Trans. Cooler - What did you do?

I know that this topic has been covered, but quite frankly I SUCK at searching!

Gonna put a cooler in my XJ as I overheat on grades and think that's the reason, anyway I'd just lik eto see what others have done with where they've mounted them and what particular cooler they've used. Pictures would be a bonus

Thanks,
Sequoia

get a Hayden cooler, you can pick them up at your local parts store for around 40$, mine works great, i mounted it in the grill with the supplied fasteners, heres a pic of one mounted http://www.ericsxj.com/images/auxcooler02.jpg

BRPL XJ said:

get a Hayden cooler, you can pick them up at your local parts store for around 40$, mine works great, i mounted it in the grill with the supplied fasteners, heres a pic of one mounted http://www.ericsxj.com/images/auxcooler02.jpg

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All nec harware included? Or did you have to buy some extra junk?

I used a factory one.came with the hose and fittings.Even the screw holes were in the rad support.I believe the factory one is smaller than the Hayden.IIRC the factory one is about 4"x12"x1" .
Wayne

I just bought a small Hayden, but I don't like the zip mounting things. I read that over time they'll end up vibrating so much that they'll wear hole in the radiator or condenser. I'm trying to find a way to rig up a mount without welding.

When I put in a new open-style radiator in my 88, I used a 24k GVW/1.5" x 7" x 21" Summit universal cooler in front of my AC condensor (the fluid does not go through the radiator/cooler) and run through a remote filter on it's way back to the trans. The header panel would not go back on without some minor surgery, and my unmodified grille 'barely' fits over that. I've ran this setup since July 4th '04 and it works well.

On the trail-rig, since the AC didn't cool, and the pump is now used for compressed air, I reused the condensor in it's factory mount location. The fluid is also divorced from the radiator and passes through a remote filter. (the filter/housings mount to the LF inner fender 'hollow' where the front of the airbox normally goes)

When I have to do this again on another auto, I would set a thermostat into the circuit and have a fluid temp gage inside. I would also consider using a more efficient 'stacked plate' cooler, like the B&M, and mount it more solidly than a generic cooler's push-locks do.

I bought the first remote filter kit (SUM-G4980) for my trail rig. This housing was tapped for a temp sensor... Shortly later, ordered the 24k cooler (SUM -G4968) and another filter kit for the DD. Then ordered a third setup -for what I don't know yet this time with a thinner 20K GVW 3/4" x 10" x 17" (SUM-G4962A) Both the later filter housings lacked the sensor port, but it's easy to see where to drill/tap for one if you need it.

FWIW more Summit PNs:

the (perma cool) filter kit with a gauge is $79.88 #PRM10677.
the $29.99 Summit G4980 kit is also a perma cool.
the B&M filter I like is 11"x7"x3/4" 19k GVW $45.88 #BMM 70268.

HTH

Okay...'nother question...

Anybody running a cooler on a rig with Mopar's aux. cooler installed as well? My idea was to bypass the radiator trans cooler and run the Mopar aux. and another aux. Did you notice anything when you did this?

Second - Anybody used the trans. cooler portion of the radiator as a power steering fluid cooler?

Third - Woody, have you looked at any of those filters yet? Have you noticed how much crap they pick up?

GSequoia said:

Okay...'nother question...

Anybody running a cooler on a rig with Mopar's aux. cooler installed as well? My idea was to bypass the radiator trans cooler and run the Mopar aux. and another aux. Did you notice anything when you did this?

Second - Anybody used the trans. cooler portion of the radiator as a power steering fluid cooler?

Third - Woody, have you looked at any of those filters yet? Have you noticed how much crap they pick up?

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Nah, I changed out the one in the DD a couple months ago (at around 7.5k on fresh fluid) but I didn't bother cutting it open to peek.

'93ish Ford Exploder trans cooler in front of the A/C condenser on the mech. fan side. Bypassed the radiator cooler and added a heavy duty Permacooler remote filter with temp gauge before the cooler. Total cost, about $115. Works soo well all this winter its been 3/4s the way covered with cardboard and stays around 150 in the city. Summer time it sits about 170-180.

--Matt

GSequoia said:

Anybody running a cooler on a rig with Mopar's aux. cooler installed as well? My idea was to bypass the radiator trans cooler and run the Mopar aux. and another aux. Did you notice anything when you did this?

Click to expand...

Yep. My 2000 with the tow package has both plumbed in; the '01 that it replaced only had the standard cooler in the radiator. Here're my observations:

- The 2000 shifts noticeably more smoothly; engine temps are marginally (perhaps 15degF) cooler. YMMV, though.

- Heat from the tranny tunnel in the 2000 is *far* less than in the '01. This is particularly noticeable after parking it at the end of a long run and coming back a couple of hours later - there's nowhere near as much residual heat filtering back into the cabin.

- Climbing inclines on-road allows a higher cruising speed to be maintained. Off-road, the tranny just seems... Happier.

- Haven't towed with it yet, so no comments there.

Second - Anybody used the trans. cooler portion of the radiator as a power steering fluid cooler?

Click to expand...

Can't say I've gone this far with it yet, but if I were I'd probably plumb in a separate radiator for the PS fluid.

Long and the short of it: I never got the chance to fit a cooler to my '01, but having it on my 2000 has completely convinced me of its value. Yeah, the aftermarket coolers may offer more surface area (and I'd be interested to see what happens with the Mopar cooler when we get major heat in July and August), but so far it's been a serious improvement over what I had before. Can't say enough good things about it.

I've been thinking about an aux tranny cooler also. What's a good way to tell if you need one? Temp sensor down the dipstick? On the pan? How hot is too hot?

Thanks,
fiz