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Auto tranny coolers & pans

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K5Chris

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im bout to put my 700 back together and throw it back in the truck once i get my parts..... i think nows a good time to invest in some extra cooling for the tranny. i have no auxillary cooler and my stock pan is screwed up (dont ask).

was looking at this pan:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=DER%2D14104&N=4294925134+4294839071+4294922122+4294903956+115&autoview=sku

and im gonna measure for a cooler, and get the biggest one i can fit.....

what do you have for auxillary cooler and/or pan? are there any brands to stay away from?
 
I have that pan on my 89' Burb with a 700. Works great while you are moving at speed ( above 40 - 50). It REALLY helps at freeway speeds. I put a temp gague on before getting the pan and their is a big difference with the conditions I described above. Works well when climbing steep grades. Cools down the trany much more quickly than stock pan.

Worth the $$$. Only problem is when you get the tranny rebuilt they set it on the pan and it will bend (dent) due to the drain plug.

Also, I live in AZ and it gets HOT!
 
You can find those pans for about half that price on eBay. I was looking for one for my TH350 a while back.
 
I like B&M tranny coolers, not sure if they work better, but I always end up bending the hell out of the little aluminum fins on the other types... also installed an external filter from perma cool with a temp guage. Seems like a nice setup, haven't really driven it anywhere yet though to test it out.
 
So what's the problem?
Or are you saying they're just plain chrome or aluminum without cooling tubes?
 
i dont really want aluminum. id rather steel, its stronger. and i dont want chrome, i want one like the derale one i posted above.
 
A good thick cast aluminum pan is stronger than a steel one, you can tell when removing one... the AL ones are more rigid. AL also allows faster heat transfer.

That said, there is nothing wrong with a steel pan... especially a deep one designed to cool better than a normal steel pan. I'd run a derale pan, especially in a tow rig or something that is gonna be working hard at high speed. On a dedicated trail rig it would make less sense though, in that low speed/airflow + lots of flying mud is probably going to reduce the effectiveness of the cooling tubes. Additionally, the thick cast pan will help (a little) with overall trans case rigidity (is that even a word? think so...). Sort of like the TC inspect cover... factory steel is flimsy and doesn't really do anything other than keep some dirt from flying up in there... factory cast aluminum one actually helps strengthen the case somewhat.

As far as coolers, just get the biggest B&M stacked plate one you can get. They work and are all AL, so they oughta last for quite some time. I also run an external filter (normal summit kit). This is a good idea, because it will filter much better than the stock filter will, and it increases your fluid capacity a little bit. You can never have too much trans fluid.

j
 
K5Chris said:
i dont really want aluminum. id rather steel, its stronger. and i dont want chrome, i want one like the derale one i posted above.
Click to expand...

*shrug* So get the Derale one. Don't let anybody tell you how to spend your money. :thumb:

jekbrown does make some valid points, though. Your usage should determine your purchase.
 
one other reason i didnt want to go aluminum was the price. i dont have $100+ to spend on a pan.
this isnt a dedicated trail rig (i wouldnt be running a 700r4). its sort of still my daily driver. ive got a car, but i still drive the truck alot, and i dont have a tow rig, so i gotta drive everywhere.
thanks for the info. i might get a remote filter too. this is like a seccondary filter? you do leave the internal filter in?
 
I hear ya on the price of AL ones... they ain't cheap at all. Go with the derale, it seems to fit your needs/application better than any other pan I can think of.

As far as the remote filter goes, you keep the stock filter in there... the remote one supplements it. It uses a common (fram PH8A) oil filter to keep particles of crap from running through your tranny all the time. The stock filter isn't completely useless... but it doesn't filter as well as an oil filter does either. Added fluid capacity is a good bonus too.

j
 
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