Jump to content

Transmission cooler... (pics added)


xtremerevolution

Recommended Posts

Mounting the cooler basically consists of 4 ziptie-type strips of plastic that you push through both the transmission cooler and the radiator, and attach a locking piece at the other end and cut off the remaining strip. If you look closely at the pictures I posted earlier, you should be able to see what I'm talking about. This part can be a bit tricky because you have to mount the cooler in a place where you can reach the other side, while avoiding the fan blades.

 

I always use the ties to latch the trans cooler to the condenser only, which is in front of the radiator. I remove the fans and tilt the radiator out enough to slip my hand behind it. that way if you even had to replace the radiator... you would not need to cut and replace those ties... this might also reduce stress and wear as the condensor and radiator would be likely to move and vibrate separately.... etc etc etc.

 

 

I am also not sure which side to try to cooler inline... befre it goes to the radiator, or after.

 

trans cooler before the rad cooler would allow the coolant to moderate the temperatur of the fluid, so you don't overcool it.

 

rad cooler before the trans cooler would allow more cooling by comparison, but maybe too much when it's cold.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mounting the cooler basically consists of 4 ziptie-type strips of plastic that you push through both the transmission cooler and the radiator, and attach a locking piece at the other end and cut off the remaining strip. If you look closely at the pictures I posted earlier, you should be able to see what I'm talking about. This part can be a bit tricky because you have to mount the cooler in a place where you can reach the other side, while avoiding the fan blades.

 

I always use the ties to latch the trans cooler to the condenser only, which is in front of the radiator. I remove the fans and tilt the radiator out enough to slip my hand behind it. that way if you even had to replace the radiator... you would not need to cut and replace those ties... this might also reduce stress and wear as the condensor and radiator would be likely to move and vibrate separately.... etc etc etc.

 

 

I am also not sure which side to try to cooler inline... befre it goes to the radiator, or after.

 

trans cooler before the rad cooler would allow the coolant to moderate the temperatur of the fluid, so you don't overcool it.

 

rad cooler before the trans cooler would allow more cooling by comparison, but maybe too much when it's cold.

 

I haven't yet had any symptoms of over-cooling my transmission yet, and I have a pretty beefy transmission cooler that is installed after the radiator.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

If you ever need another cooler, try these guys.....

 

http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=2&Category_Code=tru-cool-lpd

 

There have been multiple articles in towing forums about the myth of "over cooling" trans fluid. Basically, as long as there is no water present, or, in humid conditions (I live in TX, too.) I would leave the auxilary cooler in line with the radiator cooler. I take the exit line from the radiator, run it through the cooler, then back into the trans. The thinking is if the fluid temp never sees the boiling point of water (212 deg F) then the water and fluid build up and varnish the interior of the trans, reducing heat transfer through the case (lots of surface area) and causing oil feed and solenoid issues, if bad enough.

 

If you measure the trans temp, from a dead stop at idle, the temp is fairly low. Once you accelerate, even gently, the "slip" of the fluid coupling is rejected as heat, and the trans fluid temp will rise. One good thing about lockup, is that once the "slip" is eliminated, then trans temps reduce dramatically. If you are towing, or driving in a spririted fashion, a trans cooler beyond factory is a MUST. The goal of a trans cooler is to stabilize or aid in heat rejection. Even if the cooler was the size of the radiator, you could stall the trans long/hard enough to exceed the cooling capacity.

 

Please be aware that you WILL NOT achieve max temperature drop using the "zip tie" method of attachment. Look at any of the factory engineered towing packages and you will see that the coolers used (trans, power steering, engine oil) have stand offs to keep the air flow from "stalling" as it exits the cooler and trys to continue on the path through condensor/radiator/whatever. I have tried to either use a bracket (strip aluminum from Home Dump or Lowes works really good, easy to bend into shape and/or cut), or mount the cooler with at least 1 in clearance around/behind it to allow max airflow and cooling.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Please be aware that you WILL NOT achieve max temperature drop using the "zip tie" method of attachment. Look at any of the factory engineered towing packages and you will see that the coolers used (trans, power steering, engine oil) have stand offs to keep the air flow from "stalling" as it exits the cooler and trys to continue on the path through condensor/radiator/whatever. I have tried to either use a bracket (strip aluminum from Home Dump or Lowes works really good, easy to bend into shape and/or cut), or mount the cooler with at least 1 in clearance around/behind it to allow max airflow and cooling.

 

ya, I actually did a quick study on a 4 door cutty 3.4 w/ a factory trans cooler...they have it mounted from the front of the top of the radiator cross member IIRC.....

 

I think I'll be doing that this fall/winter.

 

it had ~ and inch of clearance between the cooler and rad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...