the prestone 50/50 is the orange type also it comes non mixed as well there is also the green type to help it cool alot better in the winter and warm better in the winter. i didnt see a 50/50 mix of the green dexcool so thats a down fallbut doing a flush will not hurt having some water in the engine so technically it is getting mixed

 

How are you quantifying 'running a lot cooler'? If you're going off the regular temperature gauge on your dash- that reads coolant temperature- and you didn't do anything to make the coolant stay cooler by adding a trans and oil cooler, so it should run the same temperature as before.

That is what the system is supposed to do. It is called 'operating temperature'. You car has a thermostat that opens at a certain temperature (ie 195* F)- so it stays closed to let the engine warm up, then opens at it's preset temperature and allows coolant to circulate through the radiator. It opens and closes to maintain this temperature so your car is always operating in the same range. If you're sitting still too long (ie air not flowing through the radiator to cool the coolant off)- and it gets too hot, then the fans will kick on to manually pull air through- to keep it in the same temperature area. If you hooked up a scan tool, you would see it varies a bit- but always stays in the same small range once it is warmed up (although that is hard to see on a small gauge).

The temperature needle movement has nothing to do with the type of antifreeze you use- assuming the water ratio is correct. You could be running the old green stuff, or the newer orange dexcool- and it will run the same temperature. If you've never had your coolant flushed and changed, then it came factory filled with dexcool.

Has your car ever actually overheated though? As long as you're using it in a normal manner (ie not towing or running a high stall racing torque converter)- the fans should have been able to handle it on their own- the car was designed to operate in the USA- it could've been sent to Maine or Arizona, so the car is designed to handle it from the factory.

I have never heard of green dexcool. All the dexcool I've seen is orange, the only green I have seen is the old kind.

Any proof of that? Keep in mind, the water is doing a lot of the cooling work- the anti-freeze is just there as an additive.

I'm confused- they come from the factory with a trans cooler- its a tank built into the side of the radiator. I haven't seen any cars that came from the factory with an auxiliary, separate radiator for trans fluid.

 

on the dex cool i have seen the orange and the green since 98 till now to be honest with you the green dex cool didnt really come out till. a little later like 02 04 time frame do to people complaning that there is major problems with there cars with the orange type. the green to me is some thing newer than the orange that was out longer in the dexcool family. remember there is a third fan that wasnt there now there is with the trans cooler to help draw the heat inside the engine compartmen down. hense runs cooler and having the temp gage a notch or two lower than what it is in the center is not a bad thing. i was told it runs now at 190 instead of the 195-200 temp do to the trans fluid not fully going threw the radiator it is going threw the cooler as well. i put a didgitat lazer temp gun to it at temp it sits at 189 fully warm with hood open so i am not worried. i just wanted to ask and get a opinion.

 

I got lost somewhere on this thread,
and just don't understand ?
I get so conFuzed ~>Zometimes.
`John, you sure have a very Special Only Monte Carlo 4-Sure

 

i was told the trans cooler was supose to come with it on top of the type that is in the radiator but the oil cooler i wanted to ask about. because wouldent some thing like that be benificial to help keep our cars cool as in divert the heat to extend the life of the motor.

 

A transmission cooler is probably a good thing. I believe the ideal temp for a transmission is about 175 degrees. I'm guessing they typically run much hotter than that since the tranny cooler is inside the radiator, where the coolant temp is constantly hotter than 175. My 99 Z34 has a 195 degree thermostat and that's the minimum operating temp (if you leave everything as the factory designed it). The cooling fans don't come on till the engine is at 223 degrees. I never could figure out why the transmission "cooler" is located inside a radiator filled with hot water.

 

Do you have a link to green dexcool? I've tried google searching it, but have not found any results for green dexcool anywhere. Only dexcool I've found is orange. Not saying it doesn't exist, I just can't find any pictures or threads online that claim to be 'green dexcool'.

I just don't see how it is possible to run lower than what the thermostat opens at. If you put 20 fans on it, the thermostat is still going to close at about 195- or whatever your stock is (give or take, which could be why you're seeing about 190)- but that shouldn't have changed from before.

