I just put a transmission cooler on the BudChev. After mounting the cooler I just spliced the lines from the transmission to the radiator straight through the cooler and back. I just used one of those universal jobbies, but the instructions suggested the cooler be used in series with radiator heat exchanger (flow through cooler, then rad, then back to transmission).

Is that a better idea? I kinda though it was good to get the transmission heat out of the rad. Opinions?

 

where the are the pictures of this cooler?! i would like to see how you did it and what it looks like

 

You sound like me. I'll get photos tonight. Some tight angles probably won't translate perspective well. I didn't think it was that interesting

 

Well, I figured out its pretty much impossible to get a good shot of the tranny cooler. The is the way I like it as it is not a feature item. I couldn't get pictures that show a thing, but here:


The first shot is from under the car, and the other from the front - its there behind the grill. The lines are too buried in there to see. Just some hose splices.

I can't believe no one has an opinion. Am I the only Monte on this board with a transmission cooler? If you have a transmission cooler, does your fluid still flow through the radiator or not?

 

I have the GM W-body tranny cooler on mine. I've had it for 3 years now. It's a direct bolt on for $80.
Yes, my fluid still goes thru the radiator.

 

very interesting. i didn't know GM made a tranny cooler for the W bodies. how easy was the install? do you happen to have a part number? it possibly wouldn't fit my 7th gen and being on NA V6 car, probably wouldn't need it but i would like to look it up. if it did fit the 7th gen SS's, i think it would be a great addition to the HD trans running behind the LS4.

 

i plan on doing this real soon. i know this is an old topic but has anyone else done this yet? i imagine this is a great way to help lower the heat in our trannys

 

I've got a trans cooler on my monte, still run it through the radiator cooler too though.

Only way I would cut out the factory radiator portion is if I had more data as to max rate of heat dispersion in a worst case scenario vs the factory unit. I'm not entirely sure the unit I chose is able to outperform the stock unit if used alone since I don't really have any data from either. I also figure there is some merit to wanting to get the trans parts up to operating temperature with the engine, and I would imagine that the factory system does that by heating the trans fluid with the warmer engine coolant for the first few minutes of driving- especially in very cold weather.

If you do leave the factory radiator in the loop, you'll want to run the line to the factory cooler first, then to the aftermarket cooler, then back to the trans.

 

I'm using a b&m super cooler for a trans cooler. It's a bar and plate cooler and I have deleted the factory trans cooler that's in the rad. Trans temps stay wonderful with just the aftermarket cooler. My theory is its harder to cool trans temps when the other fluid is already warm. Separate coolers seemed more logical to me.

 

I can certainly understand where you're coming from. My thought is that if you're running an aftermarket 160 or 180 thermostat, the coolant in the radiator really isn't getting super hot (it would certainly stay within a temperature range that would be acceptable for trans fluid even if the heat transfer was 100% efficient). Then on top of that, you're still running through your aftermarket cooler to further reduce temps.

I also really like the idea of the systems warming up together, since you don't really want to beat on either when fluid temps are too cold.


No doubt a standalone trans cooler can work great. Part of what makes me a little nervous in recommending that alone is that not all people buying them understand the science of what's going on as there are a few pitfalls. Cooler size, mounting location, exposure to airflow, etc all play a factor when choosing and installing a cooler.