The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop trans cooler in inner fender?

there was a guy quite awhile back that posted some pics of his pasanger side innerfender that he cut out and mounted a trans cooler there.this was an ad truck.there was some negative opinion as to why it wouldnt work.was wondering how it was workin for him.i thought it to be pretty smart and would consider it if it would work with no ill affect. anybody remember it or them?. or your opinions on this.............dave

I remember the discussion. Do a search.

It was posted by a guy calling himself Ferrit or something very close to that. The problem would be mud and rocks and other road debris getting into it.

do you really think it would be that bad.this is a legitimate question, i'm not trying to stir up stink.but what would be the difference being in front of the radiator and off to the side.i mean obvious the tires.but i dont plan on being in a whole lot of mud.seems like it would be easy to clean out also.i'm just trying to keep the radiator from being so kluttered in front.....................dave

I mounted mine on the frame. I know others that just ran a line out and back. I plan on adding a tranny temp gauge. If what I've got won't keep it cool I'll know it.

that was another option i was exploring ,did a post awhile back on frame mounted coolers.guess i'm trying to figure how to keep it as cool as possible.i've torn factory units out of radiators and theres not much to them plus there in hot coolant so it seems like the frame mounted would be an upgrade already. plus i've got a fairbanks stage one shift kit and thats gonna cause quicker shifts, eliminating some of the heat already.........dave

My Mazda RX-8 has a pair of huge engine oil coolers mounted in the outer openings of the front bumper on each side, not behind the radiator like on most cars. Rotary engines need a lot of cooling. I haven't had a problem with them getting rocks even though they are sitting 6" off the road right out in the open air. I would expect that mounting them in the fender wells would be fine as long as they get air flow.

I've seen big trucks with them mounted on the frame behind the cab. Slap a small electric fan on it if you want.

That reminds me; my wife's 2002 VW Beetle diesel has a tranny cooler 4" off the pavement. With 100,000 miles not a problem...

Some Corvettes have a duct under the front that takes air from very low into the radiator. One of the recurring problems with these cars is the dirt and debris that clogs the radiators.

Not a debiliting issue, but one that does seem like a design flaw.

I think there is a lot of difference between hanging a cooler somewhere in the breeze and locating it where moisture and dirt coming off the tires will be a constant thing.

In an area where roads are salted in winter it may be an even bigger problem. Around here I've seen cars with caked mud/dirt in the wheel wells and I can just imagine that muck completely covering the cooler rendering it useless.

The only way I can see it working in the wheel well would be to fabricate some sort of shield to protect it. The simplest thing to do would be to mount it on the frame.

when i was building transmissions i installed a cooler horizontally under the bed of a truck.. i wasn't too fond of the idea but it was at the request of the customer.. got a call from the manager about 8 months after I moved shops to tell me it was still there and kept the trans exactly the 25 degrees cooler that we were going for. if it works, hey.. whatever. we did make a "grille" for it, much like an after market motocross radiator cover, to protect it though.

I agree, the wheelwell is not the best place to mount it. There are a lot of better places. If you have a temp gauge on the trany or an idiot light you can monitor the temp. I would worry more that a rock would knock a hole in the cooler than mud covering it. But I can't think of a better place for mud than the wheelwell.

on mine i bulit a mount out of 1" flat stock, purchased an aux. oil cooler an mounted it about 1" in front of the lowest part of the radiator out front in direct air flow from the grill, ran braided lines from the trans to the cooler..works like a dream ..temp stays well below standard.

I bet it looks good

A little duct work that flows across a cooler and exhausts out of the wheel well would be pretty simple to fabricate. It could pick up its air below, or beside the radiator. The NASCAR round trackers have brake cooling ducts and other methods of directing airflow, so it's not rocket science to make air flow where it needs to go.
Jerry

check out the formula one cars. they can pull 5g's BRAKING. their stopping abilities are more impressive than their acceleration.