hot dodge g56

[wilez5150]

i have been fighting my dodge for a couple years now with the trans running hot when pulling anything more than its own weight. i have added more oil, no change. i added 2 pto cover finned oil coolers, no change. i pulled the exhust head pipe and ceramic coated it, no change. i wrapped the head pipe with header wrap and no change. i added heat sheilds on the pipe next to the trans, no change. you can see in the pic i just topped a small hill an the trans is 250, the rear diff on the other end is way lower. pyro is the center. flat and level is 235+ with a 20k gross load. my next step is to install a tilton oil pump and a cooler. truck is a 06 3500 ctd, g56 2wd with 59k on it. has never been used for anything but RV duty i will say the the temp started at 275+ when all this started so i have gained some ground. and of course the dodge dealer said we can't find anything wrong a number of times till its out of warrenty, has any of you had this kind of problem or do i have a bad trans?????????
ps i see a baby 10 spd in my future

[MNorby]

I'd be curious if a bearing/bushing failure maybe? How does oil look on changing it? I'm no expert though just a thought.

[gavan]

My ZF6 has forced lube, and runs 2 coolers. Just sayin' Never goes over 200.


These light duty boxes can run hot under a load like that.

[wilez5150]

seems to operate well. has never been an issue when traveling other than the heat. i know for every 50 degree rise in temp you can expect to half your trans llife. being retired and on a fixed income i'd rather spend money on jeep parts thats my next step gavan. i have never seen a manuel trans with a forced lube system. oil change depends on use. i do it every year. only had 1 bad change at the begining(burnt bad). rather throw away 12 qts of atf4 than a g56, know what i'm saying

[gavan]

All the Ford ZF6s have forced lube and an external cooler. I swapped my Excursion from auto to manual and kept the Auto cooling circuit. It is way overkill for the manual, but I am not complaining.

[wilez5150]

my biggest concern is am i putting a fawking bandaid on the heat problem by installing the pump and cooler????? the parts are paid for but should i up grade for something that has bigger balls to carry the load. i hate burning a benjie with out just cause! (tite ass)

[pic_jon]

Just basic stuff here but I'd verify the gauge and sending unit are working properly. Call the manufacturer asking how to check them. You could even swap your gauges around from rear diff > trans and see if they read the same as before.

[lunacy]

Some guys have started running a heavier oil in them 75w-90 synthetic gear oil or I've seen a 50/50 mix of sae50 delvac and 5-30 amsoil mtf recommended as well. Might not help the temp issue, but should make it live longer even running at high temps.

[wilez5150]

i thought of that, just not gotten around to testing. i may just change the gauge out. auto meter used to be a good name but i,ve had nothing but problems with them the last 5 years. as burnt as the oil was the first time i changed it after the 275 degree trip its probly close. the truck and camper are up for sale, i don,t want to pass any unresolved issues to a new owner. i have a rooster style toter thing in the planning stage for a couple yrs with a 59 chevy 3800 apache cab, a 36' late 80's bounder chassie, a 24' uhaul box and a small mountain of parts that include a 6bt. i would rather have something that has a no shit jake on it and a 10 spd

i'll look in to the oil, i don't like running atf in a gear box

[LT.]

I don't think that many of us have even installed a temp gauge on a manual tranny before. I never did anyways. If you check to make sure your readings are correct I think I would look at the forced lube and external cooler idea.

LT.

[wilez5150]

many yrs ago when i drove trucks for a living they all had diff and trans temp gauges. the 275 run was on baker grade on i15 heading to lost wages nev. 17 miles of 6% grade. i was to busy watching a moterhome go up in flames up the hill ahead of me. he passed me doing 70 with smoke pouring out from under. seems his trans was not happy with that speed in 115 degree heat