transmission cooler fan

[Bluebird]

I just found that I have a transmission cooler fan At what tempeture does the fan come on? How can I tell when it's on? Is this is a special feature? What trucks came equipped with these transmission cooler fans? Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[JStraw]

I've got one on my truck as well. When it's on you can hear it roar I have only heard it come on during city driving, never from OTR travels. Not sure about the temp it comes on. Its a good security blanket to have but I still destroyed my stock transmission awhile ago even with the cooler. No product can ever completely protect another from failure. Especially if you drive like me

 

[paccool]

Bluebird,



I have that info at home. I have one on my truck as well. They are under the front corner of the bed on the drivers side. Mine was a dealer add on, did not come from the factory with the "super duty" cooler. The dealer installed cost was $375 and was added to the window sticker information.



The only time I have heard mine kick on is when pulling the travel trailer up a long grade, usually on a warm day. Sounds like a jet spooling up!



I'll try to find it tonight for you.

 

[Bluebird]

transmission cooler fan...

Thanks for the responses. Maybe this summer I'll get it hot enough to hear the jet roar!

 

[RGT]

I scrubbed my cooler with a brush and soapy water to get out all the accumulated road grime, I had done this in December, and was pretty amazed at how much crud gets packed up there, alll the road salt must cake on there as the water evaporates...

 

[RamAZ]

transmission

There were some post awhile back about the temperature these fans kicked on at. If memory serves me right it was some where aroud 170F. To hot for me.



I unhooked the thermal switch and reran the wiring thru a relay and to turn on I use a toggle switch. I don't trust those thermal switches very much.



Since I'm in the desert southwest I use the fan constantly in the summer and when I'm towing.



I resently got a new cooler and fan from Summit Racing and adapted the cooler to the exsisting supports and ran new trans lines. Works great. The new cooler works better than the original.



Jim

 

[paccool]

Well, I looked for over an hour tonight, could not find the info. I was thinking it was 180 degrees but I KNOW my memory doesn't serve me right! That was why I was going to look it up.



This is the second time in the past couple of months this has happened with stuff for the Dodge. Have(had) a set of Erics cold fronts I was going to sell, could not find the things!



Jim, what is the physical size of that Summit unit compared to the Dodge one? I like your idea about the switch. Could a switch be installed to bypass around the thermal switch so it would still turn on in case I forgot to flip the manual switch?



Also, how cool does the transmission run with the fan on all the time?



Stan

 

[RamAZ]

Trans Cooler

Paccool. The new cooler I got was about 2" short of mounting on the rails that supported the old cooler. I adapted the cooler to fit by using 2 - 2"wd x 14"lg x 1/4" flat bars. I measured the L bracket on the cooler and drilled holes in the flat bar and mounted with 1/4" stainless steel bolts. The cooler mounting bolts did not interfer with the existing rails.



Once the cooler was mounted to the flat bar, I clamped the flat bar to the existing rails and drilled thru and bolted up. I also ran new trans hoses and installed contstant torque clamps.



I don't see why you can't by pass the thermal switch. Take it out or run new wires to a relay and hook up a switch.



The fan and cooler I got from Summit was No. PRM-12311 plus I got new hose barbs No. PRM-15153. The temperature stays about 150 to 170 or so when I'm hauling my camper in the summer time.



Go to summit's web sight and look up trans coolers. The brand I got was Perma-Cool.



Pm me if you want more information.



Jim

 

[paccool]

Jim, thanks for the info. Good info.



Hey Bushwaker, since the OEM coolers are no longer available, what do you think about putting this one in the discontinued parts section? Could help save some transmissions.



Stan

 

[DBF]

Pictures of the transmission cooling system on my 1992 D250 with SuperDuty cooler (Mopar P/N 82400994) that was added-on in 2000 can be found at:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=893



for future discussions.



The fan (if the sensor is operating as designed) comes on at 180*.



I'm adding a switch to turn it on manually, and a light to show the fan is on when it is.



This cooler was installed per directions. I still think the coolant flow is wacky (see first photo). I might try bypassing the heat exchanger to see what that does.



Regards, DBF

 

[RamAZ]

DBF. After looking at the pictures that you posted and comparing the way your cooler is installed, my flow path is a little different.



My cooler is first in line, the TC dumps directly into the aux cooler then out to the air cooler in front of the truck and then to the HX on the passenger side then back to the transmission.



I spoke to a friend of mine that works for Cummins and he said that without the added cooler there is a very good chance of overheating the trans and the radiator.



I have only 12 feet of hose in the system, 6' to inlet of aft cooler and 6' from outlet of cooler to line that runs to cooler up front and no thermal switch or flow valves that bypass the cooler when to cold. Just a toggle switch hooked to a relay for fan control.



