Transmission Coolers
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2002 1:16 pm
Well as you already know I have an automatic transmission, why? well yes a manual is faster when stock ( You have 1 extra gear ) and more gears means you move faster. But in where I live I have little choice but to get an auto, first is availability, next is driving in traffic, here is where I hate manual. Does auto have any good points other than easy drive in traffic, well it is more consistant in acceleration, and also when given enough power it is better for drag racing, since you don't have to worry about missing a shift, and with nos autos definitly work best. A fact is that manuals are only better since you have more gears and a bit better control over rpm but you can get around this with autos with torque braking and selective upshifting. So autos are not as bad as people say they are ( most f1 and nascar cars are auto now ). But what about reliability? well the reason most autos fail is either by neutral drops ( rev in neutral and put it in gear ) or by over heating. The cooler keeps it cooler and extends tranny life, this is a good thing, and also since a seperate cooler will cool only the tranny your cars cooling system will also benifit. How hard is it to install? well rather easy actually, just get a cooler kit, 2-3ft cooling hoses and thats it. The kit may even come with the hoses. Just remove the old lines from the rad, use a 6" hose to reroute the 2 inlets to each other, now either go from under or above the rad, you have to remove the rad fan and then install the cooler in-front the rad. Why there? so at idle when the cooling fan comes on it will cool it. Also I have been told you can mount the cooler inline from the rad or seperate, seperate seems to be better but you can always change it as needed. The kit should come with a ties mount and spacers, mount the cooler and run the lines to the tranny, the old lines may still fit but I used new ones that came with the kit. once the lines are run just replace th fan and screw everything together, thats it. The cooler should help your tranny in winter and very hot summers, and extend it's life. How? well auto trannies have 2 clutches and several bands that connect it all together , a manual has 1 clutch which you manually engage and disengaed to change gears, since we have 2 and they are smaller they heat up more and disapate the heat slower. The tranny cooler also is independant to the rest of the cars cooling system, so an over heating engine will not also over heat the tranny and vs. Cooler th tranny, the cooler the clutchs and bands in it and this causes less heat stress and less wear, will slow the break down of the tranny fluid and makes shifting smoother and less harsh.