Looking for recommendations for a transmission cooler for my car. Engine is a 493 with a 727 torque flight transmission. I have a BeCool radiator which doesn't have the cooler holes so I'll need an external one. Any advice on which kind/brand? I see some for $40 and others for $200+
Most tranny oil coolers depend on fluid going through radiator first... but if sized correctly, should be able to dissipate enough heat...
This one is good for 13,000 BTU... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-70268
You would have to monitor the oil temp!
You must have a new installation radiator... 727 HAS to have cooler in circuit...
How recently did you get your manual tranny Be Cool radiator? Any chance of swapping it for one with Auto cooler built in?
Well, he is in Fla. so I doubt he'll have the typical warm up issues associated with our northern states if he simply runs a stand alone trans cooler... But yes, it's better to run a cooler in addition to the rad cooler for more stabil temps and the warm up factor in the winter... I like the quality of the B&M super coolers.. Low restriction, heaver design that doesn't flex, plus they don't look like the cheaper tube and fin coolers...And of course they work well which is the biggest factor.. Last install I ran/bent hardlines and had just a few inches of rubber where it connects to the cooler...Made for a much cleaner install..
Quote from: 73_Cuda_4_Me on July 27, 2020, 01:56:22 PM
Most tranny oil coolers depend on fluid going through radiator first... but if sized correctly, should be able to dissipate enough heat...
This one is good for 13,000 BTU... https://www.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-70268
You would have to monitor the oil temp!
You must have a new installation radiator... 727 HAS to have cooler in circuit...
How recently did you get your manual tranny Be Cool radiator? Any chance of swapping it for one with Auto cooler built in?
The radiator was gifted to me by my neighbor who used it in his 69 Dart with the same size motor and a 727. Monitoring the oil temp is easy because I already have a gauge for that. The transmission was built about 5 years ago by JW Performance here in Florida.
How did the neighbor run it without cooler lines through radiator? Did he have external cooler as well?
The one I provided a link to is easy to mount... there are plastic straps that go through the radiator coils, through the cooler coils, and cinches them both together, with rubber pads in between them.
It doesn't fill the entire radiator area, but uses the cool air drawn in by the fan to cool both tranny and engine fluids...
Quote from: 73_Cuda_4_Me on July 27, 2020, 03:16:18 PM
How did the neighbor run it without cooler lines through radiator? Did he have external cooler as well?
The one I provided a link to is easy to mount... there are plastic straps that go through the radiator coils, through the cooler coils, and cinches them both together, with rubber pads in between them.
It doesn't fill the entire radiator area, but uses the cool air drawn in by the fan to cool both tranny and engine fluids...
Yes he has an external cooler.
I'll have to see if that cooler setup will work for me cause I've got dual electric fans on the front already and I'm not sure if it will fit.
Yeah, that might pose a problem... now if you could put the fans on the back side, and make them 'puller' fans instead of pushers...
Make sure you mount the plate style coolers with the fittings "UP". If the fittings are down, you'll trap an air bubble in the upper tubes and reduce the cooling potential of the cooler.
I liked the quality on my Derale unit plus it was made in America. Personally I avoided anything with its own fan, as the rad fan will pull air if the trans cooler is against the rad. Big as you can fit, maybe smaller if it's an AC car that already has a condensor in front.
Quote from: CudaA39 on July 30, 2020, 03:25:30 AM
I liked the quality on my Derale unit plus it was made in America. Personally I avoided anything with its own fan, as the rad fan will pull air if the trans cooler is against the rad. Big as you can fit, maybe smaller if it's an AC car that already has a condensor in front.
I should have indicated this in my original post but I'm running dual electric fans so there's no room except for the backside or the radiator and even then I'm not sure how much there actually is. I've seen smaller ones that get tucked under the car, near the transmission but wonder if they will do the job or not. :thinking:
If you elect to go with one located elsewhere besides the radiator, the tranny cooler will have to have it's own fan to circulate air through it when there isn't a lot of airflow under car...
I tried one of the 2 pass finned aluminum ones, and it just doesn't cut it, even AFTER going through my radiator first...
Hot days in slow traffic couldn't get enough air past the fins to really cool it down, and there is NO ROOM to install one of the longer (26-32 inch) 2 pass finned units...
They do have the plate units like I recommended earlier with a fan, but you can double the price on it, then you still have to find room...
I picked up a new cold case radiator with Auto tranny passages for 370 from summit... you will be 2/3 of that in fan cooler unit...
:alan2cents:
Looks pretty good, and a very good price... Needs 4.5" of depth clearance... 2" for core, and 2.5" for the fan... not sure how much your car has, but I do not have that much clearance between my A/C evap coils mounted to front of radiator and the Cuda's grill and center brace...
I hope it fits for you!
Sorry if I'm kinda all over the place with questions but would a fan be necessary IF I could mount the cooler to the back of the radiator? Would the air from the dual fans be enough to cool both?
It's possible that the airflow would be adequate to cool it, but the air coming through the radiator will be warmer, so the cooling efficiency will be less at the tranny cooler... If radiator is running 195-200 degrees, the airflow through radiator picks up a lot of that heat. You would have to see what the air temp is on engine side of radiator in hot weather to see what the differential temp would be going to the tranny cooler..
example: if airflow coming out of engine side of radiator is 170 degrees on hot day, and transmission oil is running 225, you only have 55 degrees differential cooling the tranny fluid in the cooler, which MAY be enough. The reason they recommend putting tranny cooler in front of radiator is so you get fresh air, so on hot day of say 95 degrees, you have 130 degrees differential cooling the fluid, so more tranny heat is removed (better for tranny).
It all depends on the transfer efficiency of the radiator... the more efficient, the higher the air temp coming out of the radiator (pulling more heat out of engine coolant into the air flow).
A stock automatic uses the coolant temp and small amount of radiator cooling (195-220 degrees) to cool the tranny fluid, and that normally works in normal duty operation. So if you are just cruising most of the time, it's probably going to be okay...
The only way to know for sure is to try it and monitor the tranny fluid temp closely...
I got a chance to speak with my friend via text, who gave me the radiator and asked him about his transmission cooler. He doesn't recall the brand but thinks it was from Summit Racing and sent me the pic that I've attached. Interestingly enough, it installed it right under the driver's seat and it doesn't have a fan on it. He says he's had no issues with cooling and he's running the exact same motor as I am (built from the same guy with the majority of the same parts) and transmission. The only difference is he has an overdrive add-on for the transmission...oh yeah and it's a 69 Dart not an e-body.
Has anyone else tried something similar? What were the results if so? I've also heard they can be stored in the trunk so long as they have the proper fan to cool it.....is that just for racing applications or could it be used in a street rod?
I've been looking at the Derale Remote Mount cookers with single or dual fans but I'm still wondering if it's overkill or not.
https://derale.com/product-footer/fluid-coolers/transmission/remote-mount2013-10-28-09-53-271226240719 (https://derale.com/product-footer/fluid-coolers/transmission/remote-mount2013-10-28-09-53-271226240719)