Transmission cooler

[Scooter]

So I've been driving quite a bit lately taking full advantage of the CA weather which has been HOT. Noticed that under normal driving even in triple digit heat my engine (mild 360LA)is quite cool and the temp barely moves above 180, even sitting in stop & go traffic for extended periods.  Have a good aluminum radiator with a pair of 11" SPAL fans that move over 1300cfm each, 180 thermo. But it seems to struggle to keep cool when I hit the steep local mountain roads. Saw temps this last weekend up to 210, no overheating issues yet. I'm thinking it's the 727 transmission causing the spike in temps. Once the stress was off the trans the temps drop to 180 quickly. Anyone else using a trans cooler recommend one or give advise as to the installation? Is an AC car so I need to account for the condenser up front too.

[7212Mopar]

I have a basic trans cooler mounted in front of the radiator. It is connected to the transmission only an bypassed the radiator. I removed AC long ago. If you have AC, it might be better not to stack it in front of the condenser. Use a fan powered version trans cooler, they are generally smaller and can be located near the side. You can have it go in the radiator first or bypass it entirely.

[Scooter]

^^ Thx!

Was thinking I would put the cooler in the circuit before the radiator so I could still monitor the temp of the transmission fluid to some degree as well.

Will take your advise on the fan, seems like a good idea. May have the fan connected to a manual toggle switch so I can turn on/off as needed.

Need to work out possible mounting locations and hose routing.

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

I am running an OD tranny with A/C, and mounted a small B&M (5x11?) in front of the condenser coils in front of the radiator. Unit comes with 4 pads and zip ties that go through the condenser coils to hold the cooler with the rubber pads nicely, and provides 10,000 BTU cooling with fan drawing through all three items (cooler, condenser, and radiator).

Dropped trans temp from 195 cruising down to 155, and no problem with cooling AC or engine...

JMHO...

[Scooter]

I am running an OD tranny with A/C, and mounted a small B&M (5x11?) in front of the condenser coils in front of the radiator. Unit comes with 4 pads and zip ties that go through the condenser coils to hold the cooler with the rubber pads nicely, and provides 10,000 BTU cooling with fan drawing through all three items (cooler, condenser, and radiator).

Dropped trans temp from 195 cruising down to 155, and no problem with cooling AC or engine...

JMHO...

Excellent feedback... dropped temps 40f... nice! I'm only having issues when climbing steep windy grades.. wonder if I can also get away without adding another fan?

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

If you have a higher stall torque converter (mine is 2600-2900 option), the winding grades will build up some heat (mine doesn't lock up below 55 mph), but with the cooler mounted in front of the condenser, the fans you have should pull the air past the cooler, condenser, and radiator just fine... make sure to route the cooler lines through radiator first, then to the cooler, so that the last stage is coolest possible... also mount with one or both fittings on the top, so that there isn't any air trapped in the cooler.

Mine is mounted on the driver's half of the radiator and condenser, with lines pointing toward passenger side, with cooler line from radiator going to the bottom cooler fitting, and upper cooler fitting routed to return line to transmission. Had to fight the center brace a little to tighten fittings, but was able to get short open-end combo wrench in between grill and condenser to get them tightened.

[Scooter]

Not sure what the stall is on my converter but the flash sure seems higher that stock. Makes sense it's building heat up steep windy low speed roads though.

I'm wondering if I get enough cooling out of an external cooler to bypass the radiator transmission cooler completely?

[73_Cuda_4_Me]

IMHO I would keep it running through the radiator - helps warm the tranny oil when cold, then offers additional cooling at radiator coolant temp (depending on how well your aluminum radiator is cooling engine now) + external cooler temperature drop...

[7212Mopar]

CA car really no need to run it through the radiator first and then to the trans cooler. Just my IMO.