i have an 86 f150 with a aod tranny n its mostly daily drivin. i bought a tranny cooler but cant quite figure out how to hook it up. i was thinkin more of a series rather than just directly to the tranny but im not sure n was wonderin what everyone on here would think.

i got a fairly good sized one. under application guidelines it reads "truck, motorhomes, and suvs, towin up to 5000lbs. so the question here is this, should i hook it up as a series thru the radiator or bypass the radiator n hook it directly to the tranny? After i figure out which way to go ill need some help installin it cus i cant quite understand the directions all that well.

thanks

 

Is series/paralell.

That way it can be driven in extreme cold weather and not have the fear of the fluid gelling and cutting off the return flow for lubrication.

Next best is series, radiator / cooler / return.

Unless the engine is running terribly hot bypassing the radiator is lowest on the list.

Installation should be straight forward.

Is this to be held in with brackets or stuck to the rad with plastic ties?

The stick on method is bad for heat transfer.

 

In series with the radiator, but after the radiator. Liquid to Liquid cooling is the most efficient way of cooling and the engine coolant will always be cooler than the fluid coming out of the transmission, and this will be the first stage of cooling. In colder temps, the radiator will also help regulate the fluid temps. From there the air cooler will drop the temp even more and then circulate the fluid back to the pan.

As for coolers, the stack plate type coolers do a better job than the tube/fin types.

 

I am goin to attach it to the radiator with the plastic ties that came with it. I think i have the tube/fin cooler cus it has a tube runnin from the top all the way across n turns around n back to the other side. it does that all the way down the whole thing.

Where would be the best place to hook it up as a series? What do you mean by paralell? (I am persumin keepin it the so the the longest length is horizontal to the ground.)

 

The best place to put a tube and fin cooler is in the trash. You're probably better off leaving what you have.

By parallel he means using a T fitting so that fluid splits, some to the radiator cooler and some to the air to oil cooler. The better way is to run the hot fluid to the radiator cooler, then to a stacked plate aux cooler, then back to the trans.

 

I have used an a/c condensor and had very good luck.

Clean it out and bolt it in.

 

Whats so bad bout this style cooler?

How can I have better with what i have now compared to puttin the other one on?

 

The tube/fin style coolers do little to drop the trans oil temps compared to the stack plate style like the factory units.

I went with a 99+ PSD trans cooler on my 94 Lightning and it made a big difference.

 

I guess the question would be this. Would the tube/fin style be sufficient enough for just everday normal driving? Lil to none horseing around with this truck, the extent of it would be kickin er down to pass someone.