aftermarket auto trans cooler for maximum heat control

[**ICEMAN**]

i have been looking at this cooler for a long time and finally decided to get it. with outdoor temps being warm and stop and go traffic etc my trans temps rise very quick to the

"danger zone". fyi( on my 2001) i have an aftermarket trans & t/c,double deep pan and use synthetic trans fluid.

i plan on removing all the stock trans lines and coolers and using this new one as the primary cooler. this cooler w/fan is 10 1/2" x 21" x 4" . it has 5/8 inch tubes,5 blade fan,1250 cfm.

i also bought the adjustable temp (160-210 deg. ) automatic fan kit.

i plan on mounting the cooler/fan to the underside of the truck bed in front of the spare tire. the under bed cross members are spaced just right for the holes drilled in the bottom flange of the cooler assy. i will be mounting it with the fan facing down(to ground) and there will be plenty of room between the cooler and under side of the bed for air circulation.

i am going to use high press/heat 1/2 i. d. rubber hose with an fittings for input and output from trans to cooler.

i continuously monitor trans line and torque convertor pressures with in cab gauges so i will have to get their senders plumb'd into the new set up too.

it may take a lttle time to gather all the fittings etc but i will definately report here how the system works after installation.

http://www.perma-cool.com/

 

[Josparkz]

It seeks a lot of first generation trucks had a under the bed cooler. I always wondered how much dirt that would kick up there.

The spot you have planned would be out of the question for me, too much aux. fuel tank there.

 

[mediccummin]

debris

What about road debris or 4wheeling debris, are you afraid of a rock kicking up there and putting a hole through it? Or is the location enough out of the way? It would only take one pebble off the front tire to go right through it. Just a thought, but good luck and let us know how it go's, I have been contemplating on the same idea just a different location, my transmission also gets hot especially in the 115' desert. Good luck.

 

[1dslram]

I removed the heat transfer unit, necessary with twins, and replaced the stock cooler with 2 stack plate coolers, and one 28000# in front of the radiator. At the trans is a 160* diverter that allows the trans to heat to 160* before the oil goes forward. If the oil leaving the front coolers is over 160* the fan mounted in front starts. If the oil going to the rear is overe 106* it will then flow through another 30,000# cooler with a 12" fan to further cool the oil. This has completely cured my trans. oil heat problems, either in traffic or towing. I am using 3/4" lines and that made a big difference when I changed from 1/2" to 3/4" and all of the coolers have 1/2" pipe female fittings. PM me if you need a source for the coolers and fans at a reasonable price.

Bruce

 

[**ICEMAN**]

Re: debris

Originally posted by mediccummin

What about road debris or 4wheeling debris,

mud etc. is not a concern on this truck. it never leaves the pavement or comes out the garage in the rain and goes on jack stands under a huge truck cover in a heated garage during winter months(snow etc. ). just ask my local tdr buddies,,they rag on me all the time about it and are concerned when they stop by and it's out of the garage.



i looked on my 94 that does see all types of road and off road conditions and the same install area (almost directly above the rear axle) has stayed pretty clean for the past 11 years.

i went a little over kill buying the largest unit they had(just how i do things). i believe a cooler/fan unit half the size of the one i got would be plenty and it would open up a lot more options on install location.



1dslram,, the 3/4 " lines make more sense especially since the cooler tubes are 5/8". thanks for the insight,,i'll be going with 3/4 instead of the 1/2 like i had planned.

 

[rweis]

I added a H7B to my 2002 ETC back in the passenger side well under the bed. All I did was TAKE OUT the short hose from the hot line to the water heat exchanger and instead run the hot line back to the H7B and then back forward to the water heat exchanger input connector.



I did mine because the transmission was heating up (over 200*) when I backed up the 5er.



I do have a fan on the H7B with a switch in the cab. That way it is on or off period.



What I am finding is the pan temps never go over 150* with the fan on even when towing heavy in stop and go traffic. The hot line will show the T/C can add as much as 50* to the pan temp, but with the fan on the hot line is never over 200*. When the T/C locks up then the hot line drops quickly to about 160* showing the work the T/C is doing pulling the 5er.



When I am not towing I do not need to turn the fan on. Not towing the pan stays 150* and the hot line stays below 175* even when the T/C is not locked in stop and go traffic.



When I changed the transmission fluid it did take 20 quarts whth the added lines and H7B.



I used the H7B because that is what DTT uses when they add a aux transmission cooler. I used AN-8 lines.



I really like my setup. I put it before the water heat exchanger to also help with getting heat out of the engine as the transmission fluid is cooler than the radiator fluid once the T/C locks up.



Bob Weis

 

[**ICEMAN**]

UPDATE

well,,it's installed. i removed all the stock cooler lines and plumbed the new cooler/fan as the only cooler.

on a short test ride the trans temps sky rocketed quick

i called the "wolf pack leader" asking why my setup didn't work.

he says that using the tubed cooler/fan as the only cooler will not work because the oil travels too fast through the cooler to actually cool it.

he also made it clear to me on how great of a cooling system that the oem setup is. i believe that now.

he also says my cooler/fan will fix my high fluid temps(stop and go traffic etc) if i use it in a series with the oem trans oil cooling system.

so i put all the oem lines back on . the fluid will leave the trans as normal and go to the heat exchanger,then to oem finned cooler in front and instead of the fluid returning to the trans i am plumbing it to my aux. cooler/fan under the bed and then to the trans input port.

i will have to wait for monday to get a few fittings but i will update here on how it works in a series.

here's a pic of the install location and how i had it plumbed being the only cooler.

