Straight to the Tranny Cooler
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 531
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From: Helendale, Ca (SilverLakes)
Straight to the Tranny Cooler I was surfing one of our sponsor sites(TCI) and saw where they reccomended that we route the fluid directly to the Trans cooler and bypass the radiator cooler; if the outside temp is above 0 degrees F.
Makes sense. A radiator at 195-200 degrees cannot be cooling the trans fluid very much. I am going to try it.
<img border="0" alt="[chug]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_chug.gif" />
Makes sense. A radiator at 195-200 degrees cannot be cooling the trans fluid very much. I am going to try it.
<img border="0" alt="[chug]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_chug.gif" />
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler I run mine in-series. I can't see how a small cooler run alone is better than the combined radiator and cooler. Especially considering you can use the electric fans to cool the radiator at idle, when there is no air from the moving vehicle.
BTW - Most manufacturers recommend the in series method for vehicles under warranty.
BTW - Most manufacturers recommend the in series method for vehicles under warranty.
Thread Starter
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 531
Likes: 0
From: Helendale, Ca (SilverLakes)
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler Seems they also said that keeping the trans temp at a maximum of 175 degrees provided the best life of trans.
If the radiator is at 185-195 degrees, it cannot provide much cooling, if any, if the desired temp is 175. What you do is up to you.
If the radiator is at 185-195 degrees, it cannot provide much cooling, if any, if the desired temp is 175. What you do is up to you.
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler Mine is in series.I use a 160 stat with fans set to come on early.
Question,if you bypass the radiator what will cool the fluid in stop and go traffic with little air flow thru the cooler ?
Question,if you bypass the radiator what will cool the fluid in stop and go traffic with little air flow thru the cooler ?
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by jfm:
<strong> Mine is in series.I use a 160 stat with fans set to come on early.
Question,if you bypass the radiator what will cool the fluid in stop and go traffic with little air flow thru the cooler ? </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm with you on running in series and using a 160 T-Stat.
However, if you ran them seperate, your 160 T-Stat will kick the fans on a lot and the bring cool air through the tranny cooler and then through the radiator if your cooler is mounted on the condensor or radiator.
<strong> Mine is in series.I use a 160 stat with fans set to come on early.
Question,if you bypass the radiator what will cool the fluid in stop and go traffic with little air flow thru the cooler ? </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm with you on running in series and using a 160 T-Stat.
However, if you ran them seperate, your 160 T-Stat will kick the fans on a lot and the bring cool air through the tranny cooler and then through the radiator if your cooler is mounted on the condensor or radiator.
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 168
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From: Crestview, FL
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler I have a Bm cooler and have been logging my tranny temps. I have the stock tstat and have my fans come on at 176 just for the sole purpose of the tranny temps.
With them on at 175 my temps hand out at around 150 normally and 160-170 during WOT runs, I also tested this abusing the tranny for about 30 minutes on various pulls and 125 shot passes. Works good enough for me.
With them on at 175 my temps hand out at around 150 normally and 160-170 during WOT runs, I also tested this abusing the tranny for about 30 minutes on various pulls and 125 shot passes. Works good enough for me.
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Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler You should always delete the POS <img border="0" alt="[barf]" title="" src="graemlins/gr_barf.gif" /> radiator cooler.I have ran an inline temperature gage with the radiator cooler and aftermarket cooler and just the aftermarket cooler and there is no comparison. the aftermarket cooler ran alone wins hands down. The other major factor nobody has adressed is that by running 2 coolers instead of 1 you increase the resistance and reduce the amount of fluid that is cooled. Take the cooler return off and time how long it takes to fill a one quart container with both coolers and then with just the aftermarket cooler. The difference is dramatic. Just ask any of the truck guys that do alot of heavy towing. this is common knowledge to them. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="gr_images/icons/wink.gif" />
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Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler Another concern when running the auxiliary cooler in series is that if the stock cooler develops a leak, coolant (water) will enter the trans and kill the clutches. If you size it right, a stand-alone cooler will do just fine. However, to dump excess heat from running a high stall converter, running a smaller auxiliary cooler in series makes good sense too. That’s how I’ve done it in the past.
Another good discussion point is whether or not to direct the flow to the auxiliary cooler before or after the stock cooler.
Another good discussion point is whether or not to direct the flow to the auxiliary cooler before or after the stock cooler.
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by nuzee:
<strong>
Another good discussion point is whether or not to direct the flow to the auxiliary cooler before or after the stock cooler. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Stock cooler first. Since the coolant temp is 170 - 190, that limits the cooling capacity of the stock cooler. I use the stock cooler to remove some heat and the after market unit to bring the temp down some more.
<strong>
Another good discussion point is whether or not to direct the flow to the auxiliary cooler before or after the stock cooler. </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Stock cooler first. Since the coolant temp is 170 - 190, that limits the cooling capacity of the stock cooler. I use the stock cooler to remove some heat and the after market unit to bring the temp down some more.
Re: Straight to the Tranny Cooler </font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> The other major factor nobody has adressed is that by running 2 coolers instead of 1 you increase the resistance and reduce the amount of fluid that is cooled. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Interesting point. Have you measured/observed the differece cooling capacity between a two step process (assuming a 160 t-stat) and a single step?
