Transmission cooler

ronstang94 · Aug 11, 2008

I know I have seen useful threads about this before, and Ive been searching for the threads, but i just cant find them. So, sorry for asking the same old tired questions.

I want to mount the transmission cooler behind the fog light on the drivers side. In that location it wont contribute to coolant temps or heat up the air being taken in by the air filter. There is plenty of room, I will just have to fab up a way to mount it. In this location do I need a fan? I know fan is better, but it is $100 more. I want a trans cooler not just to help the life of my trans, but also I hope it will help keep engine temps down (a trans cooler can help with this right?) Im thinking the best way to do this would be to have the transcooler in line before the radiator, so is the top or bottom trans line the line going into the radiator? Im going to get a fin and plate style cooler, but what minimum GVW rating? Im looking at B&M, they are good right? Anything else I should know? Thank you.

HISSIN50 · Aug 11, 2008

I know it's not what you're asking but just for the sake of mentioning it, I will:

I would go for a stacked plate cooler. They're self regulating, more efficient and robust (in construction). Because of the self regulation, you can install it after the radiator's heat exchanger. In the winter, the aux cooler will just bypass if trans temps are cool.

Your proposed dope mounting (in the fender) would work but having a sturdy bracket system is important. You definitely would want a fan and a thermoswitch (for the fan), especially if you idle in traffic much. I would also consider rigging up some sort of ducting to bring ambient air across the coil (some HVAC ducting from your local home store would work).

Check Bulkpart.com for decent prices on Long coolers (IIRC Long makes B&M coolers).

Do you have any idea what your trans temps are right now? That would help in making the size decision. I cant remember if you self tune and can datalog. If so, maybe you can DL TOT's like Wes did here.

IIRC: At the radiator, the top trans line is the one leaving the stock heat exchanger. That is, the hot fluid leaving the trans to be cooled goes into the bottom of the radiator.

Random thoughts. Good luck Ron.

Road_Runna · Aug 11, 2008

Im putting a tru-cool 20,500 gvw in mines, instructions say place it infront of both the radiator and a/c cooler (unsure if it's the a/c cooler but it's visible looking from the front bumper).

HISSIN50 · Aug 11, 2008

Road_Runna said:
Im putting a tru-cool 20,500 gvw in mines, instructions say place it infront of both the radiator and a/c cooler (unsure if it's the a/c cooler but it's visible looking from the front bumper).

Putting it in front of the condenser is very common. I think Ron is trying to avoid putting the trans-heat into the cooling system however (in this configuation, the heat rejected by the trans cooler goes through the condenser and radiator).

I still think that's the easiest method however. And unless the cooling system is at the ragged edge of being adequate, it should be able to handle it.

Dope mounting can be quite effective - it just requires more effort and expense.

Redsnk95 · Aug 11, 2008

I don't have a condenser but mine is just mounted right on the front of the radiator. I used an "electric fan mounting kit" from the local autoparts store. Its just some straps that go through the cooler and radiator. Very simple way to do it. The bottom opening of my bumper provides plenty of air support.

ronstang94 · Aug 11, 2008

Thank you for the quick reply and the link was very helpful.

The cooler im looking at is called a fin and plate style. Is a stacked plate cooler different from a fin and plate cooler, or are they two different names for the same thing? Im looking at this cooler B&M 70297 - B&M Hi-Tek SuperCoolers with Fans - summitracing.com . I noticed that you live in southern AZ Hissin. I do too, so you are probably the perfect person to talk to about this. These cars are not meant to handle this kind of summer heat, especially if you like to have some fun with them. The car doesnt actually overheat, it just gets hotter than I like (just past the M of NORMAL). Im hoping the transcooler will help this. Obviously, dope mounting is best for this situation, but do you suggest running the cooler before or after the factory heat exchanger, or completely seperate like you have it? I wish I knew the exact temperatures (Ill get a tweecer when i have the money... sometime in the far future ) sometimes the gear selector shaft is too hot to touch for more than five seconds . Thank you

HISSIN50 · Aug 12, 2008

I'm just south of ya (Tucson).

Your cooler looks good. It is a stacked plate version. The other type is fin-and-tube - they look like your AC condensor, with little pipes on the sides and far less heat-dissipation (less fins), let alone not being self-regulating. But you're good there.

I didnt see any BTU or GVWR info on your cooler (they dont list it on mine anymore either. I have a similar 70274). It should do well for you however. That said, with all the tuning Wes did on my shift points and line pressure, I can still heat the fluid up occasionally (when it's 100-115*F out, driving in traffic in the middle of the day). I *dont* have a fan on mine (I rely on the radiator fan) so your fan should really help things out. I do have a small Spal fan which I might someday install (I'm space challenged as it is. I had to reconfigure the hood latch support just to get the cooler itself to fit).

And before Wes worked his magic, I had no trouble keeping the trans cool with a tiny 8 x 11 x .75 cooler. I had to buy a bigger cooler and redo my crap, so you're going big right off the bat is good.