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[lmills]

Originally posted by **ICEMAN**

mud etc. is not a concern on this truck. it never leaves the pavement or comes out the garage in the rain and goes on jack stands under a huge truck cover in a heated garage during winter months(snow etc. ). just ask my local tdr buddies,,they rag on me all the time about it and are concerned when they stop by and it's out of the garage.

Oh yeah, I can confirm that. I have only seen this truck dirty twice. Once when he had to drive it home in the rain. The second time was at the MD TDR picnic, it had a bug splattered on the bumper.

 

[fortunate1]

ICEMAN: That's a cool setup!! (pun intended ) I agree with the OEM assessment - it ain't bad. But if your extra cooler is the last thing the ATF goes through before re-entering the trans, you should always have much lower temps. That's what I've experienced. The fan comes on at 150, and goes off when below that. Mine's under the driver's side club cab, and dirt/rocks aren't ever issues. Even driving through floodwaters during Isabel last Sept. didn't harm anything. Just needed a thorough hosing the day after.

 

[rweis]

I put a H7B in place of the short line from the transmission hot line to the water heat exchanger, ie trans hot line, H7B, water heat exchanger, OEM air heat exchanger, Mag-Hytec DD 727. Sensors in the hot line and in the pan.



I put a fan on the H7B with switch in the cab.



I pulled my 13k 5er through the Smokey's last week. I could control the transmission temps all the time. IF I got stuck in stop and go traffic , just flip on the fan.



The fan seems to be able to keep the transmission PAN temps at 150* regardless of the T/C work done. Under extreme UNLOCK conditions the T/C will heat the fluid as much as 50* and the hot line will be 200*, pan at 150*. Locked up the hot line is 160*, pan at 150*. Showing how much work the T/C is doing.



In stop and go I run the fan to keep the pan (ie T/C feed fluid) at 150*



Backing the 5er, fan on, hot line never went over 200* because even not going forward I can cool the pan fluid to 150*.



I REALLY like being able to control the transmission fluid temp.



Bob Weis

 

[**ICEMAN**]

Updated Info

well,,i reinstalled all the oem cooler lines and have the fluid leaving the trans as it came stock. instead of the return line being connected to the return port on the transmission i cut the line and added a fitting so that i could route the fluid to the aux. cooler under the bed and then back to the trans return port.

i found out that the blue hose you see in the above pics had a max temp rating of 200 degree. it was the hydraulic hose shops fault/mistake for giving me the wrong specs on the hose and they gave me a refund for it.

i now have 1/2" i d teflon line with stainless braiding which has a 500 max temp rating.

i also changed the plumbing at the trans return port for more clearence around the front drive shaft.



my goal was to control my trans temps during stop and go traffic etc.

the temps would rise real quick into the 250 degree zone.

i have tested the new setup for a couple days(truck empty) and can not make the temps go over 180 degree !! temp port in the exit line of the transmission)

 

[kess]

I have been following this thread for a while and was wondering how these setups are working. I will soon be moving to Arkansas and am worried about my trans temp in stop and go traffic. rweis and iceman, if you would be so kind, would you both provide me a little more information on your coolers. I would really like to know price and whom you did buisness with for the coolers and lines and how big (perhaps dimensions) are the coolers. Thanks so much for the information.

Kess

 

[hasselbach]

Nice set up, but I'd be very cautious of having the aux. cooler in series. Why? The added restriction to the cooling circuit will cause the converter to push toward and it 'can' wipe out thrust bearings in the engine. We used to install extra filters and coolers this way years ago and kept wiping out the thrust bearings in the engines. Turned out to be because of the added restriction. It worked much better having the aux cooler in parallel hook up, and it cooled better because only 50% of the fluid flowed through each cooler, thus slowing down the flow to help the heat removal.



Note, the black hose is rated to 200, but the blue is for 350+, so you would have been okay, looks cleaner with the braided however. .

 

[**ICEMAN**]

working just fine !!!

would you both provide me a little more information on your coolers.

here's a link to read about the cooler



http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page13.html



bought mine at www.summitracing.com

do a search for part# PRM 12318 to see the cost.

 

[**ICEMAN**]

Nice set up, but I'd be very cautious of having the aux. cooler in series. Why? The added restriction to the cooling circuit

shouldn't be any restriction with this cooler. 5/8 inch tubes !!!

 

[hasselbach]

shouldn't be any restriction with this cooler. 5/8 inch tubes !!!

10 to 15 feet of 5/8 hose, the fittings which I guarantee you are not 5/8 ID plus the restriction of the cooler (typically there is some type of fins or spiral inserts in all tube type coolers) will add restriction to the circuit.

 

[ASTAR]

How is this working out for you?

 

[hasselbach]

How is this working out for you?

I think he is on the side of the road waiting for AAA to tow him to the nearest town...

 

[lmills]

Actually you can easily pump 500 GPH of fuel through 5/8 line all day long. So why wouldn't this work? What size fuel line do you run on your race car? Talk is just that, talk. This does work.

 

[**ICEMAN**]

I think he is on the side of the road waiting for AAA to tow him to the nearest town...

no,,don't think so



been running the setup for over a year with no problems at all.



how many of you with modified transmission's can sit still in drive, 90 degree's outside,a/c on, for an hour and not go over 160 degree's in the trans fluid exit line ?