question on Auto trany cooling
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question on Auto trany cooling
Im going to put a C6 trany into a F100 that has a manual, the raidator is a 4 core manual so it has no trany cooler taps, would this work to get the trany fluid up to temp for the cold mornings yet keep it cool enough for towing.
Take a small trany oil cooler and attach it to the back side of the raidator using the same kit you mount an electric cooling fan with so it would transfer heat from the back side of the raidator to the small cooler for warm up , then the output of that cooler to a larger main cooler mounted in clean air on the frount side. would this alow enough heating so that water wouldnt form in the trany ?
I realy dont want to buy another radiator as this one is fine so im looking for an another solution.
Thanks.
Take a small trany oil cooler and attach it to the back side of the raidator using the same kit you mount an electric cooling fan with so it would transfer heat from the back side of the raidator to the small cooler for warm up , then the output of that cooler to a larger main cooler mounted in clean air on the frount side. would this alow enough heating so that water wouldnt form in the trany ?
I realy dont want to buy another radiator as this one is fine so im looking for an another solution.
Thanks.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2003
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The transmission will warm itself just fine. It doesn't use the radiator for warming up.
The trans cooler in the radiator is in the cool side of the radiator, after the radiator has cooled the water. In the winter the water on the cool side of the radiator is nearly outside temperature.
The non-locking torque converter in the C6 will produce enough heat to warm the trans up pretty quickly.
You should be more worried about being able to cool that trans without a radiator cooler in the summer.
The trans cooler in the radiator is in the cool side of the radiator, after the radiator has cooled the water. In the winter the water on the cool side of the radiator is nearly outside temperature.
The non-locking torque converter in the C6 will produce enough heat to warm the trans up pretty quickly.
You should be more worried about being able to cool that trans without a radiator cooler in the summer.
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: So Cal
Unless you live where it stays well below freezing for a month or more, I would just put a reasonable size cooler in.
The newer trannies do use the radiator cooler to warm up on really cold mornings. YOu can over cool a tranny especially in cold climates. The new trannies have a temperature range they like to run in. I don't think you can damage a tranny by being too cold, but you can be less efficient.
Way back when I first got interested in things like trannies etc, the shop who rebuilt mine told me that usually you wanted to have the in radiator cooler so that you could get up to temp on cold days.
My 94 E4OD has a temp guage that starts at 100. On a freezing day, it may take an hour or so before the guage reads above 130. I can also feel and see the RPM change as the tranny warms up. On my three vehicles, the tranny starts to shift at the normal RPM after about 5-10 miles at freeway speed on a cold day.
I doubt the C6 has the sensors to notice the temperature and adjust the shift rpm. It probably does come up to temp faster than a locking converter tranny.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
The newer trannies do use the radiator cooler to warm up on really cold mornings. YOu can over cool a tranny especially in cold climates. The new trannies have a temperature range they like to run in. I don't think you can damage a tranny by being too cold, but you can be less efficient.
Way back when I first got interested in things like trannies etc, the shop who rebuilt mine told me that usually you wanted to have the in radiator cooler so that you could get up to temp on cold days.
My 94 E4OD has a temp guage that starts at 100. On a freezing day, it may take an hour or so before the guage reads above 130. I can also feel and see the RPM change as the tranny warms up. On my three vehicles, the tranny starts to shift at the normal RPM after about 5-10 miles at freeway speed on a cold day.
I doubt the C6 has the sensors to notice the temperature and adjust the shift rpm. It probably does come up to temp faster than a locking converter tranny.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
Posting Guru
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Next time you drive in a real cold day check the temperature of the side of the radiator that has the trans cooler. You'll see that is almost the same temperature as the air.
Newer transmissions have a bypass that doesn't send oil to the coolers until the trans warms up. That is because there are COOLERS, not heaters. The only way to heat up a trans faster is keep the oil from flowing through both the radiator COOLER and the aux cooler, if it has one.
