I was forced by circumstances to risk driving the car 2 towns away (about 30 miles roundtrip) in 105 degree weather. I checked all the fluid levels before I left, including the rear diff, and lvls are fine. Tranny fluid is still a little burnt, but a lot better than before I drained it a few times.

I have had this car running in park for an hour or more with no overheating problems. I drive the car 30 miles, tach not going above 3k rpm, and it begins to overheat as I pull into my driveway. Smoke is literally pouring from the transmission. I have an external cooler installed in series stuffed between the A/C radiator and the coolant radiator. This was incredibly hot, much hotter than the coolant radiator. I check the tranny fluid again, and it's several shades darker than before. The car sits and cools for about 6 hours. I start it and have it run at 2k-2500 rpm for more than an hour in park, watching the temp guage like a hawk. Never rose above half.

So . . . I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Obviously the fluid is circulating through the cooler, so that's not the problem. For some reason the clutches are burning up incredibly fast, yet the transmission is not noticibly slipping. I have to put the 5spd swap on hold for a couple weeks until another vehicle becomes available, so I will be driving it. Besides daily tranny fluid changes, any suggestions? I have dropped the pan and there are no metal shavings on the magnet, and the screen filter is still good as new.