Thread: Transmission Cooler

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Henry/Jack, you do go first class! A '32 is bigger, roomier, better and more expensive than a '29 and a '34 is still better in all those ways. But does the trans cooler pass the heat to the engine radiator? That is why I avoided a cooler in front of an already small '29 radiator.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don,

There obviously will be some heat transferred from the trans cooler to the radiator, but that's how it normally works on a radiator with a trans cooler tank.

Besides, my car is channelled. There is absolutely NO room underneath . . . or anywhere else.

Another topic. You mentioned earlier that your axle had less clearance than your trans pan, and it would take the first "hit" from a speed bump. The only problem with that logic is that your axle will be picked up to clear the speed bump by your tires - they're concentric, you know. I'm in a similar dilemma. I may have to change out my front tires, and maybe the rears. The profile is just too low. I only have 3" under the front axle.

Henry/Jack, Yes it looks marginal over speed bumps and some folks advised taking them diagonally but I think that makes things worse for the reason you give. After my local survey of speed bumps I visited a friend at a local hospital and found the most extreme speed bumps at that hospital parking lot, but even so they were only 3" high. I guess all I can do is go real slow and if the front axle scrapes, I'll have to stop before the trans pan hits. Of course going over a radical hump it is possible to scrape in the middle while the wheels clear the front and rear axles. C9x made a good point that with a cast aluminum trans pan it can crack while the DeRale steel pan might just deform. Since Doctors tend to have expensive cars including Corvettes, they can't make the hospital speed bumps too high!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don,
Going diagonal will ensure that anything that can hit, will hit.

My Corvette sits at about 4 inches. When I see a speed bump, I usually turn around.

Originally Posted by blwn31

Hey Don, welcome to the world of "A" Bones. Now you know why they are called HOTRODS! You should really look into a radiator with trans cooler installed. I run a Walker radiator with a built in cooler and also use a B&M trans cooler mounted at an angle agianst the 4 bar crossmember. The 700R4 needs to stay under 200 degrees. For every 20 degrees above 200, the life of the trans is cut in half. Trans life is around 200K miles. So temp is very important.

What are your thoughts on a TCI SSF 700R4 with 2800 Stall TC and 4.10 pushing a 6200 lb 1976 GMC pick-up truck with the cooling lines going to the rad and tranny burning up in 2500 miles?

Well, first I'm not a transmission expert. But, 2800 RPM stall is steep for the street. What exactly burned up, the low/rev, 2nd or the 3/4? Also, the T.V on these transmissions are super duper important. If you don't have enough T.V under high load, up she goes. That is the major downfall of these transmissions. I personally run an in the radiator cooler and second B&M cooler on the frame rail. I am currently redoing my chassis and am in the process of adding a small Spall Fan to my B&M cooler. Haven't checked my trans temp yet but, I can always not turn the fan off if need be.
Sorry for you trans going up in smoke.

Keith