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I'm getting my '75 restored at the moment and thought of installing a trans oil cooler and an engine oil cooler while at it. Trans is a TH350 and the engine will be a 383 - 450HP stroker
I was looking around at Summit Racing and came up with these 2 coolers: Derale 15660 - for engine Derale 15950 - for trans
Any experience with them? Do you think they will perform properly and could be installed in front of the radiator?
Cooler oil and trans oil are always a good thing. For the most part I would say these set ups could be overkill in price and functionality.
HOWEVER, given that a Corvette has such limited air flow coming into the radiator as it is, it may not be the worst idea Ive ever heard of.
Here comes the BUT... there are guys running some big power cars with automatics, and Id bet they just have a non fanned type trans cooler. I'd message user Ajrothm and see what he has, and make a decision based on that... his car is a killer 496 with TH400, 10 second E.Ts, and driven all over the place.
I bought that same trans cooler, haven't installed it yet and I think I paid a little less, but it is a quality product and I look forward to hooking it up. I don't think you can go wrong with the fan attached to it. You should also add a trans temp gauge, and there is a lot of discussion about if you should run the trans fluid thru the radiator and then the cooler, or bypass the radiator completely. That is how I will be doing mine but I am sure others have different ideas. Good luck.
fede, good questions. I have a transmission cooler in front of my aluminum Dewitt radiator. It does not restrict any air flow, but as stated earlier it is snug up there. I have attached a photo during the installation process.
Food for thought and something to ponder since you are doing a major restoration.
A 700r4 will give you an overdrive that will help with gas consumption while cruising on the highway. I have a 700r4 that can handle 600hp/600tq. My new engine 400ci small block produces 414hp/490tq, well below the capability of the transmission. When shifting from 1st to 2nd, and if I'm on the gas, it will break the tires loose!
Instead of an engine oil cooler, a lifetime, stainless steel washable oil filter form Go Pure Power. It actually filters the oil by passing it through a stainless steel mesh. It actually allows for better oil flow too.
The last suggestion, since all of the cooling system is removed, and dry, consider Evans Waterless Coolant. I am using it and I have the opposite issue with my engine temperature during the cooler moths. The engine runs very cool. I have to block half the radiator and unplug the same side of the block radiator to keep the engine temp up.
When I started the thread I was thinking of placing both coolers at the front of the car. It always looked to me that there was a LOT of empty space over there but I was probably minimising the amount needed for the hood to open.
I also realised later on that placing the tranny cooler up there was probably going to increase under hood temps which is undesirable.
Now, for the transmission, I'm leaning toward installing it just as these guys did under the car: http://www.chevyhardcore.com/tech-st...-trans-cooler/
And for engine oil... either going with a fanless radiator on the front of the car or adding a cooler like the one I linked under the car somewhere (this will hopefully take some heat from the engine bay).
This is a plate cooler that just fits under the hood when open. I measured the gap there, and bought one the width of the a/c condenser. Welded on tabs, and screwed it to the support.
The tranny fluid never gets hot.
This is a plate cooler that just fits under the hood when open. I measured the gap there, and bought one the width of the a/c condenser. Welded on tabs, and screwed it to the support.
The tranny fluid never gets hot.
This is a great place for a tranny cooler^. Every automatic car I own has a double stack Long/Dana cooler doing all the cooling outside of the radiator, mostly daily drivers. If my C3 was an automatic, I would DEFINITELY have a trans cooler regardless of the HP of the engine. A transmission cooler is essential for Trans longevity and fluid effectiveness....put one on!
Well, I asked the engine manufacturer and he agreed with you that an oil cooler is completely unnecessary. I'm going to skip that from now then.
It's fun to think that the only car I own with an engine oil cooler is my 63HP Mini Cooper!
I will definitely go for a transmission cooler, either at the front or under the car.
Like many forum members running our AC in the summer time is a real test of our cooling system. One thing I noticed after using 1.6 Rollers is the temps came down noticeably!
I was really surprised. It made the engines sweet spot move up 200 rpm.
You could use an oil cooler from a C4 - which bolts on to the oil filter block and passes water through the block. If the oil is too cool the moisture and unburnt fuel will not vaporize. Most street cars don't need them.
I would go with the largest Aluminum Radiator that has a auto- trans cooler in it that fits. A good quality one. I would then add a finned tranny pan.
That should be fine for the street and not suck up space. You may want to add A/C in the future..
I am looking to purchase a trans cooler. This past August I posted a thread on tans coolers. Some asid get the biggest cooler that will fit in the location you wish to put it.
What great timing! I was about to post a thread the MB7 Tru Cool trans cooler. Today I called Tru Cool and asked tech support which trans cooler would work best with my set up. I have a 2700-3000 stall speed convertor and they recommended the Tru Cool MB7 cooler. It has a 20,000 btu rating. I later checked and the application they had for this cooler is heavy duty pick up, high performance applications. it is 7x11" cooler. Maybe the larger coolers are overkill but if they work, so be it. I'm going to use the MB7 cooler. They are under $100.00 whereas some of the larger units are $150.00-up.
I am looking to purchase a trans cooler. This past August I posted a thread on tans coolers. Some asid get the biggest cooler that will fit in the location you wish to put it.
What great timing! I was about to post a thread the MB7 Tru Cool trans cooler. Today I called Tru Cool and asked tech support which trans cooler would work best with my set up. I have a 2700-3000 stall speed convertor and they recommended the Tru Cool MB7 cooler. It has a 20,000 btu rating. I later checked and the application they had for this cooler is heavy duty pick up, high performance applications. it is 7x11" cooler. Maybe the larger coolers are overkill but if they work, so be it. I'm going to use the MB7 cooler. They are under $100.00 whereas some of the larger units are $150.00-up.
The reason I and many other suggest the largest cooler that will fit is that most of the time, it is very difficult to get the trans fluid to the ideal temp of around 140 degrees. I ONLY use Long/Dana coolers since these cooler have BUILTIN temp control and only allows fluid to flow through all the cooler once the viscosity is thin enough to allow such movement...you do not have to worry that the fluid is too cool.
On my Chrysler 300 with the Long Double stack 28,000 GVW cooler driven year round, I just the other day touched the cooler on a cool day after being driven on the highway and most of the cooler was luke warm meaning the the trans fluid was too cool to need additional cooling on that day...works like a charm and I have used the Long/Dana's for years....
The C3 has limited cooling capacity from the get go, if you plan to have AC and depending on where you live I would re-consider the engine oil cooler.
If installed correctly it will allow you to use the AC anytime or drive the car to its limits without cooling issues (stay at stat setting). Some are ok allowing the temps to float above T-stat settings I prefer to have it stay at T-stat settings under any condition.
To do it correctly you need to have a bypass T-Stat installed along with a good cooler
Not wanting to change the topic of this thread....where it seems this is heading.
I do know that here in North Carolina where it can get hot as all get out in the summer. I have customers Corvettes who can use their A/C at any time an NOT have any problems.
I want to make sure the oil is getting hot enough to allow the moisture to come out of it.
That is all I am going to 'say' about that in this thread.
01-10-2017, 10:50 AM
Trans oil and engine oil coolers
