ok well .. I was thinking of putting a biggger pan on when I have the shift kit installed.. 700r4 by the way..

I talked to a few local guys and then one guy told me it don't do much for cooling.. he told me to get an external cooler instead of using the one that's in the rad.. he said the prob with the built in one is that the oil is always going to be at least the temp of the coolant ..

anyone have their .02Cents on this one?

thanks

 

Yes, definately get the external cooler if you don't have one, he is correct about that. The pan should also help, but isn't necessary.

 

JEFF,

If you get an external cooler & you do some towing i would invest in an aluminum one.

Unless you have a fairly high stall converter, you wont need any of those aftermarket finned aluminum pans but i believe they do make a difference. I have one on my TCI equipped powerglide w/ transbrake & 4500 8" stall.

 

ok so the idea is to not use the one in built into the rad? I know some people have talked about going into the rad then into the ext. cooler.

 

Here's the deal. You run the fluid into the auxillary cooler then
into the radialtor to stabalize it at about 175-200 deg.

When the fluid is too cool, it has a higher viscosity (thicker) and
will not bleed from the clutches properly causing slight slippage
and WILL glaze the clutches.

Swapped a lot of trannys into trucks that had the radiator cooler
bypassed. Pulling rigs that had the trannys go out after someone
convinced the owner they needed an external cooler and to
diconnect the radiator.

Pull e'm, toss in some new clutches with a rubber/paper kit, hook
the radiator back up the right way and never hear from them
again.

 

ok so should I just leave it the way it is then?

 

maybe Dana from pro built can give us his .02c on this one


because now I don't see the point.. your going from trans to aux cooler to rad.. when it gets back to the rad the temp goes back up again.. and from what I've heard about 700r4 's is that the heat is w hat kills them..

 

Yes heat kills them at 300 or 400 deg. The tranny is designed to
be run at around 200 deg.

 

I'm also interested in this. Have searched the archive and there seems to be lots of different opinions here.
Some points to consider:
-transfixleo recommends to bypass the radiator, as this eliminate the risk of getting the trans ruined by coolant.
-Some people say the cooler the better. (Saw this at the Art Carr site)
-The radiator cooler use liquid convection, which as I see it would be a lot more effective than an air cooled aux cooler. Also the trans cooler is at the "cold" side of the radiator. I would have thought that inserting the aux cooler after the radiator will allow for max cooling.
-Climate: where I live we never have more than 25oC (77oF).
Is it really necessary with an aux cooler unless you live in a hot climate, maybe combined with a high HP motor that cause the cold side of the rad to be closer to the engine temperature?
-Why didn't GM use aux coolers if they are so important?

Have another question on aux filter: I noticed that although my oil is pretty "murky" and have lots of debris in the pan, the intake section of the pan filter looked clean. Doesn't seems like it's doing a good job.
I asked my local supplier if they had aux. filter (with normal "engine type filter cartridge), but they recommended me to stay away from that since it will restrict the flow in the cooling system. They said the pan filter is more than enough.
Any thoughts on this?

 

There's also those trans fluid thermostats... they'll send fluid to your trans cooler if the fluid gets hot enough, but if the fluid's cool, it gets re-routed back into your trans. I don't remember exactly how much they are, but I think they're around $100. I saw it in the SummitRacing.com paper catalog, I'm sure it's online.

 

Yes, it is intended to keep the fluid at 190 deg.

 

I work on a lot of heavy duty trucks and pickups and have yet to see a tranny die from being to cool, what I have seen is them burning up. External coolers only have one drawback on our cars and that is finding mounting space. The only problem I have seen on the pickups and trucks is sometimes they develop leaks in the hoses. You won't need an external cooler unless you have a decent stall, but it will help any tranny. It only takes about 5-10 minutes for your tranny to get too hot to work on comfortably and that is from many experiences. If you are unsure who to believe ask Pro-Built, he is accepted as the resident expert on auto trannies on this site. Good luck!!

 

I put a tranny in a 96 Dodge 1 ton today with a Cummins Diesel
and it routs the fluid to a cooler hooked up to the heater hoses
then to a factory cooler out in front of the radiator.

The tow truck (97 Chevy 3500HD, Diesel) routs the fluid to a
factory cooler in front of the radiator then to the cooler inside
of the radiator.

A Taurus up on the rack goes to a cooler of sorts up front then to
the radiator.

Hell if I know. I was tought to go into the radiator last.
I guess do what you feel is right.

 

I guess if we can get Dana from Pro Built to put his .02C in here... he should have a good answer..

 

I know we route them through the radiator first and then to the external cooler, but I don't know that it really makes any difference.

 

.. well for now I've got a TCI cast aluminum tranny pan coming in.. I figured since I 'm getting a transgo kit installed I'll have them put a bigger pan.. it's cast aluminum with fins and drain plug.. apparantly comes with new bolts gaskets, etc.. holds 2 extra qts ..

 

Just watch for debris on the road, aluminum pans crack easy.

 

I have never seen a transmission run to cool. (I guess it could happen) If you insist on running the radiator cooler with the external cooler, then go thru the radiator first then the external cooler. I like to see 150 to 180 degrees, (at steady speeds) & 190 to 210 when climbing a hill, this works best for long life. Remember you only change fluid when necessary, when the color starts to turn brown, and when the smell starts to change from a chemical one to a burnt one. Get used to the color & smell, and check it everytime you do something out of your ordinary pattern of driving. If you need to change the oil, then do a complete change. If you see that it needs to be changed because of the above?, do it immediately!!! Once the fluid is burnt, lubrication goes down fast. How fast, is how burnt the oil is, the more it is burnt the faster the transmission wears (lack of good oil lubrication)