Transmission Temperature Gauge Added to my Avalanche's Cluster

While looking at multiple options to get a transmission temperature gauge added to my 2004 Chevy Avalanche, I came across one that stuck out to me the most. I had my cluster sent to gm gauge repair to have them add the transmission temperature gauge and also did a complete rebuild. Check them out! www.gmgaugerepair.com
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[@SpynCycle57]

I just had the same gauge rebuild done to my 2004 Avalanche and had the trans temp gauge added. Shipped out on Friday, was installing it back in the next Friday. It looks brand new. I topped off the gas tank and used my phone with a speedometer app, so I was able to continue to drive it that week.

[@jtmoffroad]

Good idea using the phone!

[@chuckwagontex]

Thank you for making this video. I was about to tackle it myself and all the programming that goes with it, but you showed me the hassle free way of getting it done! Now my hands do not have to get into all that electronic stuff . My 04’ loves you!

[@jtmoffroad]

I’m glad this video has helped out! Definitely glad I got mine done!

[@josephjenkins7081]

Awesome easy upgrade. Thanks for sharing. Sending mine to GM Gauge Repair next week.

[@jtmoffroad]

Glad I could be of some help!

[@deankay4434]

There are lot of question posted below, but as a retired ASE Master Tech, the GMT800 shares common parts. First newer servos to drive gauges. Programing is required to add the AT temp gauge and the signal comes from the PCM via class2 serial data to the dash. The EEPROM has to recognize the digital signal to operate the gauge. It is also in control of mileage and no rebuilder will change or roll back mileage as this is illegal. A mileage document form must be filled out, including photos is the dash is not dead. The info is saved in the dash and can be read even if the dash / IPC is dead and will be refused service if mileage is wrong from documents. The sensor is on the inside of the automatic trans itself and part of the gear range pressure switch. As a PTC thermistor, it has high resistance when cold and drop when getting hotter. This results in a voltage drop change the PCM reads and change into 0-7 volt on-off signals sent off with dozens of other signals in the same single wire, including VSS to dash, radio to get louder while speed increases and serves as a rear ABS signal as VSS signal is converted for ABS use while left / right sensors are used on the front. Needles, colors, over-lays of different colors vary between Cadillac, GMC, Chevy and vary's. Common failures are servos, lights, loose soldered points on resistors and other components from vibration or heat. ASE Master Tech since 1978 / Retired.

[@scottohmacht6447]

Changing the mileage on your gauge is not now, nor has it ever been illegal in any of the 50 States. The illegal aspect of it comes when the owner of the vehicle tries to misrepresent the true mileage of the vehicle by doing so. Changing the mileage is a very common practice when installing used clusters into vehicles that had non working ones. The only reason people don't do it is to keep from other being deceived and being potentially held liable. This is where proper disclosure and disclaimer statements come from and need to be utilized to prevent the rotten eggs from spoiling the rest of the bunch.

[@deankay4434]

@@scottohmacht6447 I agree when it comes to misrepresenting the vehicles actual mileage when it comes to value, re-sale or private sale. This is the rub. Until electronic EEPROM type clusters where the normal, we install replacement speedos in cluster and placed a sticker in the door jamb with the correct mileage shown what it had before the date it was replaced. Although I placed dozens of these on vehicles over the years at dealers, there is nothing to keep someone else from scrapping the sticker off. I have seen stickers required for completion on campaigns removed for a factory safety issue and date. These where placed under the hood and with a few key strokes at my tool box, as far back a 92, I could see open campaign service / safety issues where completed, but no sticker. But info like Dates, dealer, mileage and campaign number was shown. Later, with lawsuits, manufactures made it policy to not pay a dealer for a warranty repair if an "Open Campaign" was not looked up and check, to see it was not done yet. Unless the customer / service dept. had a signed document showing they did not have the part, or no time for customer to have the "Free" repair or they where traveling and would have the repair done at home. Millions of postcards sent to the original customer where tossed. This left a vehicle without an update to fix a seat belt anchor, reinforcement plate for a fuel line, or any number of things, thus forcing the dealer to look on the network for open repairs the manufacture wants completed. The VIN should be reviewed a the dealer if one is purchasing a used car, private or used car lot. After all, we take the "Shift Interlock" as part of everyday life, but started after Audi 4000's & 5000's would allegedly take off after placing in drive range. After blaming the mistake on drivers error, the device became normal and is on everything with an automatic.

[@deankay4434]

To provide information on the trans temp sensor as I called it a NTC thermistor, when cold, the resistance is high & for lower when hotter. These are OEM specs for a GMT800: -40F = 110778 @ 5 volts 86F = 2461 ohms @ 1.80 volts 158F = 514 ohms @ 2.56 volts 212F = 195 ohms @ 1.42 volts 302F = 51.9 ohms @ 0.00 volts These are OEM specs, min-max not shown, all voltages are signal return inputs. ASE Master Tech since 1978

[@garcia4x4]

Thanks for the video. Sending mine in soon to get repaired and adding a trans gauge..

