Trans Cooler

[Mickm72]

I am wanting to get the trans lines out of the tank of my radiator on my '72 Cuda. I am sure some of you have already been down this road.
Can you tell me which cooler you went with and maybe pics of where you mounted it?

Thanks,
Mickm72

 

[challenger6pak]

Welcome to the board. Please visit the link so we can get to know you. http://www.forebodiesonly.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?10-Welcome-Wagon

If you are not going to have the lines go through the radiator at all, you need a cooler the size of an A/C condensor. If it is a smaller cooler you need to come from the radiator to the cooler and then back to the transmission. The other line will stay from the transmission to the radiator. The cooler needs airflow so most of the time they are put in front of the radiator.

 

[Mickm72]

Thanks challenger6pak,
I called and talked to the tech at Jeg's and he said if you can use a large 11" x 11" x 1.5" then you can bypass the radiator cooler.
If you don't have room for a cooler with 20,000 btu's then you should incorporate the radiator cooler as well.

He said if you bypass the radiator cooler using the larger B&M version then you can cool down your engine temps by 10-15°.

I live in Louisiana where it is 10° hotter than hell in the summer so my goal is to lower the engine temp.

I am now wondering how much it would lower the engine temp is you use the smaller slave trans cooler in conjunction with the radiator cooler.

I cannot see where I have adequate room for the larger cooler in front of the radiator as I have a ac condenser already there.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mickm72

 

[challenger6pak]

I hear you about the heat. I am in South Florida. I get it also. We have the tropical weather here. I haven't had any of the trouble you are dealing with. What radiator are you running? How may cores? What thermostat is in the car? I can't tell what car you have from your aviatar. It looks like a Cuda?

 

[ramenth]

Usually the trans coolers come with a nytie sort of fastener that you mount in front of the A/C condenser. The nytie pushes through the fins of the rad, through the condenser, through the cooler, and then has little blocks to hold everything together. Don't worry about airflow, the factories have been stacking them like for years.

There are alternative mountings if you want to get creative. Coolers off factory equipped pick ups mount low, behind the bumper covers. Should mount low enough on an E-body to let air in from the front valance, from under the bumper. Can always hit the local salvage yards and start sizing them up and fab in some brackets to bolt it up to the core support. Hell, even my Hyundai has a cooler mounted low like that.

Along with a few questions challenger6pak posed another one is are all the air dams under the hood? The rubber flaps that funnel air through the rad and not let it bleed off under the hood?

 

[Mickm72]

challenger6pak,
I have a '72 Cuda. I purchased it about 4 months ago. It has undergone a complete restoration I guess you could say but not to original standards. All necessary sheet metal was replaced, 340 was rebuilt as was the 727 trans.
Everything looks pretty good under the car as all bushings, bearings etc. have been replaced. Since I took ownership I have been driving it as much as possible all the while trying to address a few issues I am finding.

Actually, I have not experienced an overheating situation where the radiator boiled over. I have shot the water neck and radiator at long idle temps with a laser temp gun and the highest reading has been 197°. This is my only avenue for testing as my dash temp gauge is not working (ext project).The guy who rebuilt the car made new hard lines from the transmission to the new aftermarket radiator (original replacement looks like to me). But he put rubber near the connection end, at the trans case, that were bent 180°. This rubber quickly work hardened and cracked whereby spraying trans fluid on the exhaust. Fortunately, no damage was done and I only lost 1 quart of fluid.

I replaced the lines correctly so I could check everything out and all is fine. Now I want to address this properly so I don't have this experience again. I am an engineer so I am prone to evaluate and ask questions excessively I guess. This is why I am here asking you smart people what would be my best avenue.

I have evaluated room for a remote cooler and I believe a 11" x 6" x 1.5" (14400 but) unit could be mounted properly behind the drivers side plastic grill fascia and hooked up as a slave inline with the radiator tank. Or since I am not boiling over I could simply order a set of original style replacement lines. Which would you advise?

Ok, that's my scenario. Again, any advice for this newbe is greatly appreciated.

Mickm72

 

[moparleo]

197 degrees after a long idle is very good. What about the ignition timing? Too far advanced ups the temp. Air/fuel ratio? Also a factor with lean mixtures. Type of coolant and percentage? What is the temp when you actually have air flowing through the radiator? You are only able to radiate so much heat at idle. What about a pusher fan if you like to idle a lot ?

 

[Mickm72]

I decided to order a set of stainless steel (Right Lines) from Jegs. I will put them in, install an under dash temp gauge to evaluate the heating range.
If my max temp is around 200 I'll be happy and move on the other items of interest.
Thanks for all the input guys,
Mick72

 

[challenger6pak]

You are welcome. I have a feeling the car will be fine with the new lines.

 

[Yatzee]

I just removed my tranny cooler from in front of the rad and my engine temp dropped 7 degrees. I will never put
anything in front of the rad again. The rad really requires air flow but a cooler for the tranny can radiate it's heat
so there are several options available. I use a cooler from a Ford pickup I sourced at the auto recycler's for $20.
It's about 20 inches long, 4 1/2 high and 1 1/4 deep, finned. I am sure that truck saw it's days of hard work and
if was good enough for the manufacturer, it's good enough for me. I use a Mr Gasket full flow thermostat ( not
to be confused with other stat's ) and temps run about 190-195 on really hot days. That's just about where I
want it for a BB. Couple of my buddies run SS 3/8 line held close to the frame rails and one has a section of
baseboard heating radiator tucked up under the rear of the car out of site. The longer steel lines and finned
tube make for excellent cooling as the fluid has a long travel and time to give off heat. You can go for a
powered cooler up under the floor pan. They're really quiet and highly efficient. Regardless stick to 3/8
line for full flow without restriction and I think your tranny will thank you for years to come. Keep in mind
your HP and use for the vehicle when undertaking this mod. Bigger is deffinitely safer.

 

[mmissile]

If originality isn't a concern.....I mount a 2-tier Dereale cooler with the incorporated fan under the car. I just make sure to space it away from the body for air flow. I've been mounting them in the rear axle tunnel, without issue.

 

[Mickm72]

Thanks for the input, it is appreciated.

Just a bit of an update. I received the stainless hard lines and have them installed. I just received a new set of Speedhut gauges and mounted the water temp gauge under the dash so I could monitor my temp while at Crusin the Coast this past weekend.
Crusin the Coast is a great car week but the traffic is unbelievable and you spend a great deal of time just sitting and idling and little time moving. I knew this would be the ultimate test for my cooling system.

Before leaving I checked the new temp gauge and found it to be reading 220 deg.'s sitting in my driveway. However, when I shot the various engine components (radiator, radiator hose, water neck, etc...) the temp never read over 179 degrees. I called Speedhut and was told I did not have the gauge
grounded well enough. I ran a ground wire from the gauge to the neg. post on the battery and the temp dropped maybe 5 deg's.
However, with the gauge reading 220 I could lay my hand on the radiator cap indefinitely and on the radiator hose for a full minute so I am convinced the gauge is wrong!

During the week of the car show, I was stuck in traffic for very long periods of time. Not once, did I smell antifreeze, burp out any water or have any indication from the engine I was having heating issues.

So, I am pleased that my cooling system is working properly but not so much with the Speedhut gauge. But I will go down that road next.

One thing I did forget to mention, I added a BeCool overflow tank since I don't have the original.

Cheers@
Mickm72