akdale

80 C3, 350 w/700R4, rebuilt, with help from Dana @ ProBuilt. I am getting mixed input on transmission cooling (have not asked dana yet) Anyway, have a Derale, stacked plate cooler with 10" fan. Opinions on Trans cooler only or run cooling lines through my DeWitts radiator first, then the cooler?

stingraymax

Bloodzone

If your in Alaska as your profile reads I would not bypass the radiator cooler. Bacause trans might run too cool. I use only a med size external cooler here in Georgia and mine runs 170ish on hot days.

jb78L-82

I agree!

Being in Alaska, I normally would not recommend using a trans cooler in conjunction with the stock radiator cooler but the extreme cold temps there would support using the trans cooler after the radiator.

I run all my trans coolers exclusively solo in all my cars with coolers in the Northeast with no issues in cold New England weather. 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix with 4T65E FWD tranny (not known for longevity) currently at 210,000 miles on it and 2008 Chrysler 300 with 155,000 miles on the tranny. Both trannies run between 120-140 fluid temps with ZERO issues. For max tranny life, you want the fluid at 140 degrees if you can achieve that level, not the typical temps recommended of 170-190 degrees. I always use 2 double stack coolers to achieve my temps. On my DD cars I change the fluid and filters every 20,000 miles. On cars not driven much, I change the fluid/filter every 10,000 miles or 10 years, which ever comes first. In 40 years of driving, I have never had a tranny failure.

akdale

Let me add, this is a summer only 50+ degree street/strip car with a supercharger.

jb78L-82

Stand Alone biggest GVW cooler you can fit with a mechanical engine fan pulling air over the cooler constantly or biggest GVW cooler you can fit with a built in fan on the cooler..............

HeadsU.P.

When I bought my B&M trans cooler I called the tech guy for some info. First thing out of his mouth was: "what part of the country do you live in?"
So there is no right answer, one answer fits all, in this case to your question.
He also mentioned that people fail to understand that too cold of fluid is almost as bad as too hot. He went on to say I had to warm the fluid through the Rad first, then to the cooler. And believe it or not, my water temp dropped a bit with the tranny cooler installed.

Even most of todays modern trannys, by-pass the cooler until the fluid reaches an acceptable temp.

akdale

My other question is target temps. 170 - 190 seems hot. 120 to 140 sounds good but if there is a reason for an additional 30+ degrees in temp then...... I am doing the rebuild myself and frankly I am amazed that those small clutch discs tolerate so much abuse. I have done my share of motorcycle clutch work and these are not much bigger than those. Thanks for the input in advance

Big2Bird

All things have a design temperature. The engine will eventually warm up to an "X" temp. The transmission will warm up to "X" temperature. The faster it does the better.
If you run a tranny cooler in series with an external one, the faster this occurs. Whether its the coolant heating the tranny fluid, or the tranny fluid heating the coolant, they will both get to "X" regardless.
After it hits the rad, the external cooler will remove more heat, enabling the fluid to draw more heat again from the tranny and so on.
Anything you do to supplement the stock fluid cooled system is a plus.

No, I have no data to back my claim.

BTW, I have had mine 100MPH across Death Valley in the summer with the A/C on, and have started it up in the snow. The tranny fluid is always perfect appearing. Car shifts great, never slips.

bashcraft

I have a Grand Cherokee with digital temperature readouts for just about everything. The transmission runs 170 degrees regardless of outside temps.

69Vett

if you run the transmission lines thru the radiator,
the lowest temperature your Transmission will ever see is the engine running temperature.

lionelhutz

I'd tend towards a big cooler with a thermostat controlling flow to keep the temperature in the correct range instead of running through the rad to do the same.

If you put a decent quality large sized cooler after the rad, then the oil going back to the transmission will be at a lower temperature than the engine temperature.

jb78L-82

All my cars use Tru Cool Long LPD coolers with differing GVW capacity, stand alone from the radiator.[NOTE: These coolers are self regulated temperature controlled....Please read below:


LONG TRU-COOL

TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER 28,000 GVW

4590

Cars, Trucks & Heavy Towing, GVW Rating 28000 lbs.

48 Cooling Plates

Low Pressure Drop Cooler, 11" x 11" x 1.5"

11/32" Barb fittings

Kit includes:

Cooler

4' Hose

Assorted Fittings and Hardware

2 Styles of Mounting Hardware

Quick Connect Nylon Straps & Steel Mounting

Easy Installation Instructions

Here is how Low Pressure Drop technology works to Protect Your Transmission:

Long Tru-Cool Oil Coolers offer advanced cooling protection for car, van, light truck, R.V., and towing applications. They offer these advantages for your transmission. The advanced technology out performs TUBE & FIN Designs, Delivers up to 15 times less flow restrictions, 30% more cooling delivers maximum heat transfer, Self-Regulating for maximum lube flow protection through start-up, varied temperatures and driving conditions, heavy loads and towing.

C3 Stroker

Yes, absolutely.