[@58_Powermaster]

Thanks for the video, my fuel gauge just started going past full to about the six o'clock position. Wouldn't mind adding the trans temp gauge as well.

[@jtmoffroad]

Thanks for watching! The trans temp gauge is such a nice add.

[@tellitallnow3914]

So the trans temp sensors or what ever is needed in the 02 avalanche is already done from the factory and all that's needed is the actual guage installed in the cluster? If so that's awesome as I have an 02 avalanche and getting ready to send it in for a rebuild. If everything is already there I am definitely going to have it installed. Thanks!!

[@smashthings4fun]

ahhhh that good ol 5.3 sound

[@stevenbailey421]

Thanks for sharing this! I have to get the cluster rebuilt in my 03 Yukon SLT and was wondering about the trans temp gauge add on.

[@jtmoffroad]

No problem! Really glad I got it. I was thinking I was having issues with the trans overheating but thanks to getting that gauge added I now know that it’s at operating range

[@daviddonahue1862]

Did you do anything beside adding the updated cluster? How much did you pay?? Thanks

[@jonathanbaker33]

My last 4l60e went 300k on redline high temp atf, I broke the planetary gears all the clutch packs look good as well as the bands and I will repeat with newly rebuilt trans it adds to the life and operation

[@jtmoffroad]

Jonathan Baker good to know! I’ve been trying to think what way to go

[@jonathanbaker33]

@@jtmoffroad you won't regret it if not for gm and their 4 planet design I would still using it. I've met a lot of people who have had transmissions installed meaning more than 2 or 3 compared to mine stock for 2001 original to the truck plus slot of stumps were pulled out with thos truck

[@deankay4434]

@@jtmoffroad There are a number of simple updates to preform on your 4L60e. 4L60 or 700R4. Wide band, ACDelco 4 planet gears, etc. I am building my own using high end Rad Alto friction and Kolene steels along with a bucket of Sonnax parts, and Borg-Warner sprag, low roller, etc. Overheating is the death of any transmission, but it snow balls as it destroys friction, warps steel plates, removes the strength of tempered gear, plastic selective thrust washers and on and on. Regardless of the numbers of updates, brand of parts and who built it. (Personnel Rant) But these transmissions are going away, in favor for 8 speeds with 4 cylinders and turbo and superchargers on the same engine. Yes they are! There is no substitute for cubic inches and a good design! Period. I understand some safety aspects of Driver assist systems, but they add to the cost 10K more, just to keep people in their lane while they post on facebook and respond to a text. I say give them 4 foot curb feelers and a bright yellow flag on top that says Idiot Driver! Learn to park, watch the road, use you dam blinkers and use your neck & mirrors. Yep, nothing says, have a nice day to look into the mirror on your motorcycle to see a 17 year old with the phone at 12:00 on the wheel, going 40 MPH about 3 feet behind your rear tire. Great! It happen to me, still having surgeries after 18 years.

[@markb4448]

I did a escalade Cluster its awesome!

[@LuisPerez-cp2wd]

How much did they charge you for the rebuild plus the trans temperature gauge?

[@james10739]

I know the older trucks said for towing to run them in just drive or 3rd not overdrive

[@nb6584]

It sounded like you were going up and down in the gears. Was tow mode on and if it kept going between 2nd & 3rd just manually pick the gear.

[@MemphisKi]

So these trucks come with the trans temp sensor even if the cluster does not have a gauge for it? I have a 2006 Silverado 5.3 without a trans gauge and I want to do this

[@jtmoffroad]

Yup! Go to www.gmgaugerepair.com and you can get your order done on there

[@bdtaylor1979]

From what I understand, the automatic transmission temperature is usually 100 degrees over whatever the outside temperature. Unless you have a transmission cooler or you are hauling something heavy.

[@nb6584]

Your correct a 100° over ambient temp is normal and expected But as always cooler is better so when climbing it's fine and actually good to be in the higher rpm (especially if it has a fan clutch/will pull more air through the stack) it's just when the trans keeps hunting for the gear is what causes wear and the major enemy The heat.

[@GMGaugeRepair]

Thanks jtmoffroad

[@jtmoffroad]

Sure thing! Thank you!

[@aydengoldsberry5721]

So do they program the gauge for you I’m so confused I’m sure if I were to just add the gauge it would work

[@jtmoffroad]

It needs programmed and he will do that service. If you just add the gauge it won’t work

[@kennyweaver3597]

Are those the ice blue LEDs

[@juangomez7354]

Whats the place you mail it to..i want to send mine and get it down...or do they have a website?

