I installed a transmission cooler on my 70 f-100 back in September 05. I placed it in front of the air conditioner condenser and that of coures is in front of the radiator. Lately the motor has been running on the hot side. I was wondering if there is another spot that I could put the tranny cooler?

 

I would suggest below the condenser.

John

 

Is the cooling fan working properly?

You could install a pusher fan.

 

That sounds great but there is no room.

 

Stuart1,
Yes the fan seems to be working as it always has. I replaced the thermostate a week ago...., it went bad. Replaced it with a 160. I do live in the over cooked area of Fort Worth, Tx, maybe that has something to do with it? I was thinking that the tranny cooler could be restricting air flow to my radiator. Everything under the hood is new or rebuilt.

 

What is a pusher fan?

 

I run a extruded aluminum cooler that's finned inside and out 3 1/4" diameter x 30" long that's mounted across the front lower frame rails. It is just below the bumper in the airstream. Similar to Moroso's trans cooler but longer with the ends Tig welded not sheet metal screwed with a gasket for another possible failure location waiting to happen. Why add extra heat from the oil cooler to the AC condenser then add both to the radiator. And wonder why the motor runs hot? Adding a fan to speed up blowing more hot air to the radiator still makes no sense to me.

.....=o&o>.....

 

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1.../Fancooler.gif

 

stuart1; it is good to see a cooler with inverted flares for a hard pipe system (adds extra surface cooling area) instead of a rubber hose waiting to fail.

.....=o&o>.....

 

People think I am nuts, because I dont use my air conditioner. I do understand what you are saying about the added extra heat from the condenser. Thanks

 

Ok fine in the air stream.

What about stop and go traffic in town?

The airflow there is diddly squat.
A pusher fan works great in this situation.

 

That is true. Where I live the San Francisco bay area where a hot day is 78 degrees I have no problems running hot. The thing I have to watch is running too cold. A cooler with fan would be great but not blowing hot across the radiator, I would relocate it.

.....=o&o>......

 

Heat from stop and go traffic is not an issue with a transmission, unless it is having other problems already.

There is often a fundamental misunderstanding about coolers for oil and transmission fluid. Manufacturers prey on this, and sell products which are often not really needed.

First, a bit of detail about engine temperatures. Engines need to run hot, they perform best hot, and are designed to run hot - but hot as defined by our sense of touch. Coolant (antifreeze and water) needs to stay below boiling, as keeping the internal engine temperature stable is critical. Oil helps to a degree, but it is designed primarily to lubricate.

Transmission fluid is essentially hydraulic fluid, which cools and lubricates as it performs the work. It also needs to run hot to work well, again as defined by our sense of touch. You do not normally need a transmission fluid cooler or oil cooler, as the engine is designed to handle that in the overall context of operation. These coolers are only needed when operating under extreme conditions, such as an extra heavy load, a heavy motor home, or in a long term stationary industrial engine.

In fact, the factory cooler is in the bottom of the radiator, so the transmission fluid cannot get any cooler than 200 degrees or so (depending on the thermostat, of course.)

So, as I understand your setup, I wouldn't worry about your transmission cooler setup, as long as it is incoporated into the factory designed radiator cooler. Put the aftermarket cooler where the transmission fluid flows into it before it flows into the radiator cooler, not after. Otherwise, the fluid may be too cool to do its job effectively when it returns back to the transmission.

Hope this helps.

 

Most trans heat is generated by the torque converter, the most slip is under heavy throttle or the lowest mechanical advantage like in 3rd or direct unless you do 3rd burnouts. It would be safe to say you would be moving forward during maximum TQ slip unless your doing a torque stand or other stupid act then you deserve a trans failure. I'll add rock crawling but then this isn't a normal use vehicle and would be set up with extra forced air coolers.
Banjo i'll have to disagree on you this time, every transmission shop will tell you if you add an extra cooler while running a factory radiator cooler is to run thru the radiator first then the add on cooler.
Many people just bypass the radiator and use a add on cooler, this is wrong as the trans will take longer to get up to temp and it becomes a condensation
problem with short trips. Inside all steel parts will be coated with rust.
Other items to add is a big magnet in the pan as well a remote spin-on oil filter as Ford screens are just to keep the big chunks out and the shifter body is sensitive to small particles and will stick.
GM's run a better filter and will still shift with larger particles in the system than Ford.
No matter what you install, hard pipe vs rubber hose to prevent a hose failure besides the pipe (tube) acts like a additional cooler with more surface area exposed to the air. Done ranting.
.....=o&o>.....

 

Good catch on the internal condensation issue with too much cooling; I overlooked that. And, I don't mind good natured disagreement.

In looking back over this series of posts, I think some important and perhaps erroneous assumptions have been made:
Is the truck actually overheating?
Is the sending unit or the gauge acting up, or performing within normal limits?
Or is the actual coolant temperature still well within normal but "running on the hot side"?
Is the transmission cooler causing the presumed overheating?

I think the only way to ensure accuracy here is to get a few more details.
Also, the only way to be precisely sure that an oil or transmission fluid cooler is needed is to put in a temperature gauge directly into the lines, and monitor it that way.
I know a lot of modern motor homes and such come with fluid temperature gauges as standard equipment. Normally light duty vehicles do not need them.