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Radiator and Trans Cooler

jonathon

jonathon

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My '91 Suburban needs a radiator.. starting to get corroded externally pretty bad(the coolant is nice and clean though) and is leaking a bit.

Should I look into putting an external transmission cooler on it or is the radiator cooler enough? Most I'll ever tow is a 16' travel trailer(and very rarely at that), but I want to keep my transmission happy. The other potential issue is that I'm told there's the possibility of aftermarket coolers restricting flow, is this an issue with a quality cooler or just an issue with the cheaper ones?

Any recommendations? I'm thinking about doing the parts store copper/brass radiator..
 
With a slushbox, it is very difficult to have too much cooling. While your 4L80E is not likely to fail quickly, cooling it better will make it last even longer.

The 'stacked plate' design coolers are the ones to get; I'd get the biggest you can, 'cuz they're a sight cheaper than a tranny rebuild. I bought mine from Summit; I got the biggest B&M they had, allegedly "24000 GVW" or somesuch, cost me maybe sixty bucks. I also did the tranny temp gauge, but if you're not towing much you can save some $$ by not doing that.

I've always run my trannies into the factory cooler, i.e. the one in the radiator, and then into the auxiliary cooler. As long as you look up which fitting is the "out" of your tranny, it's easy to do, and for <$100 with fittings and some angle stock for brackets, it's cheap insurance against premature wear on the tranny.

Oh yeah, do NOT use those plastic zip tie things to mount the cooler: You'll cut holes in your nice new radiator in no time. Search on my posts; I've put up some pix of mounting the aux cooler behind the grille, easy to do, hand tools kind of thing.

-- A
 
Here is how I mounted mine. 2 pieces of flat steel across and some of those rubber covered clamps on the tubes. Then stainless braided hose and Jegs anodized fittings. I went thru the cooler in the rad first. Mine is a Derale cooler I got from Jegs.
Tarey

DSCN0535.JPG

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looks good, but does it matter that the fittings are vertical instead of horizontal?
 
It's not like it's going in one tube and right out to the tranny. It is going to have to push the fluid thru all the tubes so it will have plenty of time to cool the fluid.
Tarey
 
I took out the hardlines and used braided stainless hose and fittings from Jegs.
Tarey
 
jonathon said:
This is the one I'm looking at.

Dremu, did you use hardline or soft line to plumb it?
Click to expand...

Holy crap they've gone up in price. :eek: Used to be that the full kit ones were like $75 and the bare ones were $50 or so. I found I didn't end up using much of the stuff in the install kit anyway, and it was cheaper to buy the fittings I needed at the local hardware store ;)

I used rubber hose specifically labelled as transmission line from my local parts house / speed shop.

Some folks say you should use braided hose :dunno: Hardline would have been far too much of a PITA for me to bend.

-- A
 
A 24,000 btu transmission cooler from summet or jegs should adequately keep your transmission cool. I would not and did not use the the heat exchange in the radiator. As for radiators use a 4 row type ( designed to cool a 454 engine ) that has the same length and height as the one currently installed. You almost can't have too much cooling capacity.
 
NEK5 said:
Any reason not too? From what I`ve read, its actually suggested....
Click to expand...

Well, you figure that since the tranny fluid is flowing around close to the engine coolant circuit, that it prolly won't get BELOW the water temperature, which is what, 190-200*F depending on your thermostat and water pump and phase of the moon.

That's why I run the tranny to the radiator first, sort of a pre-cooler, and then use the auxiliary cooler to drop it further, which seems to work.

I have also heard people say to run only the auxiliary cooler and not the one in the radiator, either because it doesn't cool as well (see above) or because it doesn't flow enough.

I have had the factory (radiator) cooler gum up, so that it doesn't flow very much and therefore doesn't cool the tranny very well. Fried a TH350 that way :doah: I figure a tranny temp gauge is cheap insurance against that happening again -- or more accurately, having the gauge AND watching it :deal:

-- A
 
dremu said:
Well, you figure that since the tranny fluid is flowing around close to the engine coolant circuit, that it prolly won't get BELOW the water temperature, which is what, 190-200*F depending on your thermostat and water pump and phase of the moon.

That's why I run the tranny to the radiator first, sort of a pre-cooler, and then use the auxiliary cooler to drop it further, which seems to work.

I have also heard people say to run only the auxiliary cooler and not the one in the radiator, either because it doesn't cool as well (see above) or because it doesn't flow enough.

I have had the factory (radiator) cooler gum up, so that it doesn't flow very much and therefore doesn't cool the tranny very well. Fried a TH350 that way :doah: I figure a tranny temp gauge is cheap insurance against that happening again -- or more accurately, having the gauge AND watching it :deal:

-- A
Click to expand...
The reasoning I believed it was best off to keep to the tranny cooler in the radiator, was that it would actually warm the fluid a little bit, which, if you live somewhere that can get pretty cold, is beneficial.
 
NEK5 said:
The reasoning I believed it was best off to keep to the tranny cooler in the radiator, was that it would actually warm the fluid a little bit, which, if you live somewhere that can get pretty cold, is beneficial.
Click to expand...


That is true in the frigid north. As long as you don't drive it when temps are in the teens or below you are probably fine.
 
Any thoughts on the best place to get a radiator, with a warranty preferably? I'd rather not replace it 4 times before I get a good one.

Dremu, I saw one of the B&M kits for $60, but this one is a little bigger but still within my budget(the biggest one is like 11x11", but I don't know that it would fit anyways).
 
jonathon said:
Any thoughts on the best place to get a radiator, with a warranty preferably? I'd rather not replace it 4 times before I get a good one.

Dremu, I saw one of the B&M kits for $60, but this one is a little bigger but still within my budget(the biggest one is like 11x11", but I don't know that it would fit anyways).
Click to expand...

I've said it before, I'll say it again; warrantees don't always amount to sh!t. Like the lifetime warranty starters @ Vatozone... how many do you have to R&R, in somebody's driveway without your tools ('cuz they never break at home =)) before your time is worth more than the extra cost of the Delco? :D :deal:

Now, I do know that a higher quality piece will as a general rule have a better/longer warranty... but you never EVER want to use it ;)

I'm lucky; I have a local, non-chain parts house that also supplies the shops in the area (they have two doors, one says "Monument Car Parts" and the other says "Superior Auto / Wholesale Only.") The stuff they've sold me has almost invariably been install-and-forget. I figure they want to keep the pros happy, 'cuz a comeback at the shop will piss EVERYBODY off, from the mechanic to the manager to the guy who calls the boss at Superior and rips them a new one ;)

Anyway, to make a long story slightly less annoying, IIRC the radiators I've bought there were Visteon branded. I don't have a lot of miles on them but I've been perfectly happy so far. :dunno:

And I think the 11x11 cooler might actually fit; there's a TON of room behind the grille, but it's too dang hot for me to go outside and measure =))

-- A
 
Mine is about 10 1/2 by 12 in. you don't have a lot of room in there. Just go out and measure on your truck.
Tarey
 
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