Looking at possibly doing some light duty towing in the near future...and also in a warmer climate in general now with my recent move.....
So looking to install a front mount trans cooler and looking for those who have done it, and if there are specific brand & model of cooler that really work well.
And then the mounting portion..... I don't really have access to make my own custom brackets for it...but I have seen in some of my research that some people say the long-term solution of mounting via the cables through the radiator fins over time can cause damage to the radiator from vibration. Has anyone found a particular model that is both quality and mounts into the body without the need for fabing custom mounting bracket?
So looking for educated opinions on:
1. Brand & Model for best quality and performance
2. How and where to mount the unit. i.e. should it go in front of the mechanical fan? or on the electric fan?...... and how (cable zips or custom bracket) and of course... orientation for best flow. ie...which line feed or return be oriented at the top? and why.
Are these really that much better than it running through the radiator in the stock location for cooling?
Thanks!

 

This is what I went with. Dont tow really but more for slow off roading in hot *** Moab. It works great and I never use the fan till I get off road, really isn't needed till then. I mounted it directly in the middle off the rad in front. Only place it would fit as it is massive compared to the little one I had in there. Just had to look at it and fab up some brackets for it. Not hard at all. Hope this helps

 

Got a Hayden 405 on mine, trans temp hasn't gone above 190* since.

 

From poking around on my own I had seen good reviews by hayden products... but If I go with the them... not sure what model would be best.I just want to keep the temp lower than stock if possible.

@ xjjunky.... that thing actually fit behind the stock grill?

 

QUOTE=XjJunky;3614624]
This is what I went with. Dont tow really but more for slow off roading in hot *** Moab. It works great and I never use the fan till I get off road, really isn't needed till then. I mounted it directly in the middle off the rad in front. Only place it would fit as it is massive compared to the little one I had in there. Just had to look at it and fab up some brackets for it. Not d at all. Hope this helps[/QUOTE]
So I take it you wired in a switch somewhere for it then?

So I take it you just wired in a switch somewhere to turn it on manually then?

 

it barely fit. Have maybe a 1/16 inch behind it but that's all I need. It actually helps keep the rad temp down just a bit too. I do have it wired up to a relay and switch that's hidden in the ash tray.

 

I'm sure it does with it being that size... and aren't we all James Bond like... wiring it to a "hidden" switch in the ash tray...

 

Any decent quality trans cooler will do a lot for you.

Now, the question is, do you plumb it inline BEFORE the stock in-radiator cooler, or after?

If you plumb it in BEFORE, you dump heat before it gets to your coolant. If you plumb it in AFTER, you dump heat into your coolant, and then cool it a bit more before it goes into your transmission.

Because of the way heat transfer works, your cooler will dump more heat if it's hotter than if it's cooler. So, plumbing in BEFORE will dump more heat than dumping it in after.

But if you put it right in front of your radiator, it's doing to dump that heat into your coolant anyway.....

 

Anyone like the BM 70264? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/BMM-70264

 

I eliminated the radiator cooler completely with the Hayden 526.

 

I'm using a B&M Super Cooler stacked-plate cooler, though I don't recall the exact number offhand. You can see it at about :35 in this video. It's hooked up after the factory heat exchanger in the radiator, per B&M's instructions.

 

with an enormous fan on the cooler like that I can see why you could get away with doing that.

 

The in-radiator 'cooler' is actually just a heat exchanger to allow the trans fluid to get up to operating temp quicker and holds maybe a few ounces of fluid at best. Even in the hottest regions, any aftermarket cooler should be able to handle being plumbed in between it and the trans. The actual trans cooler that comes with some packages is just a tiny little guy that sits in front of the radiator, but does the job for the most part.




Stacked plate coolers are generally the best for oils as they have better passive cooling properties due to their surface area advantage over tube-and-fin style. B&M is a popular choice for Jeeps; check out any of the 702xx models.

 

Yeah, and that's why I like to put the trans cooler BEFORE the radiator cooler. It will allow the radiator to warm up your trans fluid when it's cold, and will dump more heat than if it's after the radiator, plus it keeps that heat OUT of your radiator.

Companies that sell trans coolers want the coolest possible trans fluid going to the trans (because that's what they are selling), and they don't' care even a tiny little bit about keeping your engine cool (because that's not what they are selling). So, they recommend plumbing it AFTER the stock cooler.

That doesn't mean it's the best location.

 

Plumbing auxiliary trans cooler before the radiator means that if the trans temp goes below coolant temp, then the radiator cooler warms up the trans fluid to coolant temperature. Plumbing after the radiator should help drop the trans fluid below coolant temp. Either way, the auxiliary trans cooler should help reduce the load on the radiator, because the trans fluid should be cooler before it gets to the radiator... either because hot fluid direct from transmission gets cooled in between the trans and radiator, or cooler fluid going into the trans comes out cooler before it hits the radiator. Either way, the radiator should have less total heat to reject.

So, if you're worried about overcooling your trans fluid, then maybe plumb it before the radiator, or get a thermostatic bypass for the trans cooler... it's like a coolant thermostat, but for the auxiliary cooler. If fluid is cold, it bypasses the aux cooler.

The "hotter fluid cools more efficiently" argument is spurious. Yes, more total heat is rejected when hotter fluid is input to the aux trans cooler, but it also means that the output going back to the transmission is hotter. The goal is cool fluid, so for the same cooler, you want a lower input temperature to get lower output temperature... and lower fluid temp coming back is what the transmission wants.

One issue to look at is that any additional heat load place in front of the radiator means hotter air hitting the radiator, so the radiator doesn't cool as well. The setup I settled on for my OBS F-350, 7.3 Powerstroke with E4OD automatic, which --REALLY-- needs transmission cooling help, is a pair of auxiliary coolers mounted behind and inside the front bumper, below the radiator and intercooler. I forget make and model, but one is a long, shallow version, about the cross-section of a 2x4. That makes it easy to find a place where it doesn't interfere with cool air to the radiator. Stuffing that inside a solid bumper or behind a solid valence isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing. On a vehicle with possibly marginal engine cooling, I would avoid sticking anything else around the radiator.

And don't necessarily be afraid of fabricating your own mounts; some sheet metal, pliers or adjustable wrenches to bend, a drill to make holes, and you should be able to get something that screws or zip-ties into holes on the vehicle, and zip-ties to the cooler.