Transmissopn cooler questions

[12161216]

Hi all, on my 97 Pathy I just replaced my factory (very small) tranny cooler with a larger Hayden 10k unit. My queston is will I need to cover the unit in the winters to help get temps up for the converter to lock up? I think my origional unit was part of the tow package so there shoudl be something built into the rad as well to help warm the fluids? I am moving to Fargo ND so when I say cold I mean it will be cold . I added to cooler since I started towing a smaller travel trailer and with 133k on tranny and having to tow the trailer from NC to ND in July 1400 miles I figured it may be a good thing.

 

James

[devonianwalk]

Wow, moving from North Cakalaki to ND? That should be some sort of culture shock!

 

I have a tranny cooler on mine but, I'm not sure about the whole keeping the fluids warm thing though. My issues are (obviously) keeping her cool when towing the boat. I will be interested in some of the opinions from our neighbors to the north.

[scott3606]

I added an auxiliary transmission cooler to my '03 SE 4WD a couple of years ago. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota - the only change in cold weather performance that I've noticed is that it takes a while for the torque converter to 'lock up' in temps below 40 degrees. Shift performance is the same, just the delay in TC lockup when in overdrive. My installation routes the fluid first to the built-in cooler that's part of the radiator, then to the auxiliary cooler, and finally back to the transmission. This the recommended install when the existing radiator cooler is still functioning. I've considered installing a thermostatically controlled bypass (Hayden, Derale, etc usually sell those extra) but decided it wasn't worth the time or expense. I think even some B&M coolers have that feature built in. Also, I am running Mobi1 1 Synthetic tranny fluid, which may help a little with the cold weather performance (those who know more about transmission fluid... feel free to jump in here). For a climate where the winter temps get even lower than here, I might re-consider the fluid bypass or a cooler with that feature built in. My guess though is that you'll probably be OK with your set up.

 

-sjm

[MY1PATH]

IN the winter I cover half the RAD and the whole tranny cooler with a sheet of cardboard. This helps the 94 warm up quicker and its cold enough that the temps stay normal.

My 89 has an e-fan and it just never runs in the winter.

[adamzan]

I have just an 18k cooler, bypassed the stock cooler, and the only thing I noticed was that if you don't let it run for like 5-10 mins when it is REALLY cold (like -25C or colder) the trans will shift really hard into Drive or reverse. I had a winter front for it but I didn't run it this past winter and my heater worked well.

[12161216]

Hey guys thanks for your thoughts, the converter lock up was the only thing I was thinking would be longer. Mine even here in NC has a delay of 5 miles or so when colder so I figure just see how it goes and if anything just do the cardboard cover if needed. How bad is your mileage in the low teen and single digit temps?

 

Thanks

James

[JamesRich]

My installation routes the fluid first to the built-in cooler that's part of the radiator, then to the auxiliary cooler, and finally back to the transmission. This the recommended install when the existing radiator cooler is still functioning.

-sjm

I'm not sure how the manufacture recommends it to be plumbed but I was always told to route to the auxiliary cooler first then to the cooler in the radiator. This way if it's really cold the radiator helps warm up the transmission.

James

[scott3606]

I'm not sure how the manufacture recommends it to be plumbed but I was always told to route to the auxiliary cooler first then to the cooler in the radiator. This way if it's really cold the radiator helps warm up the transmission.

James

 

I think that's a good point. I'm not a mechanic, so I can't give a definitive answer. Seems to me that the 'right' answer might depend on what you're trying to accomplish with all of this. The directions that came with my Hayden cooler were pretty clear - fluid from the tranny, to the factory radiator cooler, then to the auxiliary cooler, then back to the tranny. I'm guessing this gives the maximum cooling. Routing to the auxiliary cooler first, then to the factory cooler in the radiator may very well still do a good job of keeping the fluid cool, with the benefit of preserving cold weather performance. That might well be the right answer in a climate colder than what I normally experience.

 

sjm

[winnipegjohnston]

I'm not sure how the manufacture recommends it to be plumbed but I was always told to route to the auxiliary cooler first then to the cooler in the radiator. This way if it's really cold the radiator helps warm up the transmission.

James

This is correct.

[winnipegjohnston]

Where did you guys mount your aftermarket coolers? I just spend 10mins staring up underneath my truck and I can't decide the best place to mount it so that it is protected and the hoses arent going to rub or possibly kink.

[12161216]

Here are some pics (hard to tell) from my install. I had the factory external cooler and to be honest I did not even think of in and out lines and just installed them they way my old unit came out and I guess I got it correct as everything is still working? If anyone is interested in the oem unit let me know.

 

stock unit

Hayden