My thing about the 3rd fan is- why did you feel you needed it? Were you really honestly still overheating with both stock fans running? I've just not seen that happen before- its not like the cars weren't designed to be able to operate in 90* heat from the factory. If it kicks on/off with your stock fans, then the engine bay will still be the same temperature as before (because the fans turn on/off at the same points)- it just might cool down to normal a pinch quicker once they do turn on. Now I could definitely see being worried if your temperature gauge was rising, the fans kicked on- and the temperature kept rising, but I honestly doubt that's the case if the car was in good operating condition- they sell these cars to people in AZ and TX that have much hotter summers than FL.

If you really wanted it to run cooler, why wouldn't you install a cooler thermostat, and adjust the fan turn on temps to a lower setting?

I guess I just don't understand where you thought there was a problem in the first place- how did you judge and measure that the transmission fluid temperature was getting too high? I can see if you thought the engine coolant temperature was getting too high, but you didn't do anything to change that- you still have the stock thermostat and the stock fan turn on temperatures.

If the oil was getting heated beyond the allowable working limits- the engineers would've added an oil cooler from the factory. The oil is circulated through the engine which is cooled by the coolant, so its not like the oil is not being cooled at all from the factory- its never going to get drastically hotter than the rest of the engine.


Here's my thing with adding all these extra coolers and fans and such; GM designed the vehicle for the conditions that it would encounter. It has been tested in every environment that the car will see- and both extreme heat and cold have been taken into account by the hundreds of designers and engineers.

There are two ways I could see adding all this extra cooling stuff:

A) You had a measurable variable that was showing excess heat (ie your fans kick on a 215*- but your coolant temp continues rising until it begins to boil- or your transmission fluid temperature was running 300* and obviously was not being sufficiently cooled by the radiator). To me it sounds like everything on your car was operating within normal limits.

B ) You made a change to the car that the engineers had not anticipated (ie you installed a 4000 stall torque converter, or you installed a trailer hitch and planned to tow your 2000 lb boat). But to me, it sounds like you're operating the car normally in an environment the car was designed to work in.

If this is your primary concern, then its a very simple process to extend the life of the engine. Drive it very gently for its entire lifetime and follow the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule for fluid changes and such. If you do this, you should easily be able to get 200k+ miles out of the engine and transmission. That is why everyone always wants to buy cars that were driven by 'the little old lady'. That also means no more racing.

I'm sure with a team of highly educated engineers designing the car, that it wasn't just a random accident that they put it there; there was definitely a reason for it. Maybe they wanted to get it up to temperature more quickly. Plus I have no idea what their ideal trans fluid temperature range is- I have heard ranges go as high as 175-225- but I'm sure the fan turn on ECT temperature is within what they consider acceptable- at least short term for the transmission.


Just to clarify a bit, I'm not totally against doing a trans cooler. I think for the people in the hot southern states, especially those who like to race their car that it's not a terrible idea (although I wouldn't consider it a necessity, and I wouldn't bother unless you were in a hotter state or you did something unusual with your car like a racing TC or towing). I do think adding an extra fan, and an oil cooler is definitely overkill, and I don't see how either could effect the displayed coolant temperature on the dash.

 

Transmissions, like an engine, have a designed operating temperature. The trans. cooler inside the radiator is designed to keep the trans. at that temperature. As stated before, if you're towing, or using a high speed stall converter, an auxiliary trans cooler is a good idea, but for normal driving it's not necessary, a good idea is an external spin on filter for the trans., it makes routine service a snap, change it when you change your engine oil and add a qt. of fluid. Also running a trans. too cool is not the best thing for it either but better cooler than overheating. The transmission fluid obviously acts as a coolant in addition to being a lubricant and a hydraulic fluid, and is designed to take a lot of heat (Dexron VI is minimally a semi-synthetic and some manufacturers are making it a full synthetic)
As for the engine oil cooler, the same ideas apply, the modern engine oils can take quite a bit of heat (especially synthetic oils). The oil also acts as a coolant in addition to being a lubricant.
I have never heard of, or have seen green dex-cool (not saying it doesn't exist) but no matter which coolant you use, the thermostat governs the operating temperature of the engine and the gauge on the dash only reflects the engine coolant temperature, but outside temp., racing, engine or cooling system problems, etc. can make the gauge go higher than normal. There are aftermarket trans. temp gauges that can be installed easily if it is a great concern (very easy with the extra plumbing of the external trans. cooler). The same applies to engine oil temp gauges.

 

yes it's over kill but then it's your ride

 

pete mag with 6 posts has the ***** to answer the question. good for you.