tranny coolers what are you guys runnin?

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mopardude318

mopardude318

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I have a griffin aluminum radiator with no built in tranny cooler. Which coolers do yall use or recommend? Do you use a fan or no fan? Jegs brand, summit brand, or name brand like B&M? Do you recommend a plate and fin style or a tube and fin style? How do you mount them? Do you use hard line or braided lines? Pics are appreciated! And thanks for your recommendations!
 
B&M stacked plate style,
media.nl

without a radiator precooler, your trans will not heat up real fast, ie maybe stiff shifts a little longer than with a radiator tank. They are designed to operate within a certain temperature range, like a motor. Hard lined from the trans to the radiator support. Its just easier to manage hard lines from the trans to the radiator once you get them bent up. You can run a small inline can filter too and you'll never have to replace your trans filter again.
 
http://www.summitracing.com/search/Brand/Derale-Cooling-Products/?keyword=heat+sink+cooler

i run one of these back on my frame connector with 2 pieces of 3 foot -6 steel braided line.

before this i ran cheap $20 flexalites and the car ran fine for years...from my experience as long as the trans cooler isn't in the radiator still you shouldn't have any cooling issues. when its still in the rad, you have the trans fluid heating the water, and the water heating the trans...not the best setup for a higher HP setup
 
pishta said:
...run a small inline can filter too and you'll never have to replace your trans filter again.
Click to expand...
please explain this.
doesn't the pump sucks up the trans fluid from the pan through the internal filter first?
and wouldn't the inline filter be a trans filter that, at some point, you might want to change?
 
Yes, yes it does...but if you can prefilter the fluid that has just passed through the entire transmission, picking up debris, friction material, whatever ends up in your pan from the internal passages of the torqueflite, you can extend the life of the sponge inside the pan that is more of a pain to replace than a spin off canister. Chrysler said this of the Torqueflite, "(the) TorqueFlite has proved to be so dependable that there are no recommendations for band adjustments, clutch friction material replacement, or transmission fluid or fluid filter changes under normal conditions..." So in theory, the internal filter never needs to be changed anyway. But that is up to the owner. FYI, if you run a cooler and keep the operating temp of the fluid @ 170, you can expect a very long service life. Every 20 degrees above 170 reduces the life expectancy of the fluid by 50%, and 90% of all transmission failures are heat related, not filter related.
 
It use 1/2 NPT fittings. I use AN fittings, 1/2 thick wall aluminum tube and #8 tube nuts/sleeves.

You'd have to figure out how to reduce it to stock lines/fitting. Shouldn't be too difficult.
 
pishta said:
...you can extend the life of the sponge inside the pan that is more of a pain to replace than a spin off canister. Chrysler said this of the Torqueflite, "(the) TorqueFlite has proved to be so dependable that there are no recommendations for band adjustments, clutch friction material replacement, or transmission fluid or fluid filter changes under normal conditions..." So in theory, the internal filter never needs to be changed anyway. But that is up to the owner. FYI, if you run a cooler and keep the operating temp of the fluid @ 170, you can expect a very long service life. Every 20 degrees above 170 reduces the life expectancy of the fluid by 50%, and 90% of all transmission failures are heat related, not filter related.
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thanks for the clarification. i have run external filters on TF's before and would recommend it for everyone. and i agree with the heat issues. just thought it was a little over the top telling someone they never need to change it if they do that. never is a long time for car parts :)
 
I just go for the one that has the highest BTU rating in the given space I have to put it.
 
I don't run a cooler on the Scamp but it's a drag only car. On the street I ran a cooler with a fan mounted befind the left rear tire. I was trying to move as much weight as possible to the rear of the car.

Automatics are good to 250 degrees, even better if you use a synthetic fluid.
 
If you cool the fluid too much, you'll lose stall speed in the converter. Just something to think about.
 
I run a B&M stacked plate in mine. I put it forward of the radiator, mounted on a couple of the hardware store metal stock strips with regular holes (can't think of what theyre called). The thin stuff about like a metal yardstick, rather than the more structural thick stuff. Didn't even have to drill holes to mount it up.

I've seen a lot of guys attach these to the radiator and I try to avoid that because of heat issues, and because i don't want to pull the cooler every time I have the radiator out.

I got some AN to flare adapters for the trans and ran aluminum hardlines to the front of the K-member, flared it and run rubber trans-hose line to the cooler. I did this so I could run it to the cooler without having to go underneath the radiator support or make any holes. My plan had been to go to AN fittings and pushlock, but I check it every time I put the car on the trailer and its still mint.

Next time I have the trans out, the floor is going to meet my sledgehammer to create more clearance in the cooler fitting/linkage area. (C4 has the linkage and cooler fittings on opposite sides of the transmission-hellooo)

After two years, and lots of passes my trans fluid looked new when I changed it out.

With a higher stall converter, every trans guy has told me to run an external cooler.

Steve
 
crackedback said:
If you cool the fluid too much, you'll lose stall speed in the converter. Just something to think about.
Click to expand...


This is very true, I've also found that for a race car it's more consistent without a cooler, keeps the temp more stable. I wouldn't try that with a PowerGlide though.

Higher stall converters generate more heat, no two ways about it, a temp gauge in the pan helps to monitor the temps but for a street car, you need a cooler.
 
I run the largest B&M Stacked cooler you can get. It is mounted in front off but not to the radiator. I used the stock tranny lines with hydraulic lines to make up the difference. #5 hydraulic fitting will screw right into the factory line fittings and use a reducer to go to #6 into the cooler.
 
i have one in my demon its out of a ford exploder but its nice and compact and keeps the trans at roughly 170 to 180F so ts seems to work for me. just a little advice
 
Okay thanks guys for all your help! I'm gonna try the one crackedback recommended. Seemed a little bit less for a comparable B&M unit. Will let yall know when I get it. :)
 
I got my cooler a couple months ago. Just now started to make a bracket for it. Using 1" X 1/4" aluminum bar. The standoff's are so the brackets will actually fit. The bolts that hold the bracket are the same ones used for the radiator. I didn't want to drill any extra holes. Probably more bracket then I need LOL. It's rough, but not quite done yet, gonna round the edges, and a couple other things. I'll post more when it gets mounted.


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Hey James,I run the same cooler in the same location,just mines alittle higher.I had some stainless flex lines made up,for easy removal.This is in my 66 Dart race car,so is nice to be able to remove the lines quickly without damaging,kinking.works great for me.Your car looks like it,s almost ready!:glasses7:
 
i dont know if any of you guys have ever tried or even heard of this but i use old ac codensers as a tranny cooler. im cheap but it works its alot cheaper than buying the fancy aftermarket trans coolers.
 
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