[@jtmoffroad]

You can check the website out at www.gmgaugerepair.com/

[@adamj8989]

Transmission usually runs from 160 to 190 operating temp. Do you have a towing package? A transmission cooler will bring the temp down and keep it there. Be interested to see where your temps are in the hills!

[@jtmoffroad]

It has a towing package but I’m interested to see if it has a transmission cooler. I would assume it at least has the lines through the radiator but haven’t noticed anything more than that yet I’ve also really never looked for it. I’m interested to see that myself! It’s still never gone above 150 but it’s still cold out and I haven’t gone on long trips are hauled yet. I will be buying my own car hauler tomorrow though!

[@BurntTransGarage]

If you haven't already done so, look at the Tru-Cool 40K transmission cooler upgrade that's all over the internet for these trucks. The factory cooler is garbage; the new cooler is about 4x the size. Quick and easy install, very small modifications required, and about $150 in parts. I've towed in bumper-to-bumer 95-degree traffic blasting the AC. Trans never got above 180. Once moving through the mountains, pulling steep grades, it dropped to 130-140. It even stayed below 100 once we hit a cold rain.

[@kcscustom9759]

200 degrees is a bit hot for a transmission they really don’t like being quite that hot. I mean it’s not the end of the world (or the transmission) if it does get that hot but generally they will last a bit longer before needing a rebuild if there kept a bit cooler. The tranny in my 03 Silverado 5.3 stays around 140-145 ish normal city driving & around 155-165 when towing my trailer loaded, about 7.2k lbs. Highway it stays super cool like 80-120 deg. depending on the temp outside. And It’s held up for 286k miles, still shifts great 99% of the time. I should mention my truck does have the factory “HD trans cooling” package and an upgraded auxiliary transmission cooler. Definitely plays a big part here. But the transmission gauge comes in real handy though. disappointed these trucks didn’t come with them from the factory, but it’s definitely really cool how easy it is to add one on these. I took my cluster out & soldered my stepper motor in in about 10 minutes, then stuck the temp markings & needle on, swapped the bulbs to LED then all back together in another 10 minutes or so. Super cheap too compared to adding an aftermarket gauge, 110% worth it for anyone else considering.

[@jtmoffroad]

Thanks for going into such good detail explaining temperature. I’m going to be getting a trans cooler but I’m back and forth between a couple different ones. Just gotta pick one and get it installed

[@EGGINFOOLS]

@@jtmoffroad If you aren't experiencing high trans temps then don't waste your money. The cooler in the radiator extracts heat better than an equally sized air cooler because the coolant will absorb the heat from the cooler being inside of it better than air can. Unless you suspect you have a bad cooler/radiator or experience high temps I'd just say save your money. Keep your radiator flushed and it will "love you long time"! Lol 😅

[@332ARA]

What did you do to program it?

[@kcscustom9759]

@@332ARA If you don’t have a pre programmed cluster you can program it with an arduino based programmer. If I remember correctly @Fixed Until Broken, has a video on this here on KZbin along with some code on GitHub. There’s probably other ways of going about it as well, that’s just what I’m familiar with. No idea why I didn’t include this in my original comment. My apologies.

[@moejr14]

What was the total cost for them to add the gauge

[@jtmoffroad]

80 dollars plus 15 for return shipping

[@hrios3016]

Did you drive without the cluster while it was being fixed? I want to send mine out but don't have another car to use while its getting fixed.

[@jtmoffroad]

I didn’t, I had it laid up and just planned out my days while the cluster was gone. For some reason I’m thinking you can’t drive it without the cluster

[@hrios3016]

@@jtmoffroad thanks I'm playing it safe I'm driving my son's car.

[@michaelpasanen5695]

Hector I just got one from a 2002 1500 hd in a junk yard works fine. How u been doing ? Milage is no biggie once you break a few hundred thousand lol. When did you get a chevy ?

[@exzkuizhiblogzz9772]

You can still drive it

[@brandonfarmer7446]

So its just plug and play they dont come equipped with temp gauge so you dont have to add temp sending unit or anything or have it programmed?

[@jtmoffroad]

Correct, although your cluster needs some sort of programming so it knows to read the signal coming from the truck which gm gauge repair will do when you send them your cluster. But yes it’s plug and play after they do the work. Well worth the money. Stupid that gm didn’t add this to all of their clusters from the get go

[@brandonfarmer7446]

That sounds a whole lot better than having to add a pod and running a whole bunch of unneeded wiring thanks alot glad i ran across video thanks for the reply

[@jtmoffroad]

Yup! I wanted to add it and found out about gm gauge repairs service and thought the same thing. Way easier and looks much more factory. Sure thing glad I could help!

