trans coolers

by pila Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:59 pm

A friend and I used just an external cooler on his Chevy van, when we switched it to an auto trans ( TH350) from a manual trans. It cooled OK. Original radiator didn't have the trans cooler in it.

by bracketchev1221 Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:02 am

Did you have a temperature gauge on this? I am only asking because I have a theory and I never tried to prove it. That is in cold temperatures, running the fluid through the stock cooler HEATS the fluid in the trans to keep it at a safe temperature. My suburban will run at like 120 degrees in the trans in the winter and that is with it going through the radiator cooler and then the external.

by 74Malibu383 Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:52 am

I have a temperature gauge on mine. I've done some testing, and found that running the lines through the radiator definitely brings the temp up to operating temp quicker than without. I've also found that the transmission temp closely mirrors the water temp by doing so.

by 77mali Thu Aug 28, 2014 1:02 pm

My truck has both the trans & engine oil cooled via the radiator, although it seems to take a while for the heat in the engine bay to dissipate after a long commute home. I know too much heat is a problem for a trans but is the reverse also true? If they run too cool isn't that also a problem?

by pila Sun Aug 31, 2014 10:46 pm

Seems like cold climates could affect the trans a bit if it takes too long for the oil to come up to a good operating temp.
I don't know this to be a fact, but prolonged cold/thicker oil may possibly slow the clutch piston applications a bit, letting the clutches slip a bit more during the shift, which may wear them more than usual (??)

Just another brain fart.... Smile

by driveit Mon Sep 01, 2014 2:43 pm

I don't know a lot about this, but was talking with my uncle about it yesterday. He was telling how they used to run in the demolition derby. They had huge issues with transmissions getting too hot and failing. They talked it over with a renowned transmission builder back in the day and he of course said run a trans cooler. That was against the rules. They were only allowed to use the single radiator as a cooler. He said well then the most simple thing you can do is eliminate the cooler all together. He told them to run a line out and immediately back into the trans with just a small loop. They never had another transmission fail again. I would have thought that would have made it way to hot in there, but it seemed to work for them. Of course I would not want to do that on my car, but they did on those crach em up cars.

by 76 Malibu Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:28 pm

Years ago I installed a stacked plate axillary trans cooler on my car. I ran the lines into the factory rad cooler, than to the aux cooler. This way the fluid will still be allowed to warm up in cooler weather, but the aux cooler will make sure the ATF is cool under extreme hot conditions. The cooler I installed also had a thermostatic bypass built in, that basically doesn't allow the fluid to run through the aux cooler until the fluid is up to temperature.

This is the way that Hayden recommends as well.

http://www.haydenauto.com/Installation-FAQs/Content.aspx

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