Hooking Up A Transmission Cooler

[BlueJay]

I finally found where I can buy a B&M Transmission cooler and filter. Now I need to know just what I will need to hook up the cooler and filter and where do I place the cooler and filter in the truck. 93 W250 Club. The sale people said that I have to tell them just what I will need to hook everything up. At this point I have know idea what I need as far as parts and fittings go. Hope someone can help.

 

[Philip]

You would want to mount the cooler in an air stream. It doesn't have to be a direct stream. Just some moving across it. If you are getting the one with the fan as we talked about earlier. You would want to mount it where it isn't in a direct spray path from any of the tires. This would lead to it getting damaged or clogged up with trash. The best place would be in front of the Radiator/Ac condenser. Or to the side of it if you can find a big enough opening thru the radiator support.



I just went and looked at my truck close to see where I would mount it if I was doing it. If you look at where your engine air pickup is located. (Right side of engine compartment down low). The same place on the drivers side is an area big enough to mount the cooler. But you would need to pull the grill and cut out the hole for it. If our cummins can get enough air from behind the grill to run. The cooler should also.



The filter I would mount in the same area only inside of the frame rail. You want a clear path for the oil to fall when changing the filter.



Try to keep the flex hoses as short as you can. My self I like working with steel tubing. So I would bend up new lines from the point I make my cut and run them to the cooler. You will have to use flex on the cooler. But the oil filter might have screw in fittings. If this is the case. I would hard line it all the way.



The less flex hose you have. The less of a chance of a leak.

 

[Teacher]

Trans. Cooler

Contact Bill K. at DTT. He has a custom trans. cooler that mounts by taking off the bumper and reinstalling.

 

[BlueJay]

As always you are a big help Philip, thank you for the information.

Thank you Teacher is the cooler you are talking about fan cooled. If so how do I contact DDT. I don't know who DDT is. Take care.

 

[cdrider]

Some of the 1st Gen. trucks with a tow package had a dealer installed trans cooler. These coolers have a fan that is thermosat controlled. All the ones I have seen were mounted up in the cavity at the front of the bed on the driver side.

I installed an after market fan/cooler on my 92 and mounted it in the same place as the dealer coolers. I had to fabricate brackets to attach to the bed channels (if you look up under there, you can see what I mean). I also made some rock/splash guards out of galvanized sheet metal. I installed per instructions which said to cut return line, run to cooler, then back to trans. I had the local parts house make up lines out of high pressure hydraulic hose. I put in a tee fitting at the cooler for the t-stat and also put an override switch on the dash for manual control(in case t-stat fails). I also installed a trans temp gauge at the same time(this requires another tee fitting). This cooler is supposed to turn on at 180* (I think) and seems to work well at keeping temp at or under that mark. It will sometimes go to around 200* when towing.



K. A.

 

[Teacher]

Trans. cooler

DTT stands for "Diesel Transmission Technology. " Bill Kondolay is the person to speak with. I don't believe his cooler is a fan, not sure. His website address is: dieseltrans.com His toll-free phone number is 1-866 504 4002



Good luck.

 

[BlueJay]

Thank you Cdrider and Teacher your information means a lot to me now I think I have all the information i need to get the project done. By the way cdrider what make trans. cooler did you put in? Take care everyone.

 

[Philip]

I need to address one thing that cdrider stated.

to cut return line

In the three different transmission rebuild classes I have taken in the last three decades.

I have asked each instructor the same question. Should a cooler be installed in the return line or the out going line. All stated the out going line to the radiator. The reason given was. All transmissions are made to run in a narrow set temp range. (160 to 200 degree range). With a cooler in the return line. You can drop the transmission out of this range. This could lead to premature transmission problems. Mostly in the clutch pack and band facing area. I was told this applied even more if the auto/truck was used in cold climates. The radiator was needed to warm up the fluid to operating temps after leaving a cooler.



Now I know this subject could be beaten to death. But I am just stating the answer I was given three different times from three different instructors. With using this setup on different gasser cars with highly modded engines and high stall converters on the street. I have had no complaints with trans problems. IMHO

 

[DBF]

I have to add to Phillip's note above that this is the way the add-on "Super-Duty" under-the-bed Dodge cooler is installed, per its instructions.



The output from the trans is cut and routed to the cooler, then onward to the cooler in front of the radiator (the so-called "Heavy-Duty" cooler that is part of the tow package) and then to the heat exchanger that transfers heat to the engine coolant (located on the passenger side of the engine), then back to the transmission.



It would seem this last exchanger keeps the trans fluid in the normal range for the transmission, since the engine coolant temp is regulated by the engine's thermostat.



DBF

 

[cdrider]

The cooler I used was a Flex-a-lite from Performance Automotive Warehouse (818-678-3000). The t-stat I used for the cooler(also from PAW) turns the fan on when the temp hits 180*----under that, it is a free flowing sytem regulated by the cooler on the engine. According to my temp gauge the normal operating temp year round is in the 160-180* range.



K. A.

 

[BlueJay]

Thank you cdrider. So they have a web site where you got the cooler? Take care.

 

[BCaldwell]

trani cooler

BlueJay take a look in accesseries for sale there is a stock Mopar cooler offered for sale. Bill no affiliation to seller

 

[DBF]

And the $400 he's asking is Canadian dollars, so that would come out about $260US.



Dodge-MoPar price for mine was $350US.



DBF

 

[BlueJay]

Thank you for the information but I had already ordered a B&M HiTek Cooler and their filter before I received your message. I also ordered the deep pan and gages from Geno's Garage. Now I have to decide what in bed fuel tank/tool box. Take care.