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I have a TH400 rebuilt with 4l80 parts for some strength, and a 3200 stall. My car has a 5.3 ls engine with pushing 350rwhp through the trans and 3.08 gears.
Should I run an external trans cooler?
Should I be able to run on the highway without any worry of overheating?
This cooler I found online is a stacked plate type that is about 10 inches high and almost the full width of the radiator. I do not run the trans cooling through the radiator,...just the external one. Th400, 3000 stall and 3.70 gears. Has been like this for years, and never even gets hot.
I would be concerned about the 3.08 gears and your stall. At cruise speed or pulling hills, I would imagine it could get pretty warm. At 55 mph you'd be about 1000 rpms below stall speed. Now if you cruise at 75 mph,.....no problem.
Last edited by The Money Pit; Nov 30, 2016 at 10:04 AM.
I have an aluminum radiator ( not a dewitts) I won't mention the brand so as to keep this on track. but I have a 2800 stall convertor and use just the trans cooler built in the radiator and the sump temprature is 25 degrees lower on a hot florida day than when everything was stock on a moderate day.
it may be you don't need one if your radiator runs cool enough. my convertor is a little tighter so I'd likely doesn't generation as much heat as others .
like a sick kid I'd take its temprature and see what your trans guy thinks before adding something you may not need.
had a 420hp 350 T350 2800 stall with 3.08...bad combo. It would slip and heat the trans fluid up plus to cam it to make that power it was simply the wrong rearend gear period. 4.11 was good or 3.73 with a 3500 would have been right
Finally went 4.11 with 6 spd it was perfect. Its not as deep a gear as youd think the difference in acceleration from 3.08 to 3.73 wasnt worth it 1 week later reageared it again.
Should I be able to run on the highway without any worry of overheating?
With any higher than stock converter, an extra trans cooler should be added. You probably won't overheat, but the added slip increases the trans oil temperature, increasing wear on the trans. That shortens its life. All trans shops (especially hi-perf, Rossler, etc.) will recommend a cooler with converters they sell.
had a 420hp 350 T350 2800 stall with 3.08...bad combo. It would slip and heat the trans fluid up plus to cam it to make that power it was simply the wrong rearend gear period. 4.11 was good or 3.73 with a 3500 would have been right
Finally went 4.11 with 6 spd it was perfect. Its not as deep a gear as youd think the difference in acceleration from 3.08 to 3.73 wasnt worth it 1 week later reageared it again.
5.3 lsx
Stock block, texas speed 228r cam, 799 heads (milled for compression), ls6 intake and tb. 1 7/8 long tubes, 2.5" exhaust.
From a 10mph roll she will smoke the 265/45/17s for about 80ft as is. Had a '2300-2600' stall, and it stalled at 2150rpm and was a complete dog off the line.
This cooler I found online is a stacked plate type that is about 10 inches high and almost the full width of the radiator. I do not run the trans cooling through the radiator,...just the external one. Th400, 3000 stall and 3.70 gears. Has been like this for years, and never even gets hot.
I would be concerned about the 3.08 gears and your stall. At cruise speed or pulling hills, I would imagine it could get pretty warm. At 55 mph you'd be about 1000 rpms below stall speed. Now if you cruise at 75 mph,.....no problem.
So I'm assuming parades are a bad idea? Or is idling around ok, vs driving at lower rpms than the stall is happening?
I would definitely put a trans cooler on it, bypass the "trans cooler/heater" in the radiator all together. B&M makes some nice stacked plate style trans coolers for around $120... pretty much a must for anything other then a stock converter.
3200 stall that flashes to 3800-4000 will wake that 5.3 up big time.