I recently bought a set of trans coolers from a member. I believe he had been running both on his car. One is a stacked plate cooler and the other is a tube and fin with an electric fan.

I am trying to decide if I need both or if I would be ok with just one to simply things. Especially as my setup is pretty mild.

I will be gunning a roughly 430hp NA 5.3 with a 4l80e in my 65 nova 4dr. I am installing a Jakes calibration kit an 3500 converter. I live in Arizona. It is a street car that I will drive a lot.

Would I be ok with just one or should I run both? Thoughts?

 

I would consider the "tube and fin" cooler to be worthless...

Use the stacked plate cooler; and if you wish use the electric fan with it.
I would use a thermostatic switch to turn the fan on with ATF temps over 180 degrees.

 

I think given you live in a hotter climate, it depends where you're planning on mounting the cooler. I'm in CT so it's obvious not hot all the time like in AZ but I run a stacked plate cooler in front of the radiator. You should try that first and assess temps, and if they're too hot, install the fan.

 

I'm also in the market for a cooler. Is the Hayden Automotive 679 Rapid-Cool Plate and Fin Transmission Cooler the good style? It seems to join up different terminology.

The price is right and Ive seen the brand mentioned as quality before.

 

The Hayden Automotive 679 looks like (from photos) a "stacked plate"/ "plate and fin" design... Looks most like "plate and fin"; which is good like "stacked plate".

The style with a 5/16" or 3/8" tube that passes through fins is the least ideal design cooler (the "tube and fin" type) shown below.

 

I believe Mr. Maroon Monsta sources his transmission oil coolers from Hayden...

Ask him if the Hayden Automotive 679 Rapid-Cool unit is "plate and fin"... It looks to be anyway.

The B&M "stacked plate" coolers haven been disappearing and should be all gone soon; thanks to Holley.
Someone posted recently, the name of a company that probably manufactures the coolers for B&M.

I have to look into that and find out if that company will continue to produce "stacked plate" units.
For the money... they would be my preferred choice.

I like the NEW coolers that Holley is selling via their Earl's brand (plate and fin), but they are grossly overpriced.

 

Found it!


Tru-Cool Thermal Products by Long Manufacturing.

So; Long Manufacturing does indeed produce both the B&M brand coolers and the Tru-Cool brand coolers.

Some people seem to think that the B&M brand coolers are "Rebranded" Tru-Cool products (and maybe they are).
However, my own research seems to indicate that while both are produced by the same company... there are slight differences between the two brands when comparing similarly spec'd products.

Holley (who currently owns B&M) is rapidly discontinuing B&M coolers... However, the Tru-Cool products still seem widely available... So I am going to pick up an account with them.
Should Holley (the company that bought everybody else's company during the 2008 crash) stop acting like a monopoly in terms of product pricing behavior; lower the prices on Earl's coolers...
I'll go back to an account with Holley for oil coolers.

 

Almost all of them are made int eh Far East. You can get a decent one mail order for under a 50 dollar bill.

No matter who you buy from,, test it with working pressure full of liquid,, water or a light solvent.

I've seen the 400 dollar ones split right open at 50 lbs pressure due to a weld letting go or a section splitting.
I use a bicycle pump, with a inline gauger and a valve, so I fill it with solvent, then pump it up, close the valve and let it
sit for a couple hours..

If the budget allows Setrab is the one I use.. With a Mocal thermostat in line to let the tranny or engine get up to temp.

 

For the average street car with a mild converter, the Hayden 679 will work fine. Are there better options? yes, but for $50ish you can't beat it. I personally have -6an lines running through a Tru Cool H7B which is the same height and width as the 679, but is twice as thick and is a stacked plate compared the the plate and fin style cooler that the Hayden is.

 

Hayden 679 is plate and fin.
Bang for buck they're hard to beat. For most street car guys or factory pickup guys with 35's and stock gearing (goofballs) it will keep the trans temps reasonable as long as you put it in a place where it gets good air.
Very rare to see temps over 180 when used in tandem with the factory oil cooler (NW Iowa...I don't recommend anyone that drives after Oct. 1 to bypass the factory cooler in the rad)

 

Why not? I have a cooler that's used as a stand alone and I've never had any issues in colder weather and I'm in CT, so not exactly the warmest place. I'll drive the car until the first snowfall and aside from it just taking longer to heat up I've never noticed a difference.

 

Well...if you stop driving it when the snow flies...then you're probably not getting it too cold
and, taking longer to heat up isn't exactly a good thing. Condensation, moisture, and oil thickness are all issues when you start talking about temps below 32F...That's why I absolutely recommend factory cooler integrated in the rad is kept functional in those climates