THE RADIATOR DOES NOT WARM THE TRANS IN THE WINTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Newer transmissions have a bypass that doesn't send oil to the coolers until the trans warms up. That is because there are COOLERS, not heaters. The only way to heat up a trans faster is keep the oil from flowing through both the radiator COOLER and the aux cooler, if it has one.
THE RADIATOR DOES NOT WARM THE TRANS IN THE WINTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Spokane, WA
I've got a seperate tranny cooler for my C6. Trust me, they'll warm up just fine on their own. 
As was already mentioned you should be more concerned about keeping it cool in the summer months. FWIW it takes my tranny a good amount of time to really get up in temperature but after a while it'll hover around 170-180. If I'm really on it up a long steep hill it'll hit 200. I've never had a problem with it running "too cool".
As was already mentioned you should be more concerned about keeping it cool in the summer months. FWIW it takes my tranny a good amount of time to really get up in temperature but after a while it'll hover around 170-180. If I'm really on it up a long steep hill it'll hit 200. I've never had a problem with it running "too cool".
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Thanks for all the input guy's, ill get a real good trany cooler for winter. By late spring im hoping to have a completely differant driveline together.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Somewhere Saskatchewan
A word of warning. If you opt for an external cooler and live in a cold environment and drive where the wind chill is extreme. Cover the cooler to prevent freeze up.
If the cooler freezes it prevents flow which is necessary for lubrication.
The trnamsission won't last very long.
If the cooler freezes it prevents flow which is necessary for lubrication.
The trnamsission won't last very long.
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Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: iowa
if you are freezing ATF then you have one of 2 problems A water in the tranny fluid cure duh change the fluid cause it's shot, and won't lubricate anything anyway. or your in such a cold climate the vehicle shouldn't be shut off anyway cause atf freezes at like -140 deg.
Posting Guru
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ATF freezes at a temperature so cold you'll never see it. But ATF gets so thick that it won't flow through the cooler at about -20°F to -50°F, depending on what fluid you use and what cooler you have. At -40°F you can pick up ATF with a fork it's so thick.
Synthetic ATF will stay about the same at least to -50°F.
Synthetic ATF will stay about the same at least to -50°F.
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2003
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From: iowa
you kinda just made my point there casey at -20 even a gas engine is probably going to need to be either kept running or heated in someway cause the engine oil gets thick enough at that temp it doesn't flow either and starting an engine that is truly at that temp is giong to starve your engine bearings long before your tranny needs to worry about it.
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I found one on the Ford Factory Raceing site, it is rated to 18,000 Gross vec weight, it also has a built in therm device that by passes the cooler untill it comes up to temp and then flows tru the cooler, and it's less than $50.00. From Ford ! and who'd of thought.
oh and I found this on the TCI site
Should I use an external transmission cooler in conjunction with the oil cooler supplied in the radiator?
Answer: Unless operating in an environment where the outside temperature is below 0°F, you should cap off the radiator cooler line openings and run your cooler lines directly to a new cooler mounted in front of the radiator. This allows the transmission to have its own cooling system and doesn't allow the engine water temperature to heat the fluid.
oh and I found this on the TCI site
Should I use an external transmission cooler in conjunction with the oil cooler supplied in the radiator?
Answer: Unless operating in an environment where the outside temperature is below 0°F, you should cap off the radiator cooler line openings and run your cooler lines directly to a new cooler mounted in front of the radiator. This allows the transmission to have its own cooling system and doesn't allow the engine water temperature to heat the fluid.
Last edited by jav409; Oct 30, 2005 at 02:19 PM.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Spokane, WA
I think what TCI is saying is that you would be better to bypass the radiator cooler and use just a stand alone tranny cooler UNLESS you're in an environment where the temp gets below 0º, in which case routing it through the radiator might help warm up the coolant slightly in the really cold weather. They're not saying 'don't use a cooler'.