I busted a 5/16 tranny cooler line the other day and while observing the mess i caused from not routing them the correct way i got to thinking how much cleaner it would look with out the ugly black lines running up my frame I am running a fender-less Model A with a TH350.So my question is pertaining to the pro and cons of a cooler,if i ran a cooler a few inches from the tranny would it take a little of the strain off the radiator and allow the motor to run a little cooler.And what would be the minimum size i could get by with.I must add that i am not having any cooling problems.....Thanks for any help
mine is mounted below my trans pan with a built in fan & temp switch... i have i'm sure more then enough ground clearance...........
When it comes to their ratings, that does not mean much. Fit the biggest one you can get into the space you have.Bigger is better when it comes to tranny coolers.
Get the "stacked plate" type. They're much more efficient, and stronger than the usual fin-type cooler. (So you can mount them in unusual locations and reap more benefits). B&M makes several, but you can get the same ones cheaper from Tru-Cool at their www.transmissioncoolers.us website.
also you can get Earls or Goodrich stainless or aluminum bendable tubing and flare the ends for fittings to the cooler. might look cleaner than black hose.
I have seen an along the frame finned aluminum type one on a th400 switch pitch with a 401 puttin' the torque down in an "A." He said no problems, never got hot enough or overworked that trans enough with the wait of the car... His cooler is 24" and just parallel the trans, no lines showing at all being underneath. It has been on the road for 2 years now, 11,000 miles. No fluid discoloration or smell. Keep in mind, your car is light, and unless you have a high stall with a lot of slippage or are pushing around a lot of weight, you aren't going to be producing the same heat in your trans as what that would have originally came out of. Also, your radiator should be near 200 degrees, your trans should run in the mid 200's... dissipating the heat to an undercar air temp should produce a greater delta; and it doesn't hurt to oversize you're cooler if you have concerns as total fluid volume will aid.
i was told under normal driving conditions, under car coolers are fine. had a friend who got stuck in traffic and turned out it wasn't so fine. there wasn't enough air moving across to cool the fluid. he was keeping an eye on the condition of the fluid. he changed it when it started turning brown and smelling burnt. he went back to using the tank in the radiator.
Ive been told that running a deep finned sump on the tranny will help.More volume of fluid helps disperse the heat.
Deep-sump only delays the heat. Whether it's oil or trans, the increase in fluid volume only delays it reaching higher temps. You still need a way to shed that heat.
I have been using a stand-alone small frame rail cooler (approx: 15"x2"x1") right next to the tranny on my daily driven 355 S-10 with a TH350 for about 11 years now and have never had an issue. I think if you have light car, low-to stock stall speed and do not tow anything you can get by.
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