Ih8mud—- A/T oil temp due to mud? (1 Viewer)

[VSPro9]

Hello everyone, had an interesting one this weekend.

Spent the day off-roading on some trails with friends. Lots of deep mud which was fun.

Toward the end of the day i got a light on the dash for AT oil temp and the car shut off.

Let it set for a half hour, crawled underneath and my skid plate beneath the engine was absolutely packed full of mud.

Limped it to the nearest car wash (light was off) and thoroughly sprayed down the skids, pushing all the mud away. Car ran fine for the hour drive home, haven’t started it yet today.

So my question, is it possible the mud was acting as some sort of thermal barrier and causing the transmission to overheat? Or do i have bigger issues?

 

[Jstawgn]

The radiator and transmission cooler probably getting clogged with mud. Yes the mud will act like insulation too but make sure you clean the radiator and transmission cooler. Are you in 4HI? Sometimes on you need wheel speed and forcing it on higher gear would create a lot more slip and cause it to overheat too.

I would also replace transmission oil. Once overheated they usually start to gum up.

 

[Rednexus]

Agree, it could be mud in the transmission cooler, just in front of the radiator/AC condensor and behind the grill. Or, the act of wheeling with lots of wheel spin and TC slip and limited air movement through the cooler simply got it too hot. The trans cooler tiny to begin with can can easily be clogged with mud. I also agree to swap out the transmission fluid ASAP (I recommend the full pan drop and flush method - there are threads and Youtube vids on this). It's also a good idea to use an app such as Torque Pro so you can watch AT temperatures as you are off-roading. I'm not sure where the AT TEMP light kicks in at, but it's probably much hotter than I'd ever be comfortable driving. Watching the temp via Torque will let you know when it starts climbing so you can proactively address it, instead of waiting for the light when it's almost too late. I'm in the process of upgrading to a Hayden 678 cooler to address the woefully undersized OEM cooler (a $50 mod).

 

[VSPro9]

Thanks for the advice guys. I’ll get the fluid swapped asap.

Tell me more about this app? I assume i plug a Bluetooth reader into the obd port and it gives me all the info on an app?

 

[VSPro9]

The radiator and transmission cooler probably getting clogged with mud. Yes the mud will act like insulation too but make sure you clean the radiator and transmission cooler. Are you in 4HI? Sometimes on you need wheel speed and forcing it on higher gear would create a lot more slip and cause it to overheat too.

I would also replace transmission oil. Once overheated they usually start to gum up.

In 4hi, the trails were mostly flat just had some big mud pits we played in, other than that we kept speeds around 10-20mph with some idling while chatting or watching people get pulled out (stuck gladiator for reference)

 

[Rednexus]

Torque Pro is a $5 app. You then need a Bluetooth OBDII adapter (there are lots of Amazon for around $25 - I have the Bafx) and then the equation for Toyota transmission temperature (which can be found on Google and then entered as in Torque- it's a non-standard PID value but Torque can still read it).

Also I've also found my trans temp stays a lot cooler in 4LO when wheeling. As mentioned above there is less lugging on the engine and the lower gears make it easier on the engine and trans.

 

[VSPro9]

Torque Pro is a $5 app. You then need a Bluetooth OBDII adapter (there are lots of Amazon for around $25 - I have the Bafx) and then the equation for Toyota transmission temperature (which can be found on Google and then entered as in Torque- it's a non-standard PID value but Torque can still read it).

Also I've also found my trans temp stays a lot cooler in 4LO when wheeling. As mentioned above there is less lugging on the engine and the lower gears make it easier on the engine and trans.

Thanks I’m gonna try this out

 

[VSPro9]

Torque Pro is a $5 app. You then need a Bluetooth OBDII adapter (there are lots of Amazon for around $25 - I have the Bafx) and then the equation for Toyota transmission temperature (which can be found on Google and then entered as in Torque- it's a non-standard PID value but Torque can still read it).

Also I've also found my trans temp stays a lot cooler in 4LO when wheeling. As mentioned above there is less lugging on the engine and the lower gears make it easier on the engine and trans.

so i got a BAFX reader and the obd fusion app, got the trans temp 1 and trans temp 2 reading correctly (i believe this is pan and trans cooler?)
what do your trans temps normally stay around on dirt trails vs highway?

 

[Rednexus]

It should be around 170-180 just running around town and down the highway and actually stays at that temp off-roading (at least for me). I start to get nervous when it crests 200. Based on what I've read online 220 is entering the danger zone when the fluid might be getting cooked (we got up to 217 or so pulling a pass in CO in 3rd gear with the torque converter unlocked). I don't think it's ever been above 180-190 here in MO, even when I've had it nearly stuck in mud and snow. I'm currently installing a larger Hayden 678 cooler as we plan to get a pop-up camper next spring and I don't want to cook the trans on hills. In my experience sustained climbs really seem to cook it - our up and down hills here in MO that aren't that tall just don't get it that hot.

 

[kody472]

It should be around 170-180 just running around town and down the highway and actually stays at that temp off-roading (at least for me). I start to get nervous when it crests 200. Based on what I've read online 220 is entering the danger zone when the fluid might be getting cooked (we got up to 217 or so pulling a pass in CO in 3rd gear with the torque converter unlocked). I don't think it's ever been above 180-190 here in MO, even when I've had it nearly stuck in mud and snow. I'm currently installing a larger Hayden 678 cooler as we plan to get a pop-up camper next spring and I don't want to cook the trans on hills. In my experience sustained climbs really seem to cook it - our up and down hills here in MO that aren't that tall just don't get it that hot.

Nice. Post some pics of the install when you are finished if you don't mind. I'd like to see how you mounted it. I'm looking into changing my cooler for pulling our popup.

 

[VSPro9]

It should be around 170-180 just running around town and down the highway and actually stays at that temp off-roading (at least for me). I start to get nervous when it crests 200. Based on what I've read online 220 is entering the danger zone when the fluid might be getting cooked (we got up to 217 or so pulling a pass in CO in 3rd gear with the torque converter unlocked). I don't think it's ever been above 180-190 here in MO, even when I've had it nearly stuck in mud and snow. I'm currently installing a larger Hayden 678 cooler as we plan to get a pop-up camper next spring and I don't want to cook the trans on hills. In my experience sustained climbs really seem to cook it - our up and down hills here in MO that aren't that tall just don't get it that hot.

thanks for the info. ill probably add the larger cooler to my winter project list and work on getting the missing skids/splash guards.

 

[Rednexus]

Nice. Post some pics of the install when you are finished if you don't mind. I'd like to see how you mounted it. I'm looking into changing my cooler for pulling our popup.

Just uploaded some pics in my build thread:

Builds - "Rednexus" - 2007 GX470 Build Thread

Quick shot of the blacked-out lights and red D-rings (red spray paint and clearcoat on some HF Badland rights). I'll snap a few more in other conditions with less glare. They are dark! Totally transformed the look of the GX. Actually a pretty easy job with a heat gun. Total cost was $55 for...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Acrad]

I imagine 470 is similar but on the 460 the AT over-temp alert goes off over 302 degrees

 

[VSPro9]

I imagine 470 is similar but on the 460 the AT over-temp alert goes off over 302 degrees



View attachment 2817382

Sheesh! Thanks for the info i guess I’ll dig into this