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flexible transmission lines

from the TCI frequently asked questions....

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Should I use an external transmission cooler in conjunction with the oil cooler supplied in the radiator?

Answer: Unless operating in an environment where the outside temperature is below 0°F, you should cap off the radiator cooler line openings and run your cooler lines directly to a new cooler mounted in front of the radiator. This allows the transmission to have its own cooling system and doesn't allow the engine water temperature to heat the fluid.

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http://www.tciauto.com/tech_info/faq.htm#1
 
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That's bull [censored].
Unless you do heavy hill climbing or heavy towing, a tranny with a large Hayden cooler will never get above 160 even on 90* days.

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#1 Hayden's coolers are alright but their biggest one is still 3/4" thick. My B&M is about the same size, but 1 1/2" thick.

#2 160* is too cool. If the moisture never gets heated out of the fluid that's not good for the transmission either. I'd rather see it at 180-200* personally.

#3 I don't think even the biggest Hayden can cool a transmission to 160* in hot weather pulling a trailer. My cooler on my tow rig is AFTER the radiator, and I'm sorry to break it to you, but it gets VERY hot, so hot you can hardly hold your hand on it after a long pull with 9,000 lbs behind you on the highway.

I'm always up for a good debate. I think slightly cooler than radiator temperature is ideal, that's why my aux coolers are in the return line, but I still feel that the radiator cooler should be there for fast warm ups and to keep the fluid from over-cooling, and for additional cooling when the heat requirement is there.

I think you have a lot to lose by bypassing the radiator and absolutely nothing to gain...thus I'd leave it hooked up.
 
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Now where in line should the remote filter be? Before the radiator or after the air cooler?

Thanks for the info.

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With a new cooler and a old trans put the filter before the cooler so you don't contaminate the new cooler.
For a new trans with a old cooler put the filter just before return to the trans so a old cooler doesn’t contaminate the new trans.
/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
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Now where in line should the remote filter be? Before the radiator or after the air cooler?

Thanks for the info.

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With a new cooler and a old trans put the filter before the cooler so you don't contaminate the new cooler.
For a new trans with a old cooler put the filter just before return to the trans so a old cooler doesn’t contaminate the new trans.
/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

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I am putting a new transmission and new cooler in. Does it matter where the remote filter goes? Or would it make more sense to find a good location and use it in the return line?
 
i'd put the filter right before the tranny... who cares if a cheap azz cooler gets fragged by contaminants, the point is to protect the $$$$$$$ tranny.

j
 
This what my transmission builder told me. Run the cooler lines to the radiator first, then to the external cooler. He advised me against using a external only setup. For one reason being if the external cooler doesn't get enough air flow through it, when stopped if traffic you could cut the transmission off from any cooling until you got moving again and got airflow through the cooler. This situtation would be very bad for any tranny. If the cooler had a electric fan on it, that might be a different situation. None the less, I will always use both coolers together. As it was pointed out, the tranny does need to operate at a good 190 or so.
 
FACT.
Even in winter a trans will be 195 or higher if it goes through the stock "cooler". On the other hand, aux it wont get above 100 so it probably wont register on your temp gauge.


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WRONG! The tranny cooler in your rad is on the cool side of the radiator (ie. the side entering your engine) so if your radiator is actually cooling, the temperature on that side of the rad should be 140-160. This is fact as I have checked temperatures with a brand new rad in my Jimmy.
If you have a decent stacked plate cooler, they have bypasses in them for when the fluid gets too cold so the fluid doesn't get OVERcooled. I do not know what temperature this is at but I will assume that it would be slightly lower than the desired operating temperature of an auto trans which most people say is the 160-170 range.
 
Would something like this be better than the slim Hayden cooler?

13700remotecooler.jpg

Fan mounted oil coolers
IF mounted in front of the radiator would the fan go in front facing the cooler and push air into it or the other way around?
 
[ QUOTE ]
FACT.
Even in winter a trans will be 195 or higher if it goes through the stock "cooler". On the other hand, aux it wont get above 100 so it probably wont register on your temp gauge.


