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Trans Cooling Upgrade

racedaymechanic

racedaymechanic

Active Member
Messages
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Location
Troutman, NC
The last trip to the mountains My 4L80E was running a little hotter than I like, I have been wanting to get rid of the OEM rubber lines for some time so It was time to fix it up, Building the mount was quite time consuming and took alot of fitting, welding and Head scratching so I didnt document it ( alot of Beer and swearing) I used Aeroquip high pressure hose and fittings, they are bulletproof, I used a 10 inch electric fan (leftover Nascar stuff) I replaced the OEM Trans cooler with a B&M one with 1/2 inch NPT outlets then used Aeroquip fittings to go to an6 then added a old engine cooler I had in line the fan is on this cooler
001-17.jpg


Heres how I tied into the existing Steel 3/8 line Nut, sleeve then flare 37 degree 6an x 6an union
005-6.jpg



This is the fitting that goes from the bottom of the Rad to Hose
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This gives you an idea of the fab work I did, the fan is on the backside not visible, I mounted it where to old skidplate used to be
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Heres the mount I made for my engine cooler lines
006-6.jpg


I installed a switch on the dash with a light so I can know when the fan is on
 
I have one of those B&M coolers, and I'm getting ready to take it off. I would reccomend putting stand pipes in it for the return side as this cooler has a bad problem where it only uses part of teh cooler when mounted upside down. My trans can be 200, but only the bottom 2 inches will be hot, and the top 4 inches will be cold as can be. I'm getting ready to go with a EARLS cooler on mine as they don't seem to have the problem of only using part of the cooler.
 
The last trip to the mountains My 4L80E was running a little hotter than I like,...........
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Did you keep the water to oil cooler (rad) in the loop?

Good reliable plumbing. You cannot go wrong with Aeroquip stuff.
 
THEFERMANATOR said:
I have one of those B&M coolers, and I'm getting ready to take it off. I would reccomend putting stand pipes in it for the return side as this cooler has a bad problem where it only uses part of teh cooler when mounted upside down. My trans can be 200, but only the bottom 2 inches will be hot, and the top 4 inches will be cold as can be. I'm getting ready to go with a EARLS cooler on mine as they don't seem to have the problem of only using part of the cooler.
Click to expand...
Mounting them upside down is not the best way to go Its actually the same cooler as the factory one just with 1/2 NPT, Im sure thats alot of the problem they dont recommend mounting them that way either
3500GMC said:
Did you keep the water to oil cooler (rad) in the loop?
Good reliable plumbing. You cannot go wrong with Aeroquip stuff.
Click to expand...
Yes I did thats the fitting in the vice, there is a solid steel line that runs to the top of the Rad all the rubber ones are from the bottom out and the OEM trans cooler has those sh!tty clips holding the lines in, that was the last OEM rubber left on Brutus good riddence
 
Took Brutus out today and the trans is 40+ degrees cooler, it used to match the engine temp after 15-20 minutes, now its barley above 140 degrees and thats without the fan I am really happy, I never thought it would make this big of difference, I put the heat gun on the new cooler in the original place and it was consistent no hot or cold spots, same with the added cooler, I couldnt get 5 degrees different from top to bottom, This is awsome because it will really help the engine temps because they share the same coolant in the Rad and the trans will increase the engine temp by getting the Coolant Hotter:hihi:
 
So what is the recommended way to mount the inlet & outlet holes on the coolers, top,side, bottom ???? I ask this in reference to a DSG style large capacity oil cooler...
 
Joey D said:
Why? Is it to keep fluid in it when the vehicle is off?
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Mounting it so the fluid comes in teh bottom can allow an air pocket to stay in the top of the cooler, mounting it sideways with the bottom teh feed and the top the return prevents an air pocket from forming and promotes even flow, and mounting it upside down also prevents an air pocket from forming but can give trouble with temp differences across the cooler.
 
THEFERMANATOR said:
Mounting it so the fluid comes in teh bottom can allow an air pocket to stay in the top of the cooler, mounting it sideways with the bottom teh feed and the top the return prevents an air pocket from forming and promotes even flow, and mounting it upside down also prevents an air pocket from forming but can give trouble with temp differences across the cooler.
Click to expand...

How much more ATF do you need/get?
 
sctrailrider said:
That's what I thought, thanks...
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I would expect sideways might be best in the oil cooler application, so any % of the oil in the cooler that will actually drain back thru the lines & into the pan gets removed during an oil change. May not be a high % of the cooler volume of oil that actually makes it back to the pan to drain, but prolly more than if both holes are up.

Another thing worth noting (but maybe limited relevence in SC), is that a larger oil cooler can keep oil from getting up to adequate running temp in very cold weather. My install (48 plt if memory serves - was the largest of the most common 3 sizes) needed a thermostat setup that doesn't pass oil to the cooler until it's up to a certain temp (160 or 180 - again with the memory as winter's a ways back). The first winter after my install, I had a long interstate drive at -10 F temps. Wouldn't hold oil temps consistently above 140 until much of the grille was blocked off.

After reading this thread, I may pull the grille & check the oil cooler with my IR gun. I mounted mine both holes down, but might rework it, if the IR temp readings show any evidence of air bubble/uneven temps.
 
After I blew up my transmission, I was to afraid to go through the radiator. I bought a new Hayden cooler and used new 3/8 lines to connect it directly to the transmission. Around 3000 miles so far and going good.
 
THEFERMANATOR said:
Mounting it so the fluid comes in teh bottom can allow an air pocket to stay in the top of the cooler, mounting it sideways with the bottom teh feed and the top the return prevents an air pocket from forming and promotes even flow, and mounting it upside down also prevents an air pocket from forming but can give trouble with temp differences across the cooler.
Click to expand...

This raises a big question in my mind, what were the engineers thinking? On my 94 K2500 pickup the stock oil and tranny coolers are both mounted with the connectors at the bottom, from the factory. From what is being said in this thread I need to mod this situation for better cooling.

Don
 
handcannon said:
This raises a big question in my mind, what were the engineers thinking? On my 94 K2500 pickup the stock oil and tranny coolers are both mounted with the connectors at the bottom, from the factory. From what is being said in this thread I need to mod this situation for better cooling.

Don
Click to expand...

BEAN COUNTERS, that is why they got mounted that way. The bean counters said it was cheaper and easier to package em that way, so that is what they did. Sort of like the PMD/FSD being mounted down in a hot location, or the 94-95's with the OPS that runs the fuel pump, it all boils down to how they can cut corners to save a buck. Most anything can be improved upon from OEM in some way shape or form.
 
yep I've heard of a few burned up trannies from an aftermarket cooler that doesn't have those larger passages. fluid so thick it won't flow
 
Thank you bobbiemarten for that info and link. It helps dispel concerns about possible cooling problems.

Don
 
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