[GonzoF1]

I have read here that my newly installed TH350 tranny has an IN side and an OUT side (top in bottom out) for the cooling lines. Does the radiator have the same designations? Does it matter?

Thanks.

[BILTIT]

Radiater does not matter but usually you put the hottest to the coolest, so the hot tranny oil would go to the bottom of the rad which would be coolest glycol. This will ensure the coolest tranny oil, may lead to warmer engine temps but that system is controlled and if it has adequate capacity it will dissipate the extra heat. External tranny coolers are usually a better idea than the rad internal types.

Thats my take on it anyways.

I run an external filter and cooler for my tranny oil and it has never run over 220F, even after 1/4 mile passes, burnouts, etc. The hottest it gets is from cruising around town when its 35C out and the stop and go gets it warm but never really hot. This is all with a th350 with 3000 stall just for comparison.

[GonzoF1]

Well, a new external cooling unit can't make it into the budget right now. I'm just doing street driving and have a pretty good fan (for whatever good that does). And while I totally understand what you are saying about warmest to coolest... hehe... my radiator has both connections on the bottom and I don't have a clue which direction the internal plumbing goes. So, if it doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter and I guess I'll flip a coin. Thanks.

[GonzoF1]

BUT... While I have your attention... If I was to somehow find a little money and I wanted to get an external cooler... Let's say a middle-of-the-road one... What do you recommend? And can I mount it under the hood so the plumbing doesn't have to span half the length of the car? Like somewhere around, or on, the firewall? Maybe the fender well? Or does it need a total flow of air that only the front grill can provide?

BTW '66 Lemans convertible with no A/C

**EDIT** I did some searching around here and found that people are liking the B&M 70264 kit from Summit. What I see, though, are barbed fittings on it , but with hardline adaptors. For $60 I can hardly go wrong with that. Do I need to double-clamp those barbed connections? Should I just plug the radiator connections or try and run it inline with the two?

Thanks for y'all patience.

[BILTIT]

That is a good cooler, i think it may be the one I run, cannot remember.

I would run it up front, i don't think you will get enough air flow in the engine compartment.

You can use the internal cooler in the rad but it will add additional heat to the rad so I bypass mine on the car. My tow truck has it in the loop with my external and seems to work well so its a toss-up.

[GonzoF1]

What about this?

http://www.jegs.com/i/B&M/130/70265K/10002/-1

It says it is for a TH350, but doesn't have any other specs than that. I like the look and smaller size IF it can still do the job.

[BILTIT]

It would work but is pretty small. The thing with transmissions is heat and water are the biggest enemies. I always take the stance that find the cooler you think will work and go one size bigger. If you bought one and it is too small you will be kicking yourself because you will have to upgrade anyways.

[aMaizedGoat]

You can use the internal cooler in the rad but it will add additional heat to the rad so I bypass mine on the car. My tow truck has it in the loop with my external and seems to work well so its a toss-up.[/QUOTE]


If you bypass the radiator, do you leave the bungs open or did you plug them?
What did you use for hose? I have my original steel lines, do I scrap them and make new ones from the tans to rad, or find some sort of NPT adapter?

[BILTIT]

I left the holes open, may not be the best choice but I am changing rads soon so no biggie. You can use the stock lines from the tranny to the front and get some fittings which convert to barbed ends and attach rubber lines to them to the front. I ran all new stainless lines all the way to the front with about 6'' of rubber on each line for vibration movement.

Be sure to get rubber line that is rated for trans line application, I don't think fuel line is rated for the service.

[mashedfinger67]

Originally Posted by GonzoF1

What about this?
http://www.jegs.com/i/B&M/130/70265K/10002/-1

That is a flat fin cooler which truly just a heat exchanger. It probably has close to twice the surface area that a traditional tranny cooler has and is probably that many times more efficient too. Road race cars have used this style of cooler for a long, long time. At $170, Looks like you you are paying for the braided line. You can get an Earl's brand flat fin (Sertrab style) heat exchanger from summit or jegs for about $120 and supply your own lines and fittings and have a really nice setup. Just mount it first in line in the airstream (not behind the radiator). Road temps hit 140+ here in AZ, I will probably run a small fan on mine for extra protection in slow going traffic.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

[GonzoF1]

Well, it ends up like this.

I found pre-flanged 3/8 lines at Auto zone for just a few bucks (51" long) and bent them myself. After a couple of attempts and consuming the two nearby store's supply of 51 and 60" lines, I finally got something I liked (and didn't have creased lines). I went up and over the suspension staying as close to the inner fender as I could. (There is a guy who has a thread with alot of pics here somewhere of his job... I copied that) The lines terminated on top of the frame member just behind the lower half of the radiator. Right next to where the washer tank should be, but mine is a radiator overflow tank. With a female to female thread turn-around, I converted over to a barbed connection. From there I used reinforced rubber transmission line (also from Auto Zone for mere pennies a foot) through a couple of gaps in the core support and around the front to a $40 flat fin cooler I found at... you guessed it... Auto Zone.

It all seems to work fine with no leaks. I don't have a temp gauge so I can't tell you how well it's doing, but well enough I suppose. I used some of the spare flex hose and zip-tied a few pieces of it around the hard line to keep it from banging into things like the fender, or itself.

As for the radiator holes. I used the two ends of one of the original lines and cut them off with about two inches of line still on them. Took a hammer and "folded" it over a few times to seal it up. Done.

[BILTIT]

It is not hard to put a temp gauge in, just need a compression 'T' and put it in the line anywhere you like. I like having it just for piece of mind.