Getting aluminum radiator, have a question...

[Limited Ex]

A lady where I work has a husband who is going to custom build an aluminum radiator for my Explorer. I was talking to him today as he was taking measurements and what not, and he asked me if I wanted the tranny fluid cooler in the radiator or not. He said they have to order the cooler to put in the radiator and it would be an extra $80. I already have an aftermarket trans fluid cooler, and was wondering if it would suffice? I would just have to figure out some way to cut the metal lines and bypass the radiator all together. But if it can save me $80, then I'll do it! I just want to be sure the one cooler will cut it.

 

[Byrd91]

I've heard of people putting a big aftermarket tranny cooler in front of the radiator and AC condensor and bypassing the inradiator cooler for the safety of not mixing in the event of a failure and also the fact that the water temp is higher than the tranny fluid and probably actually heats it up. I happen to be running the tranny fluid through the radiator, stock cooler, and an aftermarket plate one just like the stock one. I do this because it gets cold where I live and the radiator acts as a heater too to get the tranny fluid up to temp.

 

[Limited Ex]

I did not think about the radiator heating the fluid...And it never gets extremely cold here for extended periods of time, so I don't have to worry about it not getting warm enough. But I am not sure if that one cooler I have would be enough to the whole tranny...

 

[rocklaurence]

I bypassed the radiator tranny cooler. The trany on its own runs around 160 during normal ops while the motor runs 190. I found that the engine was over heating the T/fluid under HARD driving and boiling out the MerconIII. However, when I bypassed the Rad I did install a cooler that is 70% larger than the original aux cooler. Over the last 2 years it hasnt gotten hotter than 190 (in the sand with 37 Boggers).

 

[Limited Ex]

Laurence, what are the dimensions of your cooler? The one I installed is from Summit, and is much bigger than the stock one, but I do not remember the measurements of it...

 

[rocklaurence]

Call me Rocky, I believe the OEM was 11x4 and the new one is 11x7. But, after buying it I found another that is the same demissions (11x7) and twice as thick (1" compared to 1/2"). Id go with the biggest one available because the torque converter adds a lot of heat really fast. The T/C waits too long in my opinion to lock up and the mech. stall is approx 2900 RPM (listed in my Ford manual--CRAZY). I also have a filter and temp gauge on the trany to monitor it.