28,000GVW Cooler...... was it good or was it bad??

[Rice Over Wheat]

Hm maybe I need to buy one of those since they're so cheap.

 

[vaboys2ndgen]

Hm maybe I need to buy one of those since they're so cheap.

i think you should helps out big time

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

I went ahead and bought a tube/fin aftermarket cooler at a local shop here that is about twice the size of that plate/fin stocker for about $50. I looked at various tube/fin coolers and I don't think there are large functional differences between them.

I'm going to move it to the passenger side somewhere so I bought 2 qts of ATF in case I lose some on the way, and extra hosing. Any tips you can give me or is it pretty straight forward and I just reconnect the hoses on the other side after I mount it?

 

[Defiant]

I looked at various tube/fin coolers and I don't think there are large functional differences between them.

There's a large difference between a Long TruCool design and a regular tube-and-fin. The Low Pressure Drop has one larger passage at the top of the stack which will enable cold, thicker oil to flow through it instead of through the entire cooler as happens with a tube-and-fin design.
I've never heard of a transmission blowing up from being too cold, though.
http://www.importperformancetrans.com/coolers.shtml
John from IPT is on here as transdude, and probably knows more about slushboxes than any ten other people put together. They are also a site sponsor. Ask him about the DSMtuners discount, and he'll reply with a startled, "What?"

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Thanks for the info. I checked out the site:

When automatic transmission fluid is cold it is viscous. Long's LPD (Low Pressure Drop) design allows thicker cold transmission fluid to flow through two open chambers which, in effect, bypass the cooler until the transmission reaches normal operating temperature. This self regulating design eliminates the possibility of over cooling and poor cooler flow on cold start up.

I was thinking though, since I live in Florida where the coldest it gets is say, 50*F for about 2 weeks in a year, I don't think I'd see the benefits of this design over my regular tube/fin. I'm probably going to stick with the cooler I bought since it looks pretty decent and large...for now. However, I might upgrade again if I move to a cooler climate.

 

[Defiant]

Also, did you hook it up in series with the radiator cooler? I'd think that would keep things at a good temperature regardless where you were.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

No I didn't do that because I wasn't sure how. I have no idea how a radiator works and I thought it was filled with coolant. And the AC charge cooler, I have no idea what's inside of those lines. I read the instructions about that option but they weren't written with much detail. So all I did was do a straight swap with how the factory cooler was set up, except I moved the cooler to front of the AC cooler. The instructions said that was the most efficient spot, but then I don't think they were talking about people with FMICs...

After I tested my cooler on high idle, I felt the lines and they were very warm. I'm starting to think maybe that may not be the best spot and my AC might not get enough cold air to it with the FMIC in front and a warm cooler almost touching it.

Check out how I set mine up. Anything I should watch out for? I needed to move it asap because tomorrow my turbo to fmic inlet pipes are getting fabbed on the spot at a muffler shop.

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What sucks is it was such a tight fit I mauled the fins on top and did my best to straighten them out.

 

[Defiant]

The factory cooler is just a small radiator inside the radiator. Check the web, many transmission cooler manufacturers recommend you install their coolers in series with the factory cooler, so it runs trans -> radiator -> aftermarket trans cooler -> trans.

 

[danny_l_2005]

I have an automatic also. I just installed a trucool 19,000GVW. I saw this thread so i ended up looking for cooler thats built in the radiator and i couldn't find any holes or anything underneath my radiator. Do you think someone must of switch out my stock radiator?

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Ahhh I think I get it now. I read several cooler install guides and finally got one to explain in simpleton term what the hell they mean by in series with the radiator. When they say that I assume they are talking about THE radiator, like the main one that runs coolant. But no, they mean to run the lines through the OEM cooler which is like a mini radiator, then run the lines into the aftermarket one so you get all the combined cooling.

Well why didn't they just say so, damn. They keep calling the oem cooler a radiator in these in-series instructions! I'm going to put that oem cooler back in and run both.

 

[Defiant]

Ahhh I think I get it now. I read several cooler install guides and finally got one to explain in simpleton term what the hell they mean by in series with the radiator. When they say that I assume they are talking about THE radiator, like the main one that runs coolant.

They are. Not that many vehicles use an oil-to-air AT cooler, most just use a cooler in the bottom of the water radiator. They mean to run from the transmission, through the original cooler in the bottom of the water radiator, then out through an after-market oil-air radiator, and back to the transmission.

 

[Rice Over Wheat]

Ah ok, got it, thanks. Looks like if I wanted to do that I'd have to get an aftermarket radiator or something. But if I think I slap that oem cooler back "in series" with my aftermarket one I should be in good shape. Just have to find another spot for it. Thanks.

Met another dsmer yesterday and he had a fluidyne radiator, a slimline replacing the engine fan, the a/c condensor and a/c fan removed, and twin fans where the condenser used to be flowing directly through the radiator. I wonder if that radiator can hook up to the a/t cooler because this guy didn't need his coolant bottle anymore and it seemed impressive overall.

EDIT: I put my oem cooler back in today. I moved the horn and its mounting bracket, then cut off all the brackets on the oem cooler so I could slide it up in the slot there. I have heavy duty zip ties on it for now until I fab a way to mount it. It's facing sideways now, but I've got the oem cooler handling the cold line from the aftermarket tube/fin cooler before sending it back to the return line. So far seems a big difference in heat transfer, but that's only in the parking lot.