As promised here is our DIY guide to installing a transmission temp gauge in your SST equipped
Mitsubishi. First up you need to select the right gauge for your application. We picked a VDO oil
temperature gauge with a 150C sweep. Gauge plus sensor plus mounting pod came to $90 in
total.
Get the car in a nice safe working enviroment so you can get under it. We are fortunate enough to
have a lift/hoist in our development area, so thats quite a simple job
Next up drain the transmission fluid. As you can see our heavily tracked WR35TMX comes out
just as clean and oxidation free as it went in.
With the sumpl plugs removed you can see its impossible to fit the temp sensor for the gauge, as
the plugs are 'allen head' leaving you nothing to tighten the plug with if you fit the sensor
Measuring the size of the factory sump plug shows it to be an M16
Using an off the shelf steel M16 bolt we turned the head down and then drilled a hole through the
centre of it
Finally we tapped the 1/8th NPT fitting into the plug and it was ready for winding back into the
transmission underside. A quick touch of paint makes it look all new again
Wiring the gauge is fairly simple, it requires Power, Ground, and a signal line from the sensor
itself. Not too hard!
Mounting the gauge in the pod needs to be carried out before you fit it to the car as the pod
needs to be modified for the wiring to run through
Our fitting location required removal of the shifter centre surround which is quite straightforward
with only a couple of screws (at the back) and clips to pull the whole lot out. The Power and
Ground for the gauge came directly from the 12V power socket located there
The sender line was then run through the firewall with the existing PCM wiring. There is plenty of
room there. Finally it was covered in protective sheathing
The sender line then simply clips into the sender unit itself and with the addition of a few cable
ties to keep the wiring secure and safe the whole shooting match is ready to go again. Oh BTW
dont forget a fresh fill of WR35TMX Transmission Fluid!
Here is the finished result. Neat, functional and able to be read while driving the car without being
too intrusive. An SST temperature gauge will teach you all sorts of things about your transmission
- the most important being that heat isnt as big an issue as you might have been told.....
Mitsubishi. First up you need to select the right gauge for your application. We picked a VDO oil
temperature gauge with a 150C sweep. Gauge plus sensor plus mounting pod came to $90 in
total.
Get the car in a nice safe working enviroment so you can get under it. We are fortunate enough to
have a lift/hoist in our development area, so thats quite a simple job
Next up drain the transmission fluid. As you can see our heavily tracked WR35TMX comes out
just as clean and oxidation free as it went in.
With the sumpl plugs removed you can see its impossible to fit the temp sensor for the gauge, as
the plugs are 'allen head' leaving you nothing to tighten the plug with if you fit the sensor
Measuring the size of the factory sump plug shows it to be an M16
Using an off the shelf steel M16 bolt we turned the head down and then drilled a hole through the
centre of it
Finally we tapped the 1/8th NPT fitting into the plug and it was ready for winding back into the
transmission underside. A quick touch of paint makes it look all new again
Wiring the gauge is fairly simple, it requires Power, Ground, and a signal line from the sensor
itself. Not too hard!
Mounting the gauge in the pod needs to be carried out before you fit it to the car as the pod
needs to be modified for the wiring to run through
Our fitting location required removal of the shifter centre surround which is quite straightforward
with only a couple of screws (at the back) and clips to pull the whole lot out. The Power and
Ground for the gauge came directly from the 12V power socket located there
The sender line was then run through the firewall with the existing PCM wiring. There is plenty of
room there. Finally it was covered in protective sheathing
The sender line then simply clips into the sender unit itself and with the addition of a few cable
ties to keep the wiring secure and safe the whole shooting match is ready to go again. Oh BTW
dont forget a fresh fill of WR35TMX Transmission Fluid!
Here is the finished result. Neat, functional and able to be read while driving the car without being
too intrusive. An SST temperature gauge will teach you all sorts of things about your transmission
- the most important being that heat isnt as big an issue as you might have been told.....