Even though the HX would seem to heat the fluid up, my temperature is only 150F to 160F when carrying my camper. I think the fluid is better with a little heat in it, at least my transmission shifts better when above 140F.



The ultimate choice would be to add another cooler on the discharge end of the HX prior to entering back to the transmission. This may be overkill.



Even though my cooler is not installed as the factory diagram shows. I'm happy with the way it performs.



JIm

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

DBF,



Great pics... ... .



How bout if we made a thread that had links to our pics of things like this... . ???

Would that make a good 'resource' for guys new/experienced who need pictures to make sense of things (me) and also to show all the parts/components/locations to everybody???

Maybe we could have a sticky thread that had each "link" with a description of the pics and or topic that they covered.



Who wants to go thru the 1st Gen pic galleries and set up the thread.

I can always make it a sticky later, as it grows... any takers. . ??



Bob.

 

[DBF]

my flow path is a little different

RamAZ,



the flow you describe is exactly the way I thought it should be. Cool it first (twice), then use engine coolant heat to get it to about 140-170 for good operation.



I'll watch this on the road, towing, then consider re-plumbing it your way.



Tx, DBF

 

[DBF]

sticky thread that had each "link" with a description of the pics and or topic that t

BushWakr,



I've got ten days of work to do in five days before we go running around for a bit. I wouldn't be able to do it right.



But I'll take a look when I can and recommend some to you. If you can get someone to take this on, tell me so I can send my ideas to that person.



Tx, DBF

 

[DBF]

sticky thread that had each "link" with a description of the pics and or topic that

BushWakr,



I took a quick hour and came up with this list.







https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=301

1-Gen BHAF (Big Honking Air Filter)



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=893

1-Gen Automatic Transmission Cooling System



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=674

1-Gen Bosch VE Injection Pump including cutaway views



Formula has a bunch of nice pictures in there, but with no text. Hey, Formula, could

you get into the gallery and put some text with those great pictures?



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=638

1-Gen Bosch VE Injection Pump AFC and springs



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=453

1-Gen VE Pump schematics and pictures



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=502

1-Gen Various Schematic Drawings - Front hubs, Rear Axle, Intake Heater, etc.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=489

Info on TPS (Throttle Position Sensor). Year of truck = 2003, but data looks like 1-Gen (Bob?)



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?&albumid=512

1-Gen VE Pump ordering data (Truck year = 2003 according to comments) (Bob?)







Regards, DBF

 

[DBF]

another link

BushWakr,



here's another link you might want to show:



http://rducsh.homestead.com/brake.html



It's Rick Dusch's series of pictures on EGR rear disc brakes installation.



DBF

 

["Mad Max"]

Some other info -

I also just finished a serious hauling trip these past few days, and until I dropped a few tons of trailer and car behind my 93 I never heard the aux cooler. I wasn't sure what it was and thought another truck was trying to pass - big roaring wind sound from behind the d-side door - no doubt it was the aux cooler. Seems to kick on at about 170*.

I found a very slick way to install a transmission temp sensor. On my rig, the trans fluid outlet line (front) does a 90* turn down and over to the block cooler next to the turbo, then to the front cooler, then back to the bed cooler, then into the back of the trans. The first part of that 90* line is about 6 inches on 1/2 inch steel tube, and on that tube, right next to the trans pan, is what I presume is the electric trans temp sensor for the rig. What I did was to install a brass T fitting in the port for the factory fitting, which then gave me a nice simple spot for the factory sensor and the aftermarket temp sensor. Couldn't have been any simpler, and didn't drip much fluid at all (dont forget to plug the transmission outlet with a rubber vacuum plug - works great)

I'm going to post some pics of the install, but my readings were good on the trip. Trans temp nearly matched engine temp the whole trip, except on a HUGE hill when the trans temp peaked at 210, and the engine got up to 190. PYRO got to 1100 and boost maxed at 14 psi.



Geeze... I write a lot... ...

Laters

- S

 

[DBF]

trans temp peaked at 210

SamsRams,



was that transmission temperature from the new sensor on the transmission outlet?



Also, do you recall the size of that tee?



Tx, DBF

 

[PPeters]

SamsRam:



Yes, please post pics of your install. Parts used also. I'm preparing to install trans temp sensor, and this thread is just what the doctor ordered.



Great Pics DBF, you da man! Oo.



Pat

 

["Mad Max"]

DBF, Pat,

The temp was from the new sensor/Autometer gauge. I was a little surprised, and even rechecked the service manual to make sure I tee'd into the outlet (hot) line and not the inlet (cool) line. Seems the triple-cooler system in these rigs is pretty stout. At the top of the hill the temps just faded away, almost too easily, but I like it.

I'll check my receipts to find the brass fitting numbers, and I'll try to get a pic today. I want to say it was 1/2" pipe thread, but I'm not positive... .

- S