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transmission cooler on a DD?

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1Gina2G

10+ Year Contributor
810
2
May 6, 2011
Beaufort, South_Carolina
Would it be practical to have a transmission cooler (air-to-oil) on a daily driver? This is for a 2G manual transmission, so would there be a way to connect the cooler?

I was planning to go ahead and add a engine oil cooler to my setup, after I remove the factory water oil cooler since it's a bad design. Just remembered that you can also cool your transmission fluid, no idea how much it helps you out though.
 
The only way to add a cooler to a manual transmission would be to use some kind of a pump. There is no pump in the manual transmission so there is nothing to pump the oil thru the cooler. You would also have to take the case apart and drill it in 2 spots for the hoses. For what it's worth i wouldn't worry about it. The engine oil cooler is a great idea though. You can use the evo oil filter housing with a little modification to the housing. It has a down facing filter and already has the ports for the cooler.
 
Pointless imo for the tranny cooler for your 5-speed.My friend drives his 500+ hp talon all day never had issue with transmissions unless beat the crap out of it, but even still his only blew becuase he buys $300 transmissions from the junk yard.:p Now if it was a automatic transmissions that's another story.
 
The factory oil cooler isn't exactly a bad design. If i'm not mistaken, people try to run cooler oil so their engine runs cooler , thus making the intake charge cooler. But keeping your oil at a certain temperature is vital to its ability to lubricate bearings. If your oil is too cool, it will be too viscous to properly lubricate. The factory oil "cooler" does a good job getting the oil up to temperature during a cold start (since coolant temperature rises a lot faster than oil) and keeping it at the same temperature during daily driving. Upgrading your oil cooler is only necessary when you put the car and engine under demanding conditions, like those on a racetrack during autocross, etc. For a daily driver, the factory oil cooler does its job.

The transmission cooler, I would say the same thing. Unless you are ragging on the car for long periods of time, a cooler won't be necessary.
 
The factory oil cooler isn't exactly a bad design. If i'm not mistaken, people try to run cooler oil so their engine runs cooler , thus making the intake charge cooler. But keeping your oil at a certain temperature is vital to its ability to lubricate bearings. If your oil is too cool, it will be too viscous to properly lubricate. The factory oil "cooler" does a good job getting the oil up to temperature during a cold start (since coolant temperature rises a lot faster than oil) and keeping it at the same temperature during daily driving. Upgrading your oil cooler is only necessary when you put the car and engine under demanding conditions, like those on a racetrack during autocross, etc. For a daily driver, the factory oil cooler does its job.

The transmission cooler, I would say the same thing. Unless you are ragging on the car for long periods of time, a cooler won't be necessary.

Well once the waters hot it can be hotter than the oil so it wouldn't be cooling it, just mostly thinking about hot summer days. I know these motors can heat up quick. I also read about how some people atleast only remove the water cooler and screw.the oil filter on without it just to get it off since if you destroy the washer inside your oil will mix with your coolant.

I really liked the idea of having an air-oil cooler with a thermostat, but so far all.the ones with the t-stat are atleast $400. I'm still going to just remove the water cooler though, and I guess I'm not getting a trans. Cooler.
 
waters hot it can be hotter than the oil
"BZZT! .. Wrong answer, Hans".

Oil temp reaches almost 275 degrees while the water isn't even at boiling temperatures due to the cooling system that keeps it between 195-205 degrees.

Oil pan is the only area that allows the oil to release it's heat some before the pump pulls it back where it's needed for an NT vehicle of any make. This is why the air oil coolers of the 90 Turbo DSM's have it made to really cool down the oil before it heads back into the block. The water cooled variety only cools the oil down to the water temperature of the system.
 
Well once the waters hot it can be hotter than the oil so it wouldn't be cooling it, just mostly thinking about hot summer days. I know these motors can heat up quick. I also read about how some people atleast only remove the water cooler and screw.the oil filter on without it just to get it off since if you destroy the washer inside your oil will mix with your coolant.

I really liked the idea of having an air-oil cooler with a thermostat, but so far all.the ones with the t-stat are atleast $400. I'm still going to just remove the water cooler though, and I guess I'm not getting a trans. Cooler.

If your cooling system is in good condition, the water-cooled oil cooler works to keep the oil at the same temperature, 195-205F. This is where the factory intended the oil temperature to be at, and where you will want it to be at. If you run oil temperatures lower than this, you will need to run lower weight oil to maintain proper lubrication. Obvious note: If you've rebuilt the engine with clearances different than stock, then these (optimal oil weight and temperature) will be different.

In my opinion, the only way to use an air-cooled oil cooler is one with a thermostat. Otherwise, there is NO way to control your oil temperature. It will be at different temperatures on a day to day basis depending on the ambient temperature outside that day. A very bad thing.

The factory oil cooler sandwich plate only gets destroyed if you torque the bolt without a torque wrench. Using a torque wrench and torquing to spec, you obviously will not have this problem. I can, however, see why people will want to get rid of it to prevent the possibility of it happening. The information is out there for both sides, though.
 
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