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Trans Cooler Lines????

S

sprngfldxj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Springfield, Colorado
Can anyone tell me which line is the return and which one is the supply on the lines that hook up to the Radiator?
I have heard that there is a way to hook these up for either winter or summer depending on your location, if you are using a trans. cooler, for maximum cooling.
 
trans_cooler.jpg
 
The line from the trans to the radiator is on top and the return line from the radiator to the trans is on the bottom.

My B&M trans cooler is run in the return line after the radiator trans cooler. Your fluid should run trans > radiator > aux. cooler > trans. This way the radiator will heat up your fluid to operating temp, but the cooler will cool it down a bit before going back into the transmission. This is ideal for Colorado because you don't want your fluid running super cold in the winter time. To install, just cut the return line and plumb in the aux cooler. Very easy install.

http://www.jeepin.com/features/trannycooler/index.asp
 
Last edited:
of course this will add to the already long winded debate, but.

if you want the trans fluid at a good temp, wouldn't you want to first cool it down right out of the tranny, than pass it through the rad lines so it can get to a temp near too the engine temp?
Which should be a normal/near normal operating temp for it.

This has been discussed quite often. I guess it may depend what your using yours for, where you are, how much you tow and such.
I plumbed my cooler in right after the tranny, then to the rad cooler, back to tranny.
 
I went tranny-radiator-cooler-tranny and that seems to work great. It dropped my overall running temp enough to keep me out of the aux fan so much and the floor doesnt seem to be as hot now when Im off on the trails. I mounted the cooler on the backside of my skid for my 4 Real Steel bumper. Ive since drilled a few 1/2 holes in the skid for better air flow and Ive added a large computer cooling fan pulling through the backside. When Im driving around town it runs really good and my engine temps stay low. When I get off in the trails I kick on the fan and the tranny hump doesnt get hot at all.
HPIM1396.jpg

HPIM1401.jpg

HPIM1402.jpg
 
Uhmm.might want to replace those beverage lines with some actual tranny hose!
 
Just an FYI. From the FSM for my 95, normal operating temp of the AW4 is 122-176 deg.
 
see, now thats why I asked.

although mine works ok setup the way it is (tranny-cooler-rad-tranny) I haven't used it on the trails that often since I put it on. I will have to get a temp gauge for it, and see what it runs at, may give me a reason to switch the lines around.
 
beakie said:
although mine works ok setup the way it is (tranny-cooler-rad-tranny) I haven't used it on the trails that often since I put it on. I will have to get a temp gauge for it, and see what it runs at, may give me a reason to switch the lines around.
Click to expand...

When you run it that way, the cooler is kind of pointless. Doesn't matter what the temp is of the fluid before it enters the radiator, the object of the radiator cooler is to bring the temp of the trans fluid to about the same temp as the radiator itself. If it is hotter, it'll cool the fluid, and vice versa. If you cool it with the aux cooler right out of the trans, it'll just heat right back up when it goes in the radiator. Running it the opposite way will cool the fluid down a bit in the radiator, then again in the trans cooler, making the overall temp cooler than the radiator, which is what you want since you're running a 210 or 190 degree thermostat.

I've got the cooler and trans temp gauge and since the install, I haven't seen more than 150*, even in traffic. Before the cooler, I was regularly seeing temps above 170-180*, and that was in 40* weather. If you are in a hot climate, you definitely want to run the cooler after the radiator, and if it hardly ever gets cold in your area, just bypass the radiator all together.
 
Can someone tell me what's up with my transmission lines? 1999 XJ automatic, The line from the BOTTOM of the OEM radiator cooler connects to the FRONT of the transmission, and the line to the TOP of the cooler connects to the BACK of the transmission. Is that right? The XJ is all orgininal and has not been modified or touched. I've had it since day one.

I installing a aux cooler and according to the FSM and other posts on this site, this maybe backwards?

Fig. 48 shows the FRONT outlet line going to the TOP of the radiator.

Confused
 
hweldon said:
Can someone tell me what's up with my transmission lines? 1999 XJ automatic, The line from the BOTTOM of the OEM radiator cooler connects to the FRONT of the transmission, and the line to the TOP of the cooler connects to the BACK of the transmission. Is that right? The XJ is all orgininal and has not been modified or touched. I've had it since day one.

I installing a aux cooler and according to the FSM and other posts on this site, this maybe backwards?

Fig. 48 shows the FRONT outlet line going to the TOP of the radiator.

Confused
Click to expand...

For later models like yours, they may be switched. All you need to know is this: the line coming from the front of the tranny is the output. The line going to the rear of the tranny is the return. You can follow the lines from there.
 
does anyone actually know what the innards of the radiator looks like where the trans "cooler" goes into it?

i just replaced my stock radiator due to a 2 3/8" crack on the pass side on the brass band that connects the core to the plastic end caps. i have started to tare the old rad appart and separating the metal into my scrap bins. i was amazed to see what the stock line that the tranny plugs into is:

1000410wa3.jpg


1000411nn6.jpg


1000412on0.jpg


i can say that i dont think it does too much.
 
Thanks for the reply. So I guess the line from the front of the trans goes to the bottom of the radiator cooler, gets pumped up to the top of the cooler and returns to the back of the transmission. That's what I'm seeing.
 
Haven't done this to the XJ yet, but will sometime this week as I finish up my header/'00 manifold/2 core radiator/elec. fan conversion. I did put a cooler in my Z28 though - after the radiator and noticed a big difference. The aux. cooler gets very hot to the touch, but the trans. pan is noticeably cooler on the hand. Before you definitely wouldn't want to touch it, but now I can. I live in FL though, so I'm always battling heat.

Stewie - that's all it is?!? It just goes in one end, through the tube and out the other? So it really offers no cooling effect - just helps maintain a 190-200* temp that the coolant is. Man if that's the case, then I'm skipping the radiator and just running straight to an aux. cooler.
 
thats all it is postal. it was enough to make me want to "go postal" when i seen how "simple" of a disign it was. sorry for the punns but i had to.

from what i can tell, the trans fluid enters the "pipe" at one end and travels to the other end where it exits. the pipe appears to be hollow inbetween the inner and outer walls allowing the trans fluid to pass through and also allowing a greater surface area contact with the coolant. for me in arizona, it apears to be a piss poor disign, so a trans cooler is now on the top of my to do list for both my xj and my tow rig (even though the tow rig has a stock tranny cooler seperate from the rad).
 
I will tell you guys, that a trans cooler is a great way to go , especially for the xj. I like mine alot. I am now thinking of doing a Oil filter relocation and a cooler on that, so that is will cool even better. You can mount the oil cooler to the frame rails out of the way of rocks and such. It can provide you with more cooling to a differnet part of the motor and drive train.
 
Well, I put the tranny cooler in, but the XJ isn't up and running yet b/c I'm not done w/ the manifolds - hopefully tomorrow. I ended up running it through the radiator anyway b/c the hose that comes w/ the cooler wasn't enough to completely bypass it and I didn't want to run back out to the store. I'm also considering an oil cooler too, but am already running synthetic and just put in a dual core radiator, so that should be enough.
 
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