The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop FRAME RAIL TRANNY COOLER

Does anyone have a recomendation for a frame rail tranny cooler. I am looking at Flex-a-lite http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/translife-coolers.html

and J.C. Whitney. Any suggestions will be taken in the spirit they were given.

A transmission cooler is definitely an asset to any engine/auto transmission setup. I added a BM fan-assisted cooler to my BBF hot rod truck along with a gauge, bypassed the radiator cooler entirely and noted not only a much more acceptable trans temp but also a decrease in engine temp.

I noted that not running it through the radiator takes a bit longer for the trans temp to come up....probably wouldn't be a great idea if I lived in a cooler region of the country, but it keeps my transmission temps in the 180-200 range. In afterthought, I wish I had stuck on a spin-on filter setup while I had things apart!

The frame-rail coolers should handle your cooling needs and offer some protection to the cooler unit. I wound up making a shield of expanded metal to keep the armadillos and other slow moving critters from clogging my fins up.

I've used flex-a-lite fans with no problems although you need to make sure that the mounting brackets are sturdy. Jeg's and Summit both offer some other options at under $50.00. Hope this helps.

Dave

I also used a B&M cooler with a Spal fan on my '57 with fabricated brackets. Works fine.


http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee121/krazzzzzzy/460/trans_cooler_brackets_installed1.jpg

is that frame cooler enough to keep the tranny cooled down?

I considered using a frame mounted cooler but the proximity it would be in to the exhaust and either brake or fuel lines lead me to use a different configuration. I would not use a frame mounted cooler as the only cooling feature. The air flow is very restricted under the truck in my opinion.

try this location ...worked out great

I am bidding on one on EBay that is 10" long by 3" high and will fit on my frame rail away from exhaust and mufflers. I would rather mount it there than in front of the radiator where it will restrict air flow to a degree. Phoenix who built the tranny recommended a frame cooler.

I am bidding on one on EBay that is 10" long by 3" high and will fit on my frame rail away from exhaust and mufflers. I would rather mount it there than in front of the radiator where it will restrict air flow to a degree. Phoenix who built the tranny recommended a frame cooler.

The fan on the cooler, with a 180° thermostat and manual override toggle switch in the cab, takes care of under truck limited air flow.

Personally, I think the framerail coolers are a bad idea. I came up with something much worse, but some people might consider it cool; I did. I mounted a trans cooler to the inner fender (the part facing forward and right next to the radiator). It'll get *****in airflow but durability? We'll see when we're running. I used a plate-type of cooler so it won't get beaten to death by rocks, but who knows? Anyway, if you're interested I posted a pic of the truck from the front.
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2633584580102304984IfkYvU

Any wanting details or more pics hollar and I'll be more specific.

Jeff

Putting a cooler inside the fender is probably not the best place as it will take one rock to knock a hole in even a plate type cooler. Mud will also clog it up quickly.

I would suggest placing some rabbit mesh around it as some added protection if you cannot find another location.

Mine is under the bed on a heavy duty frame hooked the frame rails. Very similer to a battery holder. It hanges out away from the frame about 3", at a slight angle to pick up air. The exhaust is on the drivers side of the driveshaft so the cooler is all by itself.

I am only running a stock 250 and turbo 350 trans, so heat is not really an issue. After 6 years and 7000 miles, the fluid still looks brand new. Heavy loads and high horsepower create lots of heat, its not that big of deal with stock equipment. Remember the air cooled powerglides? Joe

Thanks guys, all good advice and seriously taken.

Lets put it in perspective. Automatic transmissions are about 80% efficient, so only 20% of the power that goes into the transmission becomes heat. Since most of us do not drive up hill all the time with a maximum load, the average power to maintain vehicle speed is between 15 and 25 hp. So we are looking at the need to cool 3 to 5hp on average with steady state driving. Since the transmission itself is a large heatsink capable of dissipating about 200 BTU/minute, that leaves the transmission cooler needing to dissipate about 200 BTU/minute. (on the other side, the stock radiator can dissipate about 3000-4000 BTU/min at highway speeds.)

A frame mounted cooler would be fine if it gets enough air flow. My recommendations is to use a small oil cooler with a temperature switch controlled fan and a thermal bypass. Something with about about 0.8-1.0 ft sq core area. Mount it under the cab behind the battery with the fan blowing down or inward, or somewhere else out of the way like the apron behind the grill or somewhere.

The temp switch will regulate air flow and keep the trans from getting too hot, the thermal bypass will bypass the oil cooler until the fluid gets over 100-125F warming up the trans earlier.

Just my $0.02

I wonder if there is anyway you could hook up a tranny temp gauge to a 700R4?

monitor the fluid temp, us an in-line Tee. The trans fluid temp just needs to stay below 250F. Fluid is good for higher, however the stock seals start to fail at 250F

I've used a Summit gauge kit with all the plumbing hardware (Tees)to mount the inline probe. B&M part#BMM-80212 for under $50.00.

Dave

Fla54, what temp does your trans run since you seem to be the only one with a gauge? Joe

Joe H. The B&M gauge is marked with 3 numerical positions...180, 220, and 260. White band to 220, yellow band to 260, and red from there on up. I'm running it in a 64 SWB 1/2 ton w/BBF (460) with a Street Fighter C6 and normal around town temp runs 190-210 F. Anything over that and I flip on the fan and it stabilizes at 190-210. I would imagine that the B&M fan-assisted cooler on a stock engine/transmission setup w/thermostatically controlled fan, would run even cooler.

Dave

Thanks Dave, good information. I heard the other day that a 700R4 needed more cooling than a frame rail cooler could give. Perhaps with the fan it would work. I'll check with Summit on the kit.

How about installing a finned pan to help displace the heat?

I think I'll just buy a stacked unit where I bought the transmission at Phoenix. They sell several sizes and install kits. Better safe than sorry.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=DER%2D13700&N=700+115&autoview=sku