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cooler sizing...

ryoken

ryoken

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ok, try to bare with me on this one..... :doah: :haha:


i'm trying to break down cooler sizing in percentage for a given area...


I'm gonna be running a trans cooler for my 700.. i'm gonna retain an engine oil cooler and i'm going to run a power steering one...

my thought is that i'd like to make the trans cooler as big as the engine oil cooler... much more vital....


so i'm thinking same size for each of those, than slightly smaller for a ps...

so with a certain area, i'm thinking 40% of the space for a trans, 40% for the engine and 20% for the ps....

or do you think i should bump up the ps cooler size? take a little off the engine oils dimensions? like 40% trans, 35% oil, 25% ps? I'm unfamiliar with how hot a hard used ps setup can get... hydroboost, assist, remote ressy, etc...



also is a stacked plate ok for ps? I seem to remember reading ps should be tube/fin, not stacked plate....
 
This is the exact same size cooler as the factory engine oil cooler (and brand actually, they are Long brand coolers). http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70266/

I would run a smaller P/S cooler and make sure that it IS NOT above the level of the resevoir otherwise the fluid will leak out of the vented cap. I personally would mount the P/S cooler under the radiator support like the factory cooler was.
 
With your rig I would say your initial plan sounds good.

With a rig like mine an oil cooler doesn't seem like worth much to me but I have a huge power steering cooler on mine and a huge trans cooler on mine.

I have monitered my engine oil temp in the past and it holds steady for pretty much an entire day of crawling. The temp does go up at the dunes, then again everything goes up at the dunes.

My power steering cooler can get hot enough to not be able to touch it but only in a couple instances.
 
Those cylindrical coolers don't work very well from what i've heard.

My trans temp runs right at 170* just about all the time unless it's really hot out (90*+ or so then it will run closer to 185*) or if i'm pulling a big hill it will climb up between 180-200* and then right back down once I crest the hill. I also have an engine oil temp gauge and it just about mirrors my trans temp. BTW, both my trans temp gauge and engine temp gauge's are mechanical and is located in the trans pan and oil pan.
 
4X4HIGH said:
Those cylindrical coolers don't work very well from what i've heard.
Click to expand...

They aren't very efficient but if you don't have alot of space they work well enough to keep some temps in check. Fortunately we have alot of space

BTW Paul I know most places say don't run a stacked plate for PS cooler but I am and have had no problems. Although when I go to full hydro I will probably pick up a tube and fin cooler. It seems full hydro is more sensitive to what type of cooler you run
 
blazinzuk said:
They aren't very efficient but if you don't have alot of space they work well enough to keep some temps in check. Fortunately we have alot of space

BTW Paul I know most places say don't run a stacked plate for PS cooler but I am and have had no problems. Although when I go to full hydro I will probably pick up a tube and fin cooler. It seems full hydro is more sensitive to what type of cooler you run
Click to expand...


thanks....what would be your choices for power steering fluid gents?
 
I had a B&M stacked plate cooler on my 700r in the beginning and it did ok but in the dunes or pulling long stretches in the mountains it would get too hot so I switched to a Tru-cool 40k cooler and it freakin' rocks. My 700 runs so much cooler now it's not even comparable to my old setup.
I got mine on eBay for about $120 and it's worth every penny.
 
Avery4jc said:
I had a B&M stacked plate cooler on my 700r in the beginning and it did ok but in the dunes or pulling long stretches in the mountains it would get too hot so I switched to a Tru-cool 40k cooler and it freakin' rocks. My 700 runs so much cooler now it's not even comparable to my old setup.
I got mine on eBay for about $120 and it's worth every penny.
Click to expand...

I run the 24k B&M stacked plate on my 4l60. I'd like it to run about 10* colder in the summer, but I can't really get it up hot enough in the winter either. I think a cooler with a t-stat and electric fan is the way to go on a tranny if you can afford it, unless you have a pretty temperate climate.

