To bypass or not to bypass....?
You bypass the radiator to help keep your trans fluid temps down. If you daily drive your car in a cold winter weather environment though, it's good to have the tranny fluid still routed thru the radiator to help warm it up on really cold days. If this is a summer cruiser, don't bother with that though and definately bypass the radiator to help keep your trans alive.
How in the world is it better to bypass an additional cooling source for your tranny fluid? Fluid goes to stock cooler hot - fluid leaves stock cooler less hot - fluid enters aftermarket cooler less hot - and leaves aftermarket cooler less hot than using 1 cooler no?!?!
In order for that not to be the case then people must be saying the fluid is going to the stocker to be heated and not cooled. It just dosent make any sense. Theres got to be more to it than that.
In order for that not to be the case then people must be saying the fluid is going to the stocker to be heated and not cooled. It just dosent make any sense. Theres got to be more to it than that.
The radiator does not do that great of a job cooling off your trans fluid. Remember, there is hot *** coolant running through the radiator and it turns the entire radiator hot. It does help to cool the fluid, but only slightly. Better than having nothing at all. If you have an additional external cooler, it makes almost no sense to run it through the stock radiator as well though. Ask all the big boys what they run, I guarantee you they don't run it through the radiator... There are a ton of threads on this topic, searching is the key.
Even more reason to bypass it. Your car will have higher temps than drag cars since you will run it in stop and go traffic. Specially at a stop when there is no air running through the rad it will spike more. Hotter engine coolant equals hotter tranny fluid. Help your tranny and help it cool faster. Its common sense the closer you are to heat source the hotter it is. Place the tranny cooler in front of the rad or ac condenser and it will be much cooler than just running through the rad since the rad is right by the engine. At the end of the day its your ride and you do as you want.
-Bert
-Bert
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My trans temps run 140-150 most of the time. Coolant is usually around 190-200, so if I was running thru a stock cooler (dont have one, was T56 before) it would be heating my fluid instead of cooling it. Unless you live in the frigid north, bypass it and put on a good cooler.
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On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 110
Likes: 0
This is what I was told...with the stock transmission cooler that's inside the radiator...if it ruptures (due to age, accident, w/e), coolant will get into the transmission fluid and vice versa. Antifreeze will break down transmission fluid, lessening its properties and also deteriorate the clutch pack.
My stock 'cooler' is bypassed.. I personally prefer the simplicity of 1 large cooler. Less connections that could possibly leak, Less restriction in the system and theres no added heat from the engine coolant.
From what ive read on here, you want to keep your trans temps away from 200 degrees and if that can be accomplished easily with one cooler, why run 2? Sure, in the colder climates it will help the trans get up to temp, but my car never sees cold like that.
From what ive read on here, you want to keep your trans temps away from 200 degrees and if that can be accomplished easily with one cooler, why run 2? Sure, in the colder climates it will help the trans get up to temp, but my car never sees cold like that.
It kind of depends on what is going on with the radiator.
If you have stock fan settings then ECT and the tank
water temps can be up over 200F, which is bad news.
If the tank is kept cool then it's just more surface area
to help you out.
Though the trans exchanger sits right where the block
water comes out, which is the warmest part of the rad.
I run the air cooler first, rad cooler second, and last
time I looked trans temps were in the 160F range. But
that's before I went back to stock 'stat, may be 20
degrees warmer now.
If you have stock fan settings then ECT and the tank
water temps can be up over 200F, which is bad news.
If the tank is kept cool then it's just more surface area
to help you out.
Though the trans exchanger sits right where the block
water comes out, which is the warmest part of the rad.
I run the air cooler first, rad cooler second, and last
time I looked trans temps were in the 160F range. But
that's before I went back to stock 'stat, may be 20
degrees warmer now.
TECH Junkie
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,092
Likes: 11
"I run the air cooler first, rad cooler second"
It would seem to me by running the transmission fluid like that the air cooler will cool it down some and then the radiator may heat it back up depending on what the radiator temperature is running at the time.
By running through the radiator cooler first the temperature of the transmission fluid will be at the temperature level of the radiator and then running through the air cooler it will cool the fluid down that much more and would be less than the radiator temperature.
It would seem to me by running the transmission fluid like that the air cooler will cool it down some and then the radiator may heat it back up depending on what the radiator temperature is running at the time.
By running through the radiator cooler first the temperature of the transmission fluid will be at the temperature level of the radiator and then running through the air cooler it will cool the fluid down that much more and would be less than the radiator temperature.
This is what I was told...with the stock transmission cooler that's inside the radiator...if it ruptures (due to age, accident, w/e), coolant will get into the transmission fluid and vice versa. Antifreeze will break down transmission fluid, lessening its properties and also deteriorate the clutch pack.
This is exactly what happened to my brothers car. Not a pretty fix. Can get expensive. Tranny needed complete overhaul.
-Bert
