Tranny cooler question

[MONMIX]

My B&M Tranny cooler arrived today. By a neat coinicendence, we got a Ford Explorer in the shop today getting some front end stuff done. ( I work in a collision repair shop ) so the cool part is I get to snoop around his stuff to try to figure out how and where to put mine. Less time messin' with my truck. Any way come to find out apparently our truck already has an external tranny cooler from the factory.

Is it worth adding the additional?
Out of the factory external into the B&M?
or out of the B&M into the factory external?

Those of you with tranny coolers what did you do ?

 

[aldive]

I have only the factory cooler and monitor the tranny temp. I have never had a problem in hot Florida, However, I rarely tow much.

 

[Alec]

Not all X's come with the external tranny cooler, only about 30-40%. Mine didn't. If you do have a factory cooler, you can just piggyback it through the new one. I'd do factory > new cooler > return.

 

[jimbo74]

the cooler you can keep your tranny, the better..... add the other one onto the existing setup....

 

[Robert]

All Explorers have a built in cooler that is part of the radiator. Explorers equipped with the optional tow package and V8 Explorer also included an auxillary cooler that is mounted in front of the radiator on the passenger side. Mine has a tow package including the auxillary cooler. I tow my 3000 pound tent trailer up into the mountains every few weeks in the 115 Arizona Summer. I've got 99.7K on mine now and still shifts like new. To add a third cooler is probably overkill. Adding an auxillary one (if not equipped) will go a long way towards prolonging your transmission's life.

 

[aldive]

Monitor the tranny temp and base your "need for" an additional cooler on that.

Further, synthetic ATF will run cooler.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

There are several types of coolers, "plate and fin" and "tube." The plate and fin coolers work the best - the look closer to an automotive raditor, while the tube radiators have a single tube that S curves back and forth through the fins. The cooler on my 97 V8 is the plate and fin, it looks original.

I think three coolers might be to much. I'd invest the money into a transmission temp guage. I had one on a previous car and it was amazing. saved wear. They cost about 40 dollars and you can get them at Summit or Jegs. B&M makes one, and Autometer makes a bunch.

The easiest way to install is to go to a hardware store and make up a T adapter using brass fittings.

Take a Brass T the size of the threads on the temp sender. should be 1/4" npt. Then get NPT-Barb fittings for the hose. Use teflon tape, and splice the assembly in line using double clamps, preferably the "send" line, rather than the return line, since you want to know the max temp in the system. Depending on the hose size, you may need to get bigger barb-npt fittings, a bigger T, and a reducer for the temp sender. This is better, as 1/4" is kind of restrictive.

You'd be amazed at the temps you'll see. Then, if you see high temps often, add the third cooler or an electric fan.

 

[james t]

you already have the cooler, right? why not put it on, if you already have it? there is no such thing as overkill with auto tranny temps.

i ran mine like this...

aftermarket-----stocker------tranny

 

[MONMIX]

Hmmm , yeah I guess I won't freeze it out
My Ex does not have the tow package ( unless the previous owner removed the hitch before trading it in.

The good news is with the factory aux cooler it will be super easy to put in the aftermarket.
I never concidered the gague.
Oh and flush and fill with synth is in the works.

Thanks for the thoughts folks.

 

[Robert]

The hitch was never included with the Explorer until the redesign in 2002.

 

[james t]

yea, mine has the "towing package", which i believe consisted of a wiring pigtail. lol

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by james t
yea, mine has the "towing package", which i believe consisted of a wiring pigtail. lol

Should also have a tranny cooler as well as a LS rear,

 

[james t]

Originally posted by aldive
Should also have a tranny cooler as well as a LS rear,

well, ive got the 5.0, which comes standard with the cooler and LS anyway...

 

[jgilbs]

is the tranny cooler the black honeycomb thing directly behind the chrome grille? because my x was involved in an accident before i bought it, and the grille had a hole smashed in it, and the interior black "honeycomb"(more like a plate+fin type thing) was missing, leaving you to see to the radiator, and in front of the radiator was a tube-type cooling device. now my question is which is the tranny cooler? the tube thing? or the black "honeycomb" grille behind the chrome grille? and could me missing the "honeycomb" part have something to do with my auto tranny dying on me? i have a 92 eb w/o towing pkg

 

[SteveVB]

I have the largest B&M cooler on my 91. I also had the stock super cooling trans cooler (the early models had two different aux coolers available- a small one mounted on pass side, and a larger one mounted on the driverside, the larger was avail with the super cooling package)
I removed the stock aux cooler from the loop and use only the larger B&M- my trans temps dropped about 30 degrees in traffic from the 160-70 area down to the 130-140 area- this gauge is mounted in the trans filter housing which is after the cooler (convience). I run the stock 195 deg thermostat.
I am also running a converter that has a stall a few hundred rpms above stock (almost 3000 the builder tells me) which adds a bit more heat until it locks up. Locked up on the Hway the temp gauge doesnt have a reading - it starts at 120ish. These are with ambient temps in the 70s - since fall the temp never gets above 130.
All that said Im going to add a fan for off road trips to the cooler.
My gallery(such that it is- has a couple pics of how I mounted the B&M.

Jgilbs- the tube and fin unit you see is your A/C condensor, and the black honeycomb thing is the tranny cooler- and yes it could cause a premature tranny failure.