I put a copper/alum tube and fin that's about 12"x8" with 3/8" tube on my assist. I had to cover it up this winter because I wasn't getting hot enough even when I was snow bashing in the mountains. I predict it will be great in the summer though. If I did it all again, I would probably get one that's about 2/3 of the capacity and I think it would be fine year round without having to think about it again.
 
thanks Eric for answering my questions.... I'll be running 3 of Earl's Temp a Cure stacked plates.... i'm just trying figure out sizing for a given area...
 
full hydro on equipment stuff like tractors / skid steers / loaders run stacked plate coolers for years if i recall on some models/brands.

and if you are lookin to control temps from to hot or to cold mabye plumb this in line. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DER-13011/

and the b&m with the fan/temp switch built in i think is the best idea.
 
alright I'm trying to configure these for plumbing, max sizing, etc.... what's the rule again? inlet and outlet at the top is good... on the side is fine, but put the inlet at the bottom... and inlet/outlet on the bottom is a big no-no.. correct?

I've always run mine on the side, inlet on the bottom, and been fine... but this is gonna be tight, so i'm trying to maximize the space as best i can and trying to figure out different layouts...
 
I've mounted tons of coolers over the years.... this is different, i need to optimize space..... so...... i just need to know if what i said above is correct... i thought i remembered a drawing somewhere that verified that fitting orientation I mentioned, TCI, Earl's, somewhere, i just can't find it...
 
When I mounted mine I dont' remember anything in the instructions about not putting the inlet and outlet down. That was a while ago and they are both stacked plate coolers

I have mounted a couple of coolers on duramaxs with the inlet and outlet pointing down. I almost always read the instructions just in case I miss something like this, I don't recall them being specific about this
 
It's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. It really doesn't matter which way the lines go into the cooler (side, top, bottom) or which line is feed and return.

I installed my trans cooler with the fittings down just like the factory oil cooler is plumbed (just so they match and look good).
 
I've read the same thing from coolers I"ve installed, including a stacked plate cooler. can be mounted in any orientation.
I know your not using them Paul, but for others reading this, the plastic barbed retainers are junk, make a mounting tab, or plates of some kind to securely mount them.
 
I run a factory engine oil cooler in the stock position on the driver side. I cannibalized it off a 3/4 ton truck at U-Pull-It. I have never measured the engine oil temp.

My transmission cooler is a Derale Atomic Cool with a fan. It is on the passenger side. It sits in about the same place as the engine oil cooler on the driver side. It sits with the inlet/outlet pointing down. The manual said nothing about orientation. I had to take the brackets off the cooler and flip them over. I then used some aluminum stock to mount the cooler to the core support directly behind the grill. I dont know how it would fit behind the stock grill because my blazer has a billet grill. The cooler sits about 1/4" behind the grill at the closest point. The back of the cooler (fan side) is also about 1/4" clear of the condenser. I have not found any evidence of rubbing.

I put this cooler on because i had a 700r4 that LOVED to get really hot. I had the biggest B&M plate cooler and i still had trans temp issues. This cooler with a fan comes on when the trans fluid temp is 185 (radiator exit) and goes off at 165. With the 700r4 the fan was always running. Now that I have the 4L80E it almost never runs.

I will never run another 700r4 if I can avoid it. Since I put in the 454/4L80E/241, I never think about the trans at all.

I do not run a power steering cooler. I don't do any serious wheeling and I still run vacuum brakes so I dont think I heat up the power steering fluid too much. I have never measured power steering fluid temp and my fluid still looks and smells new after about 5k miles.

I was worried about overall cooling problems with all the stuff in front of the radiator. I have A/C, oil cooler, trans cooler, rad. I use the stock BBC fan and shroud I can tow a boat in the summer and the water temp never even moves. I am really happy with my setup.
 
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hmmm, alrighty, i could have sworn i read that somewhere, due to possible air pocketing iirc.... must be getting senile... :dunno: :haha:


if that's the case, I'm gonna mount them all with the fittings down... it'll make things a million times easier I'm thinking..... plumbing-wise and max-utilization of space too...

thanks for the input gents... :D
 
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