[/ QUOTE ]

WRONG! The tranny cooler in your rad is on the cool side of the radiator (ie. the side entering your engine) so if your radiator is actually cooling, the temperature on that side of the rad should be 140-160. This is fact as I have checked temperatures with a brand new rad in my Jimmy.
If you have a decent stacked plate cooler, they have bypasses in them for when the fluid gets too cold so the fluid doesn't get OVERcooled. I do not know what temperature this is at but I will assume that it would be slightly lower than the desired operating temperature of an auto trans which most people say is the 160-170 range.

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Never thought of it that way but that's absolutely correct.
 
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Would something like this be better than the slim Hayden cooler?

13700remotecooler.jpg

Fan mounted oil coolers
IF mounted in front of the radiator would the fan go in front facing the cooler and push air into it or the other way around?

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That's still a fin and tube cooler (or it looks like it anyway). Get a stacked plate one.

Yes those trans pans work if you really want to spend the money on it.
 
Thanks for all the info Tim.

Here is a stacked plate cooler with an electric fan on it from Derale.

stackedplateremotecooler2.jpg

Fin & Plate cooler with a 400 CFM 8 Tornado Electric Fan Overall size 10 x 12 1/2 x 4
Price: $187.08

series8000.jpg

GVW 22500 11 1/4 x 11 x 3/4
Price: $46.38

Is the electric fan worth the extra $140? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
I am not worried about spending the money, I just don't want to ruin a TCI tranny that cost $1500, and is it something that would be a need or want item?

I also found the Derale cooler pans for, Price: $66.57.
 
Your correct in saying a tranny cooler can work TOO good--I've seen several plow trucks guys put a huge motorhome sized cooler on their tranny,thinking it will make it live longer--it does to a degree,especially when your towing heavy loads in summer,or pushing lots of snow in the winter.But take one of those trucks,and drive it only short distances,and use it to plow just your own yard ocasionally,and drop the tranny pan and look inside--you will find the tranny fluid will be milky,and the bottom of the pan and valve body will have rust on them,because the tranny cooler prevented the fluid from getting up to operating temparature--hot enough to boil away any water formed from condensation.Routing the cooler alone by itself is not a good idea in cold climates because of this--thats the main reason the manufacturers recomend adding the cooler in series with the original one,and having a thermostatically controlled cooler isnt a bad idea.The same thing can occur on engines with oil coolers too. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
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#1 Hayden's coolers are alright but their biggest one is still 3/4" thick. My B&M is about the same size, but 1 1/2" thick.
#2 160* is too cool. If the moisture never gets heated out of the fluid that's not good for the transmission either. I'd rather see it at 180-200* personally.
#3 I don't think even the biggest Hayden can cool a transmission to 160* in hot weather pulling a trailer. My cooler on my tow rig is AFTER the radiator, and I'm sorry to break it to you, but it gets VERY hot, so hot you can hardly hold your hand on it after a long pull with 9,000 lbs behind you on the highway.
I'm always up for a good debate. I think slightly cooler than radiator temperature is ideal, that's why my aux coolers are in the return line, but I still feel that the radiator cooler should be there for fast warm ups and to keep the fluid from over-cooling, and for additional cooling when the heat requirement is there.
I think you have a lot to lose by bypassing the radiator and absolutely nothing to gain...thus I'd leave it hooked up.

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.5: I'm not touting hayden. I was actually told to avoid B&M just becaue a Hayden would work as well but cost less, but not because it was inferior or anything.

1: Water will evaporate at anything above 32* F.
2: I have to admit I have never personally taken the temp reading. It was in a friends 1988 C10 w/ 305TBI. Towing a 16 foot trailer on 95* weather with something like 80% humidity (doesn't bother the engine, but he did have the a/c on) it didn't get above 160, temp gauge attached to the output from the tranny (IE: hot side). I guess NOT having the OEM "cooler" hooked up helps.
An OEM cooler/aftermarket doing the same thing would probably be closer to the 260*F mark which is bad news.
3: You must have something seriously wrong if your engine heats up faster then your transmission. Seriously. Like a small fire constantly burning in your crank case. It just realisitically doesn't happen, while a transmission heats up uber fast. /forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif
 
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