How important is an external transmission cooler?

[j_hustedt@hotma]

Hi all,

I'm curious to find out what people's thoughts are on just how important an external transmission cooler is. Is it absolutely necessary on this car - or is it dependent on your driving style/other factors? My '95 has about 10K on a rebuilt transmission. After reading about the 2-3 transmission flare on this site, I'm not sure it truly had a transmission problem in the first place as it still flares occasionally now. Anyway, my car will not be driven hard nor will it be a daily driver - it's just kind of my toy, but I'd like to keep it for awhile. Thoughts?

[b3lha]

Well, there's no absolute proof that a transmission cooler is necessary, nor that it will actually prolong the life of your transmission.

However, I have spent over $14k in SVX transmission repairs. If there is any chance that fitting a $100 cooler will save me from yet another failure then it seems worth it to me.

[ensteele]

It will keep your transmission cooler, so it could not hurt. I look at them as fairly important.

[Manarius]

How important is it to those of us with post 1994 transmissions?

[ensteele]

I don't think it is as important as with 92 and 93s. The upgrades to the tranny were done by then. One of the things that will help the most is the filter. It will keep the screen in the radiator from plugging and reducing the flow to the cooler.

[subarufamily]

as it seems impossible to find the exterenel kit anymore where can one be found? as I have 2 svx's calling for them

[YourConfused]

summit or jegs

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by Manarius

How important is it to those of us with post 1994 transmissions?

The clutch material wears off because heat spikes "kill" the tranny oil. If you live in a hilly area, or worse, in a hot and hilly area, or if a lot of your driving is traffic bound in the city, you should really consider getting an additional cooler.

On the other hand if you are fussy, and you change the transmission oil every 6 months, then a cooler would be not that necessary.

I'm with Phil, I think the cost of fitting one vs the cost of rebuilding the transmission indicates the risk of going without is too high.

Joe

[Myxalplyx]

I feel a tranny cooler is VERY important. Heat is the number one killer of an autotranny. The heat generated between the 'luxury shifts' is the killer. Either get a tranny cooler installed or some type of modification to make the tranny shift quicker. The simpler solution is to get a tranny cooler.

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by subarufamily

as it seems impossible to find the exterenel kit anymore where can one be found? as I have 2 svx's calling for them

You can buy an aftermarket transmission cooler at any auto parts store. I paid about forty bucks. That's cheap, and it certainly can't hurt anything (assuming proper installation), so, why not?

FWIW, I installed the aforementioned cooler on my teal SVX at <105,000 miles, just after buying the car. It already had an external "campaign" filter in place. I live in an area of hilly terrain and warm teperatures, but little stop-and-go traffic, and I change the fluid and internal filter every 24,000 miles (EDIT: Corrected from 12,000). No tranny troubles to date.

My silver SVX, which has no supplemental cooler nor filter, is approaching 90,000 miles on its second transmission, which was replaced in the late 1990s. After 16 moths of ownership, it seems installing a cooler has slipped down my mental list of priorities for this car.

dcb

[NiftySVX]

This is an old debate. Can it hurt the transmission? No probably not, but if you get into an overcooling situation it will hurt fuel economy. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that seems like it would be a good idea because keeping the fluid cooler is usually good, but there is not a lot of difference in a transmission that runs at 180 and one that runs at 210, only fluid life is effected and not as much as the companies that make the coolers and your local dealer would lead you to believe. But, you should change the fluid often enough that this shouldn't be a problem.... Basically, I see it like this. The high clutch (especially in the early transmissions) is prone to failure because it doesn't get enough fluid flow to keep it cool. Having said that, you can maximize the cooling effectiveness of the fluid that does get to it if the fluid comes in cooler.... so there ya go. With my personal transmission experience and expertise, I remain unconvinced that modifying the transmission to firm up the shifts will actually make it last longer. Theoretically it should, but firmer shifts introduce additional stress on the clutches and gearsets that weren't anticipated by the engineers. That one is kinda a double edged sword...

[kwren]

Originally Posted by NiftySVX

This is an old debate. Can it hurt the transmission? No probably not, but if you get into an overcooling situation it will hurt fuel economy. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that seems like it would be a good idea because keeping the fluid cooler is usually good, but there is not a lot of difference in a transmission that runs at 180 and one that runs at 210, only fluid life is effected and not as much as the companies that make the coolers and your local dealer would lead you to believe. But, you should change the fluid often enough that this shouldn't be a problem.... Basically, I see it like this. The high clutch (especially in the early transmissions) is prone to failure because it doesn't get enough fluid flow to keep it cool. Having said that, you can maximize the cooling effectiveness of the fluid that does get to it if the fluid comes in cooler.... so there ya go. With my personal transmission experience and expertise, I remain unconvinced that modifying the transmission to firm up the shifts will actually make it last longer. Theoretically it should, but firmer shifts introduce additional stress on the clutches and gearsets that weren't anticipated by the engineers. That one is kinda a double edged sword...

Is the cooler put in the system ahead of the line going into the radiator or after. I have a cooler but haven't installed it yet. It is logical to me that if it goes before the radiator line then the fluid wouldn't be too cold to the transmission. Unless the car runs too hot, and then that would have to be corrected. Looking for information please?
Thanks, Keith

[siceclipse]

After reading a lot of things on the forums I would assume the installation would go like this.

jack up car put on stands
Drain trans fluid
Remove pan replace internal filter/pickup
spray brake cleaner in trans fluid "out" line on the radiator to clear screen of debris.
purchase and instal remote inline oil filter

trans cooler lines should go:
Out from trans -> in oil filter -> out oil filter -> in radiator trans cooler -> out radiator trans cooler -> back in trans.


the option of installing an external trans cooler would fall between "coming out of the radiator and going back in the the trans".

[shotking]

Originally Posted by siceclipse

After reading a lot of things on the forums I would assume the installation would go like this.

jack up car put on stands
Drain trans fluid
Remove pan replace internal filter/pickup
spray brake cleaner in trans fluid "out" line on the radiator to clear screen of debris.
purchase and instal remote inline oil filter

trans cooler lines should go:
Out from trans -> in oil filter -> out oil filter -> in radiator trans cooler -> out radiator trans cooler -> back in trans.


the option of installing an external trans cooler would fall between "coming out of the radiator and going back in the the trans".

Ive never thought this was a good idea if the vehicle is to be driven in the winter. The radiator not only acts as a cooler but also it keeps the temp stable during cold weather.

[siceclipse]

after reading the idea that too cold of fluid can hurt performance i would agree with this.

i was just stating that is what i believe the proper setup would look like if you say..... lived in the desert.