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stock radiator as oil cooler?

O

outlander

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Columbus,Ohio
I'm about to order a new radiator to replace the original in my 89.I was wondering if I could plumb my engine oil into the tranny cooler part of the radiator because I have a manual transmission.Anyone done this?
 
What pressure ports off the block/oil filter adapter are you going to use? Is there a remote oil filter kit for the 4.0 that you can use in your plumbing?

Id be concerned about what kind of pressure the tank can handle, going from a low pressure trans line to a high pressure engine oil line.
 
squirrel80 said:
I would think that it would be fine considering the high pressure side of the trans should be around 100psi and oil pressure is about 60psi on the high side. I don't know what kind of volume the radiator could handle or if there are other issues, but in theory it should work.
Click to expand...

High side is no where near 100psi on an auto trans. Maybe 35 max.
 
Transmission oil coolers in the radiator can handle pretty high pressure. They are not like the tranny coolers that mount out in the air like a small radiator. They are brazed tubes that are pretty thick.
 
CanMan said:
High side is no where near 100psi on an auto trans. Maybe 35 max.
Click to expand...


I was told that by my tranny guy on a turbo 400 with a shift kit. So I am sure the pressure was higher than a stock tranny, but I have used it as a rule of thumb when adding tranny coolers and lines. I just figured most auto were around the same pressure.
 
squirrel80 said:
I was told that by my tranny guy on a turbo 400 with a shift kit. So I am sure the pressure was higher than a stock tranny, but I have used it as a rule of thumb when adding tranny coolers and lines. I just figured most auto were around the same pressure.
Click to expand...

Stock AW4 isnt any where close. For a built race tranny, maybe.
 
I think it also depends on how cold things get where you are. I'd worry about overcooling the oil. Do you need an oil cooler? I was under the impression that they were only necessary on a rig that sees heavy towing, long idling, and the like.

Not that I'm saying anything against it, I could easily have the wrong info. I was just stating a concern.

:)
 
Engine oil temp can shot to well over the coolant temp but seldom does. In most cases you would be adding heat to the oil. But not much heat at that.
Depending if it's a full flow cooler or a bypass cooler but a full flow cooler would try to carry ALL the oil going to the engine. The small lines of the stock internal trany cooler would badly restrict the flow of oil to the engine, <-(IMO) anyway. Any oil cooler that ((I)) know of is a full flow.
In the cold weather a oil cooler would slow or stop the warming of oil. Unless a auto low temp bypass of the heat exchange is used. Some bypass are built into the adaptor. I manual bypass can be add to.
(IMO) you would be better served with an external/addon heat exchange unit.
 
Last edited:
You are right badron. The greatest wear on an engine is while it is warming up. Anything that delays the warmup of the engine would be bad. And I doubt that modern oil is harmed by the normal temperatures, even putting around off road.
 
Talyn said:
From the FSM the AW4 line pressures are as follows:

D at curb idle: 61-70 psi
D at WOT: 173-209 psi
R at curb idle: 75-90 psi
R at WOT: 213-263 psi
Click to expand...


But that's not what the cooler see's. Pull a line off and fire the rig up, you won't see more than 20-40 psi.
 
Ok how well would it work as a PS cooler?Do the same rules apply?
=====================================================
The return line to the PS pump is larger and you may see some restriction.
.If tried? This restriction may show up as a winding sound and/or increased effort in steering,
(IMO) you also would be better served with a addon heat exchange. For PS cooling this addon need be little more then 2 feet of copper tubing coiled and mounted in front of the rad or in any forced air stream.
Ford and others make PS coolers. Found in many older full size cars and pickups.
 
cal said:
But that's not what the cooler see's. Pull a line off and fire the rig up, you won't see more than 20-40 psi.
Click to expand...

This.

Ive hooked up several AW4's to the trans flush machine, with pressure gauges. No where near those pressures listed.

Those pressures are what it sees inside the trans, through the valve body and such, not the cooler lines.
 
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