[retrojoe]

I want to add a tranny cooler to my 66 lemans and what to know where is the best place to place it in front of the rad. I read an article in Rod and Custom( I belive) and cant find it, but they talked about placement as to not prohibit cooling. Should the cooler be mounted on the upper pass. side, or on the lower part of the rad. on the pass side? Also how large of a cooler would I need? I've seen sizes from 12" to 22" long. I would think that I need nothing longer than 15".

[retrojoe]

I want to add a tranny cooler to my 66 lemans and what to know where is the best place to place it in front of the rad. I read an article in Rod and Custom( I belive) and cant find it, but they talked about placement as to not prohibit cooling. Should the cooler be mounted on the upper pass. side, or on the lower part of the rad. on the pass side? Also how large of a cooler would I need? I've seen sizes from 12" to 22" long. I would think that I need nothing longer than 15".

[Colorado Bill]

Retrojoe,

There are a lot of different cooler types out there, so do some research before you buy. I know others on the board have a lot more experience than I do, but I'd use as large a cooler as you can fit and afford. I had a thin, 4-tube cooler about 16" long. At the races a few years ago, I noticed my T400 slipping , only at redline when and only when the engine temp. was over 205. I've since done some cooling system work and overhauled the trans (no sign of problems except for hardened 30 year-old o-rings) and I'm going to replace the cooler with one of B&M's stacked plate coolers.

Depending on what style of radiator you have, it would make sense to mount the cooler close to where the hot water enters, to keep from heating cooled water--near the top on a downflow, and the driver's side on a crossflow.

[Colorado Bill]

One more thing--if you do a lot of driving in cold weather, run your lines to the cooler first, and then into the stock cooler in the radiator. That way, the radiator will keep the fluid warm enough to flow and lubricate properly.

[mike nixon]

use the biggest cooler that you can fit into the space you have. run the lines thru the cooler and then into thru the rad if you have fittings. this will provide the trans with enough heat to function properly / and minimize wear but still stay cool enough to live. i usually fabricate a bracket to mount the cooler on instead of mountinng it directly to the radiator. hope this helps, mike

[retrojoe]

Thanks for the tips guys, I do have a current tranny cooler that sits in front of the rad, but not on it, and it is the same size as the rad. and my concern was should I go with something smaller? I'm not sure if I have any heating problems as I do not have (dial type) gauges on it to tell me it's opperating temp.only idiot lights. I will get a set the spring to see what is going on under the hood. The rad. tank does not have a hookup for the trans to run through it(??)so the cooler will be the only source of cooling to the trans at this time. This setup looks like an old a/c cond.!I guess I will leave it until I can get the gauges installed.

[mike nixon]

i'd leave the cooler you have there. a/c condensors make excellent trans coolers.
as for a guage b&m makes a simple to read trans temp guage that you mount in the pan or supply line to the cooler. mike

[retrojoe]

Mike, should I worry about it blocking the air flow to the radiator? I haven't had a problem yet with over heating, but living here in Nevada I get a little nervous! I still have flash backs to the 69 442 that would over heat at the first drop of sun light! I was concerned with this thing being too much for a tranny , and taking away from the engine. I guess when I get the gauges installed that will be the tale of the tape! Thanks again for your help.

[mike nixon]

as long as you keep it clean so air will flow through it you shouldn't have a problem. living where you do you shouldn't have a problem with the trans getting up to temp. mike