[@brandonfarmer7446]

I also have a 05 avalanche that ill be installing a aftermarket cooler with maybe a small pusher fan and with a larger finned tranny fan just help out these 4l60e just are as strong as they should be witch i have almost 185,000 on mine and it shifts still like a new one but i take care of my baby

[@jtmoffroad]

Very nice! I’m actually going to be buying a trans cooler here soon. I’ve got about 150k on mine right now.

[@toddhaines7956]

Easy add trans temp gauge for 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Silverado Sierra Tahoe Suburban Avalanche. GM Gauge Repair Onalaska Wisconsin.

[@kylenunnelley1482]

is that all you had to do was send it in and get another one you didn't have to do anything else to the truck for the trans coolant gauge to work

[@jtmoffroad]

He does the work to the one you send him. Don’t have to do anything else. The truck already has the coolant temp info, just doesn’t have the gauge.

[@kylenunnelley1482]

@@jtmoffroad okay thank you very much for that

[@v.e.7236]

If your transmission is up-shifting and revving like that from overdrive, you probably have burned the clutch pack for those gears. I would wager that you, like so many others experiencing the same issue, just put the vehicle in drive and go. This has the unfortunate effect of forcing the trans to shift many times over a relatively short period of time, especially in city traffic, creating the killer heat that burned those clutch packs. How has your trans been performing for the last year, as this comes about a year later?

[@jtmoffroad]

Thanks for the reply. What would you recommend to do instead of putting and drive and going? I’ll admit I don’t know a lot about automatic transmissions and I’ve been trying to pick up info here and there to help life of mine especially with towing. Trans seems good so far but I haven’t had to tow up a steep hill like that for a while. I’ve been trying to just keep it in third to keep it out of overdrive going up hills and driving on the highway goin around 50-60. Trans temps haven’t gone out of operating range which helps me feel better knowing at least its not over heating

[@EGGINFOOLS]

@@jtmoffroad If you are on flat ground drive "D" is fine while using tow haul. If you experience a lot of downshifting or it gets hilly then drop it into 3rd gear and leave it. Otherwise look into a rear end gear swap but that gets expensive because if you are 4wd they have to do the front too.

[@NTromb]

Furthermore I hope you change your transmission fluid and if it has gold sparkles it might be Time to look at rebuilding the transmission

[@kenhorton3482]

If I remember you have to haul in tow haul mode not over drive.

[@christopher18291]

About how much did GM repair charge???

[@toddhaines7956]

We charge 95.00 and return shipping is included. www.gmgaugerepair.com/chevrolet-instrument-cluster-repair/add-a-transmission-temperature-gauge/

[@mattn5804]

@@toddhaines7956 what's a milage adjustment cost and how long is the turn around time

[@toddhaines7956]

@@mattn5804 Sorry but cannot help you with mileage correction.

[@rowdyyates4986]

Did you have to add anymore wiring to your truck? Or does it already have it in the computer?

[@jtmoffroad]

No extra wiring necessary. The wiring is all there, they just left out the added stepper motor and different overlay that included the trans temp. Def worth the money! I love being able to tell what my trans temp is now and that it’s operating correctly

[@rowdyyates4986]

jtmoffroad cool, I'm putting an 8.1 in my 02 suburban with a 4L85e in it and it would be great to be able to tell the temp on the tranny. Thanks again!

[@jtmoffroad]

I would think it would all work out!

[@jtmoffroad]

If you check out his website I think it has a list of all vehicles it will work on. You could always give him a call and ask too.

[@rowdyyates4986]

jtmoffroad I contacted him last night via email and he says he only does 2003 and newer which is weird because they are identical clusters. I found a guy that's running a business out his garage that will do it for me and replace the lights with leds, and the faceplate if I find him one and send it out. So pretty good deal for about $150 with shipping and everything.

[@332ARA]

His website says it's $80 only with the price of a $150 rebuild. Can't only do a temp gauge

[@jmg_2_slow74]

4l60 are trash but with a stage 3 kit and a 40k trans cooler you will make that trans hold up really good

[@jtmoffroad]

Stage 3 kit? That like a valve body kit or replace internals

[@s_hassell97]

as far as the shifting goes in your video, i believe the manuals for our trucks say tow/haul on and leave it out of od so you have to put it in 3rd gear with a trailer.

[@jmg_2_slow74]

jtmoffroad it’s a kit you can buy or take it to a shop the most they will charge is 1,400 and that would be fully build 4l60 to take abuse and rated at 500hp & don’t put it on tow haul mode that would kill your trans

[@EGGINFOOLS]

@@s_hassell97 My manual states to leave it in drive with tow haul mode on. 03 regular cab short box with the 4.8 and 7600 gvwr. Unless you are on hills or experience a ton of shifting then tow haul and "D" is fine. If so then drop it in 3rd as stated