And you did good choosing a cooler with screw-in barbed fittings. Be sure to seal the fittings well (leak concerns).

In your case, I'd have the fluid run through the stock heat exchanger and then to your cooler. The heat exchanger can heat the fluid up in the summer but your new trans cooler is so big that it should pull the heat right back out. And in the winter, your trans fluid will heat up quicker (the stock heat exchanger is for temp regulation, not cooling). It takes me awhile to build heat in the trans when it's near freezing or even on an 80* night in the rain (evaporative cooling works great on the trans cooler).

I dont think the new set-up will help your car run cooler (coolant wise) but it SURE will help the trans. It's not tough at all to get a stock car's trans temps over 200* at the TOT in the desert (with no aux trans cooler).

I'm making an evaporative cooler too. It will use a washer fluid reservoir and pump, with misting hose (like you see on restaurant patios), to spray water onto the cooler (and maybe the condenser and radiator coils) when I desire. This should help cool things down when I really need it.

If you want to do the dope mount, check out the 4th Gen camaro forums (we have a Camaro, which is where I came across this method. They have some write-ups on mounting the coolers). On those cars, there's no room for a cooler in front of the condenser, hence the reason they do that.

Grab a temp gauge (even used should be fine) if you feel like it. I think it's really important to see trans temps. However, you can use an IR thermometer to get an idea of temps, and I often just use my hand (be careful of getting burned). If I can touch the trans cooler and it doesn't feel like your shift handle, I figure the fluid isnt that hot.

BTW, I sometimes put a girl's ankle sock over the shift handle on my 5 speed vert when I park the car.

ronstang94 · Aug 15, 2008

I think that the one in my link might be a third style of cooler, because in the discription at the bottom it says fin and plate, but it looks like a stacked plate style cooler so maybe thats just another name for it. That mister system sounds like a great idea, I might have to steal it . Thanks for all of the advice

HISSIN50 · Aug 15, 2008

I think fin and plate = stacked plate. Stacked plate is a plate with fins. Matter of fact, they offer some coolers that cost more but are the same design and size, but the difference is the number of rows and fins.

Fin and tube is different and looks much different. They aren't as efficient but tend to be cheaper.

Road_Runna · Oct 19, 2008

HISSIN50 said:
I know it's not what you're asking but just for the sake of mentioning it, I will:

I would go for a stacked plate cooler. They're self regulating, more efficient and robust (in construction). Because of the self regulation, you can install it after the radiator's heat exchanger. In the winter, the aux cooler will just bypass if trans temps are cool.

Your proposed dope mounting (in the fender) would work but having a sturdy bracket system is important. You definitely would want a fan and a thermoswitch (for the fan), especially if you idle in traffic much. I would also consider rigging up some sort of ducting to bring ambient air across the coil (some HVAC ducting from your local home store would work).

Check Bulkpart.com for decent prices on Long coolers (IIRC Long makes B&M coolers).

Do you have any idea what your trans temps are right now? That would help in making the size decision. I cant remember if you self tune and can datalog. If so, maybe you can DL TOT's like Wes did here.

IIRC: At the radiator, the top trans line is the one leaving the stock heat exchanger. That is, the hot fluid leaving the trans to be cooled goes into the bottom of the radiator.

Random thoughts. Good luck Ron.

For an aftermarket cooler; (on our sn-95 cars) the aux cooler needs to be connected to the bottom connection on the radiator, am I right?

HISSIN50 · Oct 19, 2008

Road_Runna said:
For an aftermarket cooler; (on our sn-95 cars) the aux cooler needs to be connected to the bottom connection on the radiator, am I right?

IIRC our cars are different than aero foxes. IIRC the fluid leaves the trans and goes into the bottom of the radiator, egresses the top and from there, I would run a line to and from your aux cooler. So I believe your top line is the 'output' from the stock radiator-cooler.

If you connect it to the bottom, you will take your aux-cooler cooled fluid and send it back into the radiator to get partially reheated (the stock cooler is really a heat-exchanger, for temperature regulation, not cooling). It's necessary in cold climates or the trans fluid never warms up.

The quick test: disconnect the top line. Get the line from the radiator's port into a container (I screw a barbed fitting into the intermediate fitting on the heat exchanger. Then I use a short piece of 3/8" hose jammed over the barbed fitting, and I run the rubber line into a gatorade bottle). Then bump the starter or start it for a split second and shut it off. You want fluid to pump out of the radiator. If it shoots out of the disconnected line, you have the wrong port.

I'm 99% sure I'm right about the lines but I always test them no matter what anyone tells me. You never know what someone did to a car otherwise.

Good luck.

Dino Dino Bambino · Oct 20, 2008

My local tranny shop installed my Hayden tranny cooler in front of the AC condenser behind the front bumper but the lines go directly to the external cooler bypassing the heat exchanger inside the radiator altogether. I asked them why they didn't connect both of them in series. They said that the coolant from the radiator actually heats up the tranny fluid so in their opinion, it's better to have only the external cooler. Living in a very hot country, they may have a good point.

Transmission cooler

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