Transmission Cooler Question??

[40]

I know this has been discussed not too long ago but was unable to find it in the archives.I have a TH350 going in the 36....I am not running a cooler in front of the radiator and was wondering if anyone has tried the long,narrow finned cooler that mounts along the frame rail.I realize the airflow will be somewhat restricted but really have nowhere else to place it.Also,what do you think....high pressure hose or take the time to hard pipe it?The lines will not be very long.Thanks!

[moparrodder]

I am not running a cooler in front of the radiator and was wondering if anyone has tried the long,narrow finned cooler that mounts along the frame rail.

  Daryle,     I saw some of those long finned ones on Norm Groboski's KookieII and he was using them as extra coolant cooling as he said the motor was having a hard time staying cool and those coolers were doing the job fine.  He had one on each side of the frame between the grill shell and the cowl of the body and looked sharp!!  I have a pic of it somewhere that I took last year at the T bucket nationals in Omaha.  I'll see if I can find it and email it to you.    Bill

[cre8tor]

I haven't had any experience with the narrow coolers that you have mentioned but when I was building my coupe I put a cooler with its own thermo between the rails and it works a treat.
Similar to this one -


Cheers,

Mark.

[X38]

I used hose and pipe. Reason being that the trans moves with engine torque - not much - but lots of tiny movement over time is not good for hardline/sealing. Hose connected to chassis rail monuted hardline.

[sal37]

Daryle
I bought one of those long finned jobs at the Louisville Nats last year with the intention of installing it in my current project (TH700).  I f you can go on the hype they are supposed to be good and take up relatively little space.  The one I bought was 24" long - yet to determine if this will be enough.  Let us know what you find out.

Steve

[jeffa]

I haven't had any experience with the narrow coolers that you have mentioned but when I was building my coupe I put a cooler with its own thermo between the rails and it works a treat.
Similar to this one -


Cheers,

Mark.

Cre8tor:
You haven't been to my place and photographed my trans cooler have you?
It's exactly what I am using, well it looks exactly, in My Essex.
Mine is a Commodore accessory unit with an aftermarket fan mounted on it.
On the Essex it fits between the outer frame rail and the "X" member.
I am using it for a C4/302 Cleveland combination. I hope it's big enough.

[cre8tor]

Cre8tor:
You haven't been to my place and photographed my trans cooler have you?
It's exactly what I am using, well it looks exactly, in My Essex.
Mine is a Commodore accessory unit with an aftermarket fan mounted on it.
On the Essex it fits between the outer frame rail and the "X" member.
I am using it for a C4/302 Cleveland combination. I hope it's big enough.  

 
I would say your combo would do the trick just fine.


Cheers,

Mark.

[jeffa]

Cre8tor:
You haven't been to my place and photographed my trans cooler have you?
It's exactly what I am using, well it looks exactly, in My Essex.
Mine is a Commodore accessory unit with an aftermarket fan mounted on it.
On the Essex it fits between the outer frame rail and the "X" member.
I am using it for a C4/302 Cleveland combination. I hope it's big enough.  

 
I would say your combo would do the trick just fine.


Cheers,

Mark.

That explains a lot. Wife said she saw someone in a trenchcoat around last night. Wasn't impressed though...

[jeffa]

Cre8tor:
You haven't been to my place and photographed my trans cooler have you?
It's exactly what I am using, well it looks exactly, in My Essex.
Mine is a Commodore accessory unit with an aftermarket fan mounted on it.
On the Essex it fits between the outer frame rail and the "X" member.
I am using it for a C4/302 Cleveland combination. I hope it's big enough.  

 
I would say your combo would do the trick just fine.


Cheers,

Mark.

That explains a lot. Wife said she saw someone in a trenchcoat around last night. Wasn't impressed though...

[40]

Thanks for the replies.......I decided to go with a rectangle,aluminun cooler from Jegs.....I will mount it vertically on the side if the X member and connect it with very short lengths of hose to eliminate the vibration problem.This cooler has the inlet/outlet at the top and I will be able to neatly clamp the hoses to the rail.The flat style cooler like the ones pictured are what I had intended to use originally but the only area available to mount it was very close to the exhaust and I was afraid that would defeat the purpose.It should be here the first of the week,I'll try and add a photo to this post after I get it mounted.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I've been watchin and readin this thread.

what ever you run to cool the tranny fluid, it MUST have air flow.  it is a radiator of heat. It cannot properly  radiate heat with out air flow.

I went 4 rounds with an a**hole years ago about a C-6 tranny in a truck.  He pulled a big trailer.  He had a large a/c condenser under the side of the truck bed for the tranny.

He could NOT "get" the idea that there was little air flow up there.  After driving the truck with the trailer hooked on it a few miles with his "mechanic" along for the ride........ I had the guy touch the condenser after we stopped.  He reached up there and grabbbed it.  Slightly burned his fingers.

At that very moment ...... I had made my point .


 

[40]

Tony....I was hoping you'd post a reply.I value your experience with  transmissions and am wondering what you think of the set-up I intend to use.The cooler I ordered is designed for a vehicle with GVW of  #24,000.I understand the need for air flow and honestly don't know how much air will flow over the cooler.I intend to fab a couple of brackets to hold it out a couple of inches away from the frame rail in hopes that will help a bit.I will be running a Walker "Z" series rad in the car,no A/C ( removed the condensor).In your opinion,would I be better off to use the cooler in the rad? I had hoped to avoid the ugly lines all the way to the front of the car.Another thought I had was to construct some type of small scoop to deflect air over the cooler....what do you think?The engine in the car is a 330hp-H.O. GM crate motor.

[jeffa]

Hi Tony: Jeff here. I have replied before (1930 Essex, C4 Cleveland 302)
I have almost exactly the setup as pictured above.
I have mounted it between the frame rail and the centre cross ("X")  member, so it is mounted across the car rather than in line.
Because the cooler is slightly taller than the frame rail, I have angled it so it fits inside the chassis. I have a 10" fan mounted directly (rubber mounts) on the cooler so it blows air from above the chassis, down through the cooler.
Do you think this will provide sufficient cooling?
Jeff

[Beck]

When looking at the long tubular coolers the pretty polished ones don't work as well as the unpolished. For some reason the polishing interferes with the heat transfer.
If you are mounting a cooler without a fan a little air duct made from sheet metal really helps pull the air in when at speed.
The units with the fan seem to be a super way to go. They provide cooling air even when stopped in traffic.
Beck

[Crosley.In.AZ]

air movement is key.  Fan or a duct to bring air or grab air to move over the cooler.  

When you have poor air movement over the radiator for the engine, the engine runs hot. Same deal on a automatic tranny.

If you are running a stock stall speed torque converter the cooler should be fine.  


Stall speed converters require more cooling due to the nature of the converter..... they build more heat