trans temp guage-->end to blissful ig'nce

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Hey---you over there, without a transmission temp guage--yeah, you... got'ny idea how warm that fluid is?? Here's my typical temps, which will be followed by a question...
Hi-way cruise in "lockup"--at the "cool" peg. (numbers begin @ 140*F) #ad

stopngo in town w/NO TOWING (100+Las Vegas temps) anywhere from 200 to 250 #ad

This is with Amsoil in the transmission and the t-case...
I have an external spin-on filter, so it would be a simple job to add in some secondary cooling under the bed... question is a 2 parter: A. Would that give much advantage, being located over hot pavement and just a few feet from the exhaust? or B. Would a 5-gal (w/lid) H2O bucket,electric pump and spray nozzles (directed onto the existing ATF cooler) be more effective/practical?

 

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It is not uncommon to to see those kind of temps if you are taking your readings from the transmission outline. If you are taking those readings from the pan, i'd be very afraid. Installing a secondary transmission cooler is always a good idea. The coolers most people buy that are mounted under the bed are in my opinion a waste of money. These coolers are mounted under the box of the truck and have their own remote fan and are hooked up in series and tied in with a bunch of rubber hoses and hose clamps. A properly installed secondary transmission cooler should be hooked up in parallel to your existing transmission cooler.
Here's an exagerated example of what im trying to convey,
Back in the day of the monster big block street rods when your engines overheated the best solution was to install a bigger radiator, not putting another radiator in the trunk to help the existing rad with the cooling. Hooking up a transmission cooler PARALLEL to your existing transmission cooler is equivlant to putting in a much bigger rad. Hooking up a secondary transmission cooler in series is like putting a radiator in your trunk.

WHAT HOOKING UP IN PARRALEL MEANS IS THAT YOU TIE INTO BOTH COOLER LINES.

Hooking up in series is tying into only one cooler line.
While most believe there is not enough room to mount another transmission cooler up front i totally dis-agree. I do mount mine up front.

 

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Bill,

Thanks for the info. I've been thinking about adding a cooler but didn't like the things I've seen. Do you mount your cooler in front of the existing cooler?

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Joe George
Eureka, CA

'95 2500 CC auto 4X4,Combo EGT/boost guage,custom switch panel,PacBrake,TST #5,BD valve body,Automatic motorhome steps on both sides,Foldacover hard bed cover,Cummins chrome kit,Black steel grill guard,Front hitch receiver

 

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Joe , we mount our cooler inside the front bumper, not in front of the oem cooler.
We also use only stainless braided lines and all ends are crimped on no hose clamps, i do not trust them on a diesel. My brother in law is comming up next weekend and i can email you photos if you wish. I dont know how to do that myself.

 

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Rich,

If you didn`t want to mount in front of the vehicle, or want extra cooling, these transmission coolers from Perma-cool are nice. Very heavy duty. 5/8 tubes & 3/8 fittings.

#ad





[This message has been edited by HEMI®Dart (edited 08-12-2000). ]

 

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Thanks Bill,

I would certainly like to see what the installation looks like. I've been thinking about getting hydraulic hoses made up at a local shop to replace the stock cooler lines. They make high pressure hoses for all sorts of things on fishing boats. Installing an additional cooler at the same time sounds like a good idea.

 

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That is a great picture,you can actually look at the cooler closley,notice its tubes.
The hot oil travels through those tubes and is cooled by air flow. If you open the hood of your Dodge Ram, and look at the transmission cooler, you will notice it does not have those tubes. Your original cooler's design not only uses air flow but the oil is actually seperated into smaller sections and cooled. The cooler we use is constructed in the same manner, it provides up to 50% better cooling than the tube cooler displayed in the picture. I am just on my way to the track, will be back tomorrow.

 

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Howdy--my temps are from the "out"line... I'd still like to see lower temps in town, since I spend way too much time stationary... the bigger or addn'l parallel cooler choices sound like the more effective approaches. Bill K---kit that can be mailed, or a custom DIY that has a frightening "botch" potential???

 

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Since you are taking your temp reading from your outline you are monitoring the AFT from the converter. The transmission coolers are located after the temp. sensor and the heat is generated before the temp sensor by adding an additional cooler you will only see a 10-15 degree drop in temperature.
While i strongly believe that every Dodge should have an additional transmission cooler i just wanted you to be aware of the differences you can expect to see from the location of your temp sensor.
Some out there believe that buying a low stall converter will help reduce TC heat, the exact opposite is true. Yes i am aware of what all the advertising suggests, but stop and think about it logically, when something is working harder it will generate more heat.
As far as the kits are concerned please call or email me privately, i cannot answer on the TDR site.