Transmission Cooler

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DentalDart

DentalDart

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With some aftermarket aluminum radiators like cold case it says transmission cooler. Does this mean there is a built in transmission cooler and you dont have to run an external cooler? I currently have my stock radiator and external cooler and live in Las Vegas, my car gets hot during the summer. Do you still run an external transmission cooler with a cold case radiato or do you skip the external trans cooler? How does this process work?
 
yes it would have an internal cooler, just like the stock one. i always run an external too.

trans_life_expectancy.jpg
 
It is good to retain the internal cooler if you have a race car, or a car you don't drive far to get the trans up to operating temperature using the warm coolant. Several years ago I asked someone at A&A Transmissions how big a cooler to use, when I bought a valve body from them - the answer was, "you can't have a cooler that's too big!"
 
Ok I'll look at trans coolers. Auto parts store adequate or is it better to get something of "better quality?"
 
Two things to consider- the over-all size (the amount that it will cool), and what kind of fittings does it have (barbed or threaded)?
 
When I had my A500 rebuilt by Dynamic converters, I asked about an external trans cooler - the answer was yes bigger the better!
 
65 Dartman said:
When I had my A500 rebuilt by Dynamic converters, I asked about an external trans cooler - the answer was yes bigger the better!
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Depends on how much strain u put on the trans , how much convertor you have , I always run an internal and external on hotrods , and have always ran a fairly cheap ext. cooler / after the internal , never had a heat related problem.
If you already have one on ur car , run both !
 
Don't run the transmission cooler lines through the radiator. Bypass that and just use an external cooler. No sense heating the transmission fluid to engine temp.
 
yellow rose said:
Don't run the transmission cooler lines through the radiator. Bypass that and just use an external cooler. No sense heating the transmission fluid to engine temp.
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yes and you'll save money on the radiator too.
 
yellow rose said:
Don't run the transmission cooler lines through the radiator. Bypass that and just use an external cooler. No sense heating the transmission fluid to engine temp.
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That is somewhat true, but it is less frequent than most people believe. The bottom of the radiator is the coolest part. With a 180* thermostat and a 10* temp drop, it's 170 around the cooler. The temperature of the transmission fluid entering the cooler is higher that that.
 
meathead66 said:
Quick question from this rookie. If the trans cooler is mounted in front of the radiator doesn’t that restrict air flow thru the radiator?
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Who said it had to go there?

mines in the DS wheel well and has it's own fan.
 
B & M super cooler is my choose . Pay attention to how it's mounted . As was said , you can't overcool a tranny .
 
I don't think overcooling is a problem. I ran 2 aux coolers and not the one in the rad. My trans ran just under 175* with a B&M trans cooler gauge.
 
For a street car plumb it to the radiator then too an external cooler. You need the fluid to warm to a certain temp, it has a functional range, too cold can cause shift flare, too hot and its fail. I can't recall the MFG but there is a valve you can plump in that is thermostatic. It routes fluid to the radiator then when it get hot enough it will open the external cooler circuit too.
 
plan this out. you don't want to use the zipties throught the radiator fins method that most coolers come with. great way to damage your new aluminum radiator. do it right. pull the grill, do some mesuring and make some mounting tabs with aluminum angle or similar.
 
Murray said:
Two things to consider- the over-all size (the amount that it will cool), and what kind of fittings does it have (barbed or threaded)?
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I have no idea on either of these answers. I was thinking about getting the cold case transmission cooler though.
 
kursplat said:
plan this out. you don't want to use the zipties throught the radiator fins method that most coolers come with. great way to damage your new aluminum radiator. do it right. pull the grill, do some mesuring and make some mounting tabs with aluminum angle or similar.
Click to expand...

I like this idea. Especially considering I dont know if the cold case transmission cooler will fit in the dart, due to it being circular vs flat like you usually see.
 
Murray said:
Two things to consider- the over-all size (the amount that it will cool), and what kind of fittings does it have (barbed or threaded)?
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Cold case says NPT thread fittings on the radiator but the description doesn't say anything about on the radiator. The size is 12in long and 4in in diameter, I'll have to see if it will fit the Dart.

yellow rose said:
Don't run the transmission cooler lines through the radiator. Bypass that and just use an external cooler. No sense heating the transmission fluid to engine temp.
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Just called cold case and this is what he suggested. He said to run the single pass with bypassing the radiator because it would cool faster.
 
dano said:
For a street car plumb it to the radiator then too an external cooler. You need the fluid to warm to a certain temp, it has a functional range, too cold can cause shift flare, too hot and its fail. I can't recall the MFG but there is a valve you can plump in that is thermostatic. It routes fluid to the radiator then when it get hot enough it will open the external cooler circuit too.
Click to expand...

I installed 2 brass ball valves in my transmission cooler lines, so I can either run the fluid through the radiator cooler to help get the transmission up to temperature for daily driving and then bypass it directly through a pair of plate coolers when racing.
 
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