Manual Tranny cooler??

[wpurple]

Has anyone, installed a transmission cooler on the Mazda 5spd?
I was thinking that I could get a AT cooler and tap the drain and fill plugs and go with a inline pump of somesort....why you ask?
When I tow with my X, the fluid turns dark, tried Mobil 1 and Redline and both do the same. Mobil 1 says the fluid is dark because of heat.
I do know that the newer X's with the Mazda has the OHC detuned because of heat problems...
I am considering installing the BBK instacharger again and am concerned about the transmission and am not going to give up the stick!

Comments?

TIA

Kurt

 

[RiverRat]

I have never measured the temp of manual tranny fluid so take this for what its worth... I don't think the fluid gets hot enough to get any improvements by using a tranny cooler.

You could get a Raytek and check the tranny case temperature. I'd be interested to find out what the fluid temp is after a good drive.

 

[wpurple]

Somewhere I read and I will try to remember where, but it was a ford memo about working with Mazda in a redesign for the Mazda 5spd as when it was mated with the OHC, they couldn't get the fluid under 150 degrees. Evedently 150 was the threshold that they deemed tolerable. I would never have thought that temp was a problem in a manual either. The next time I tow the camper I am going to try to rig a temp gauge and see what temp it runs at. Heck if I was able to discolor synthetic it must be getting a bit too warm.

 

[JoshC]

Sounds like a good idea, but how would you keep the saving out of the tranny from you drilling and taping threads? I know if i started something like this i'd totally screw it up and would have to get a new tranny!

Happy trails!!

 

[wpurple]

I was thinking about tapping the drain and fill plug that way I can do it off the tranny. I am going to order a set from my local dealer, then drill and tap them and pick up a barb'd fitting that the lines can fit on.
I was also thinking about getting the whole AT cooler setup from a boneyard and install that with a pump, make it almost look professional. I could run the metal lines back to the tranny too and get a flared fitting....but that sounds like too much work.

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Wpurple, that's an interesting idea. I'd never considered cooling a manual tranny before. I do know that the NASCAR racers cool the differentials with a pump and cooler unit. Actually, diffs tend to run hotter than manual trannys do. This is because of the power transfer having to go through helical cut gears and make a 90 degree turn.

A temp of 150* is considered normal for a gear lube (or ATF). I wouldn't worry about any temps that were under 180*, or maybe even higher. It should be easy to adapt a temp sensor to the oil drain hole, to see what the actual temps are, and I would do this before going through the plumbing nightmare of a pump, hoses and cooler (and wiring/switch for the pump).

I assume the Mazda calls for ATF? You might do some research and see if a 75W-90 synthetic gear lube would work. Most have a GL-5 rating, and should stand heat buildup much better than ATF.

You might also look into some sort of heat sink to attach to the aluminum tranny. There's a pretty good airflow under the truck, and maybe some attached fins would cool as well as an external cooler, and be simplier and more reliable.

Whichever way you go, keep us informed on this. Very interesting........

 

[dogfriend]

I had the 5speed Mazda trans in my 89 Ranger. I changed the ATF to Redline MTL (manual trans lube) after 10K and ran it until I sold the truck at 125K.

Dead Link Removed

It seems strange to me that you are having temp problems with a manual trans.

 

[wpurple]

I just ordered the drain and fill plugs from the dealer today and will look into a cooler at a boneyard. As far as a pump, I am researching that now.

As mentioned before, I tow a camper, it weighs in around 3400# plus family and odds and ends so I am lookig at around 4000# at least. The truck is rated for 2800# with the stick as opposed to 4800# with an automatic so I know there is some strain in the transmission. I never had a problem towing, even through the hills of Vermont and upper State NY, and it tows even better since I swapped 3.27 to 3.73 gearing.
This is most likely why I am cooking the fluid. (Even synthetic)
I get just slightly under the gas mileage my wife gets with her Wrangler solo with the Explorer towing!

 

[lonestar]

any luck

 

[lo_jack]

So I put an awful lot of miles on my tranny, and the past few times I have been able to feel a wave of heat coming off the tranny hump that was pretty intense. Had to put the windows down.

I thought I was being paranoid, but now, perhaps not. My guess is its probably just leakin and doesnt have enough fluid. Wpurple doesnt seem to have the same situation, but he does raise a concern. I would like to know if it is running too hot, and how to make it not do that cheaply.

Would an aluminum heatsink be like the one on a CPU for a computer? A big hunk of aluminum with fins fastened on somehow? I'm starting to get a little worried...

 

[aldive]

If you are really worried about heat in that tranny, install a tranny temp gauge and determine if you really have a problem.

Good luck.....

 

[udmsvt]

i really dont see why it should be heating up too bad. i have the 5-spd and open 3.27s, towed a 2500lb trailer carrying a 4-door ex (about 4500#, i'd guess with all the stuff that she had in it), for an estimated total of about 7000#. towed it 50 miles and no trans problems..didnt even hurt the new clutch!