Has anyone experienced seemingly erratic temperatures in their turbo 400. I somtimes find the transmission temp gauge wizzing up to 260° and higher at times when it seems a fairly easy climb then back to normal. When repeating the same route in the same conditions it will indicatel less temperature. I've had the transmission people service it and change oil and filter, they say its operation seems normal, but have not driven it far enough to experience all the erratic behaviour of the temp gauge. I'll have to start working my way through the various options to nail this down, but just wondered if anyone else has had similar experiences. Thanks for any insight you may have.

I would monitor the charging system with a digital voltmeter. Look for erratic voltage readings that correspond with unrealistic temp readings.

Then try another gage and sender. They are pretty reasonable at JC Whitney.

Does the water temp read normally when the trans is reading high?

Yes Bill, the water temp does seem to read normally at all times and a lot of the time the trans temp seems to correspond to it in a reasonable way since of course the trans fluid travels thru the radiator before traveling to the trans cooler in fornt of the rad. When the trans gauge reads 260° the cooler is hot to touch but does not seem that hot. The dash mounted volt meter does not seem to read erratically even when the temp gauge read highly erratic.

Can you borrow a temp gun?

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Can you borrow a temp gun?

Good Idea Bill, I'll try to find one. I have not had any experience with this tool.

The one I borrow from work is a Raytek MT4. You just shine the laser on a spot and read the temperature. It will tell you for sure about temperature. It is incredibly useful, and I am going to have to buy my own.

So, Bill and Sonja........whaddja find?

The temp gun is really useful. They are available in the sears catalog in the tool section. I use it to check tire temp when traveling, radiator temp, engine pulleys, etc. About $75 as I recall.