Looking at putting a pan heater on my trans pan

thatguy69

thatguy69

New member
As the title states I'm looking at putting a pan heater on my trans this year. My low stall converter along with 6x13s don't really care for the cold under the 20s and I'm hoping this might make it a little more tolerable. Something that's 110v as I have a plug in at work also, I've seen the cheapos on ebay, didn't know if there worth trying or not? I thought about just buying a small section of heat tape and wrapping my double deep pan with it along with some sort of insulation that won't hold water
 
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Whats it doing in the cold that you don't like? I daily drove mine through 2 and a half Michigan winters without a heat exchanger, this past winter was with hydraulic fluid in the trans, didn't do anything out of the ordinary.
 
I actually really like this idea. The immediate thought in my head would be to pull the pan, buy some 6watt/ft 120v self reg heat trace with a coating meant for harsh conditions (inside fluids) and then machine a hole in the pan, weld mounts to safely coil it without chance it touches the VB, and then splice a plug off the block heater. Would be really freakin nice to hop in the truck and trans fluid already be 120*
 
You can get the heaters that are magnetic and would stick to the pan. Ad something to ensure it doesn't fall off and run the cord up to the place you have the plug for your block heater. We used to use these to heat the engine oil on our alky pull for winter hooks
 
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zachu812 said:
Whats it doing in the cold that you don't like? I daily drove mine through 2 and a half Michigan winters without a heat exchanger, this past winter was with hydraulic fluid in the trans, didn't do anything out of the ordinary.
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Anything below 30 and mine stalls when I drop it into gear when cold,unless a give it some pedal which I don't really like doing. when it gets really cold like 10-15 degrees f when I drop it into gear it acts like the converter is locked. We do a lot of 16 hour shifts and I don't think that makes it much better. I was running tractor Hydraulic fluid last year also, with the heat exchanger removed. I switched to regular dex 3 and it helped but the issue is still there.
 
DISTURBED said:
You can get the heaters that are magnetic and would stick to the pan. Ad something to ensure it doesn't fall off and run the cord up to the place you have the plug for your block heater. We used to use these to heat the engine oil on our alky pull for winter hooks
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My double deep plan is cast aluminum. But I'm sure I can figure a way to make it stick. How hot did they get?
 
wwentzler said:
I actually really like this idea. The immediate thought in my head would be to pull the pan, buy some 6watt/ft 120v self reg heat trace with a coating meant for harsh conditions (inside fluids) and then machine a hole in the pan, weld mounts to safely coil it without chance it touches the VB, and then splice a plug off the block heater. Would be really freakin nice to hop in the truck and trans fluid already be 120*
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That's what I'm saying, probably be a whole lot nicer on things.
 
thatguy69 said:
That's what I'm saying, probably be a whole lot nicer on things.
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If you know what you're looking for you could probably make that whole thing up nice for about $50. I bet it would work FAR better than the generic ones I found with a quick google search this morning, not to mention better designed and never have to worry about reliability after install.
 
we got a bunch of the thermon self regulating heat trace laying around at work,it heats up to 90c so I'm sure itll withstand the pan temps. what are your thoughts on how to get it through the pan? idk if a rubber cord grip would seal very well. maybe with some red rtv on it
 
I would wrap the heat trace around the pan, even try to put it in the valleys of the pan. You then will need to insulate the exposed side of the pan. I think you will struggle keeping the cord grip to work with the heat changes of the pan. Think it will continue to weep.
 
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