AOD additional oil cooler

Topic: AOD additional oil cooler (Read 2366 times) previous topic - next topic

AOD additional oil cooler

March 11, 2015, 07:09:22 PM

Any suggestions on adding a AOD transmission oil cooler. I'd like to add a cooler for the transmission and possibly seal off the radiator from having to do 2 jobs at once. I also would like to maintain the present trany lines if possible.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #1 – March 11, 2015, 08:18:10 PM

If you are going to bypass the radiator cooler I would run one of these: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-70272/overview/
Should cool plenty.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #2 – March 11, 2015, 09:06:03 PM

A transmission shop that I trust once recommended to me to never bypass the factory rad cooler, they claimed that no a/m cooler could do a better job as long as the radiator trans cooler was not plugged up. They also wouldn't warranty my rebuild trans without me installing a new radiator to ensure the cooler was working as it should.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #3 – March 11, 2015, 10:11:19 PM

From my experience and others that run automatics they say only use radiator cooler in cold climates to bring tranny to operating temperatures, other than that you dont want the tranny as hot as your engine. Without the radiator cooler the tranny wont get to operating temperature and could do damage. Thats what I believe I have a 20x10 cooler mounted to my core support not touching my radiator works perfect

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #4 – March 11, 2015, 10:17:03 PM

What I see now is that the radiator and cooler could be run in tandem. Would this cause a pump or flow problem? The reason I am asking is that I have read in some post that an extra cooler is highly suggested. I am doing a B&M shift kit and mentions something about running extra cooling to extend the life of the transmission.

Thunderjet, that one you listed seems very good, though I was hoping to find one maybe a little less pricey and lower profile. I have put myself on a budget at the end of my build buying spree to assure an exhaust system is still in the bank and paint time.

This is what I had planned on doing, using maybe a 9 or 12 row cooler sitting at the base or even sideways behind radiator.

I live in a cooler climate in WA state
Thanks 347Thunder that makes sense. I was thinking on a short in height but about 3/4 the length of the stock radiator mounted near base of radiator.

IS that a tube radiator or finned?

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #5 – March 12, 2015, 07:38:38 AM

I run this one but bigger size. My transmission has been beat on since 2002.
http://m.summitracing.com/search/product-line/flex-a-lite-translife-transmission-coolers

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #6 – March 12, 2015, 09:06:24 AM

I'm told that because I live in western NY...I shouldn't bypass the radiator because the fluid would never warm up some days, and I would have transmission problems..
even in the middle of winter here, all our cars shift oddly going through the radiator before the engine really warms up the rad

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #7 – March 12, 2015, 09:55:41 AM

Just wondering if anyone that bypassed the rad cooler is running a trans temp gauge. I have one on my 95 F250 and run the factory cooler and an aux cooler. It runs 190 degrees out of the factory cooler and the most I have seen the aux cooler drop the temp is about 10 degrees. I run 2 sending units on a toggle switch to one gauge. My aux cooler is stacked plate design and measures 8x11.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #8 – March 12, 2015, 09:58:51 AM

I do and had the radiator made without ports and it runs at 165 and engine temp is 180

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #9 – March 12, 2015, 11:04:45 AM

Thanks Thunder, good to know. My only experience with running a/m trans coolers is in trucks. My first truck was a 75 Jeep J20 401/auto and I installed a a/m alum radiator to keep the engine from overheating and it had no provision for a trans cooler. I put the largest a/m trans cooler w/fan in it that I could find and when pulling hard could get the trans temp north of 300 degrees, it took forever for it to recover. My F250 runs all day at 190 no matter what.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #10 – March 12, 2015, 11:41:58 AM

I have my transmission fluid cooler mounted in line with the radiator cooler (fluid first goes to the radiator cooler than to the external cooler). I do this because when I drive the car in the early spring/late fall (April/October) sometimes outside temperatures can be in the 50* range. If there was an easy way to bypass the radiator cooler in June/July/August I would but because I drive the car in cooler weather I leave it alone.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #11 – March 13, 2015, 07:09:38 PM

for free you can get a bone yard air conditioner condenser.

follow the zig zag tube that you see in your AC condenser now,,, just cut it to allow for like 5 rows or so but keep it full width.,, then bend the tubing, mate the tubing to your trans supply / return

that's what we are doing.

the bone yard one we have will make three trans coolers.,, and it was free.

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #12 – March 13, 2015, 07:23:28 PM

I've got a cooler in my truck because I use it for plowing in winter and towing in summer. I've got it mounted in series with the stock in-rad cooler, with fluid first going through the external one and then going through the radiator cooler. I've heard of it being done the other way around, too. My theory is that the external cooler will remove excessive heat from the tranny in winter and the in-rad cooler will put some heat back into it, to prevent it from running too cold. In summer the external cooler takes excessive heat out and the integral one takes a little more heat out. Either way, the external cooler is removing excessive BTU's from the fluid. I also run Dexron VI, which is a full synthetic tranny fluid.

I've thought about using an a/c condenser too, Scott. My cooler was a freebie as well, removed from a Chevy 3500 cargo van. It's almost as wide as the radiator and about 8" tall, and required very little modification to bolt in. I had a home made cooler in my first T-Bird - it was an evaporator from a late 70's Caprice. I welded plates on the end that I could drill and tap fittings into (I actually used it as a welding project in trade school - the first, and last, time I ever welded aluminum). That cooler worked very well, and played a role in my finding that same old T-Bird for sale a few years later - different colour and different engine, but the same cooler and the same EQ-in-place-of-ashtray mod. Those identifiers caused me to not buy the car - I knew what the body looked like under that new paint, and I knew why I installed that cooler to begin with (that old C5 used to slip like crazy when hot)

AOD additional oil cooler

Reply #13 – March 14, 2015, 07:21:36 PM

I did some research on this auto transmission cooler thing and this is what I ended up doing. First off let me say thanks for all the help and responses, I read every one and then try to make a decision best decided on every persons input.

The trany cooler will loose up to 60% of it's cooling capacity if placed between fan and radiator, so I placed mine at the top of the AC cooler where it gets direct air flow from the open grill area on the '85 TBird. Top line from trany to radiator stays in radiator. Bottom line is removed and the trany cooler adapter is then inserted into the bottom fluid exit. Connect a trany pressure hose to that exit adapter you installed on radiator and connect the opposite end to the upper IN hose connector of the trany cooler. Attach a 2nd trany pressure hose to the bottom EXIT connector of the trany cooler and connect the opposite end to the BOTTOM return line back to the trany. As like oil flow in the engine and radiator anti-freeze, fluids flowing through parts of the vehicle are usually done to work with gravity assist. Meaning, start high and end low, start at the top and finish at the bottom. This helps the pumps to not have to push fluids against the force of gravity.
I also chose the front since the weather here is Spokane is pretty decent, but during summer it can go into the 90's for 2 weeks straight and 80's for a month straight. For the record, we get approximately 256 days of clear weather, the west side of the state is the rainy side. :D During the winter, our weather is extreme so to say with hot summers and cold winters, usually I place a radiator blocking on the grill to allow engine to reach normal temps. I can also disconnect the trany cooler if things get extreme, but I will probably install a trany fluid temperature gauge to assist me on that decision. This will help solve any guessing on the trany getting too hot or not getting to normal operating temps. Such an easy device that people rarely install that could save a bunch of money if it decides to self destruct.

The Trany cooler I chose was listed for a mid-size vehicle with towing ability.