ Silver thank you kindly for this response; very informative. I’ll be changing my fluid and adding an auxiliary cooler!!! I’m in Utah County and glad I’m not alone trying to drive the Utah grades with a 3fe!

 

[Michael Hanson]

Do you find the fluid better than The Toyota fluid?

 

[FJ Silver]

Do you find the fluid better than The Toyota fluid?

I have not tried any Dexron number from Toyota to be fair.
I've had my 62 for about 10 years and did a passive flush to synthetic straight away after reading Rodney his comments here on Mud.
Heat being the main challenge.

The issue I kept finding was how thin some of these synthetics are. And I've tried a bunch of brands over the years.
I pulled a hose off my cooler when the idiot ATF light came on once and the flow was like a trickle. And this was while running Amsoil ATF being way too thin at high heat.

Putting Amsoil and Delvac next to each other you can also tell the difference in weight.
But this is all more empirically my observations v.s. data driven. I also notice a difference in shifting being smoother and it solved some "old age" issues I had like not shifting when cold.
I would say its still more important to have a big cooler and to keep an eye on your temps v.s. fluid type for longevity.

Curious about your experience @Michael Hanson ! I know you've got more experience with this trans than I have.

 

[FJ Silver]

@FJ Silver thank you kindly for this response; very informative. I’ll be changing my fluid and adding an auxiliary cooler!!! I’m in Utah County and glad I’m not alone trying to drive the Utah grades with a 3fe!

Welcome! yeah good luck.
If you take care of these AT's, they'll last even doing 3rd gear on highway 15 here most of the time

 

[Michael Hanson]

I run 6 of these as daily drivers and we tow a lot . Great transmissions lasted longer than our Fords , chevies.Volvos Audis and Chryslers. They all should have come with extra coolers from Toyota.We do not race our Land Cruisers or abuse them they are used as intended. A lot of people want them to perform like a sports car for which they were not intended. We take trail rides in ours once in awhile, in Costa Rica the whole country is a trail ride these perform beautifully everyday in some of the worst conditions you can imagine , my wife and have seen it time and time again down there.First time we were in Costa Rica I asked my friend Oscar, we are going up or down there? The cruisers never failed.

 

[FJ Silver]

I run 6 of these as daily drivers and we tow a lot . Great transmissions lasted longer than our Fords , chevies.Volvos Audis and Chryslers. They all should have come with extra coolers from Toyota.We do not race our Land Cruisers or abuse them they are used as intended. A lot of people want them to perform like a sports car for which they were not intended. We take trail rides in ours once in awhile, in Costa Rica the whole country is a trail ride these perform beautifully everyday in some of the worst conditions you can imagine , my wife and have seen it time and time again down there.First time we were in Costa Rica I asked my friend Oscar, we are going up or down there? The cruisers never failed.

Interesting, yeah. And you install a cooler on all of these?
This weekend I drove about 200 miles offroad in 90 degrees or so, and a long uphill highway trip from St.George to Cedar City, Utah. Managed to get the trans temp up 210 degrees or so pushing 3rd gear for a long time.
I've got this heavy duty fan clutch that is nice and aggressive that helps a lot as well. I'm the minority that kinda likes the trans on these... I know they suck power, but they make the cruiser such a joy to drive.

 

[miker]

- I installed a temp gauge in the idiot light sensor position on the transmission. Can give you Amazon URL's to what you need if helpful. Its really nice to know what temps you're running at....

Appreciate if you can provide these URL's?

I'd like to install a gauge in my 89 FJ62 trans.

 

[FJ Silver]

Appreciate if you can provide these URL's?

I'd like to install a gauge in my 89 FJ62 trans.

Sure thing:
Either the m12x1.5 or M14x1.5 fits in the idiot light sensor and reduces it to 1/8 npt in below Adapter set.
Adapter
From there I used this gauge, which has held up well under corrugations.
Gauge
I repurposed the radio real estate for outlets and the trans gauge since I hook up my phone to bleutooth speakers if I want to listen to something.
I also added a little gauge cluster below there for Aux fuel gauge, water temp and a shunt meter for my house battery. Probably a better spot.

Hope this helps!

 

[miker]

Sure thing:
Either the m12x1.5 or M14x1.5 fits in the idiot light sensor and reduces it to 1/8 npt in below Adapter set.
Adapter
From there I used this gauge, which has held up well under corrugations.
Gauge
I repurposed the radio real estate for outlets and the trans gauge since I hook up my phone to bleutooth speakers if I want to listen to something.
I also added a little gauge cluster below there for Aux fuel gauge, water temp and a shunt meter for my house battery. Probably a better spot.

Hope this helps!

Thank you!

 

[micruz60]

@FJ Silver
Thanks for the tips on keeping these transmissions cool!
I would like to understand why you put a couple of magnets inside the pan?

 

[FJ Silver]

Thank you!

Welcome! and good luck

@FJ Silver
Thanks for the tips on keeping these transmissions cool!
I would like to understand why you put a couple of magnets inside the pan?

For the same reason there are magnets on your diff and transfer case plugs. Its catches all the tiny metal parts that come off the gears from usages over time. Prevents things from wearing faster and plug things up.

Every other engine oil change I'll change out the transmission oil as well. No flush, just drain, measure how much I drained and refill the same amount with Delvac oil, keeps it nice and fresh.

 

[micruz60]

Welcome! and good luck

For the same reason there are magnets on your diff and transfer case plugs. Its catches all the tiny metal parts that come off the gears from usages over time. Prevents things from wearing faster and plug things up.

Every other engine oil change I'll change out the transmission oil as well. No flush, just drain, measure how much I drained and refill the same amount with Delvac oil, keeps it nice and fresh.

Is a magnet on the transmission drain plug not sufficient?

 

[FJ Silver]

I would say no, since they come from the factory with a couple of magnets in the pan. Does the trans drain plug have a magnet even? Something is better than nothing.
I'm just going overboard with everything on the transmission.. hoping I can keep it alive!

 

[micruz60]

I would say no, since they come from the factory with a couple of magnets in the pan. Does the trans drain plug have a magnet even? Something is better than nothing.
I'm just going overboard with everything on the transmission.. hoping I can keep it alive!

Thanks for the helpful replies, I've been a clutch and MT for 4 decades, and am now baselining the FJ62 (new to me).

 

[FJ Silver]

Thanks for the helpful replies, I've been a clutch and MT for 4 decades, and am now baselining the FJ62 (new to me).

Gotcha, good luck. The AT is the fj62's Achilles heel.. But some small tweaks will make them pretty bulletproof as well.
@orangefj45 I believe also sells rocket Rodney's upgraded valve body, among other upgrades it has a 3rd gear lock up. That's is next on my list.

 

[orangefj45]

Thanks for the mention.

A larger capacity twisted tube style cooler will make a big difference.

Yes, we’re the importer for Wholesale Automatics from Australia and we keep the A440F Nomad HD valve bodies in stock.

Happy to help.

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers
Shop 209-475-8808
Sales@valleyhybrids.com