Transmission questions

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by svxfiles
If yours is .75" thick,10" tall, and 20" long, Flex a lite #FLX-4126, I see no problem. When you mount it close to, or against the rad, they will keep each other warm in the winter.

Yeah thats exactly the one i bought. Unfortunatley my friend couldnt come to help me install it today so it might have to wait untill monday ( next day i have off). I really wanna drive my car!!!! its been almost a week since i drove it alot.

[n00b on demand]

Well looks like it might not happen monday either. I was thinking about taking it to a shop so a mechanic could do the install. My other friend is also around and we both could do it i guess. He has a 98 integra and doesnt know anything about SVX's. The friend that was supposed to help me has an SVX. So im not sure what to do . I'm thinking that this is something that anyone can do.

[svxfiles]

The next one I do,(1 down 4 to go ), I'll remove the rad, with the fans still installed, on a COLD engine this time, take my time, plumb it in, in series. The reason I would plumb it in series is because it takes less time, that and I change trans fluids at LEAST twice a year. Plumbing them in paralell has the advantage if one, (the rad) clogs you still have flow.

[n00b on demand]

We are planning on putting it in series as well. I heard that series gives you better cooling. I might have to end up takin it to a shop to have it installed.

[Bobb]

Hi everyone, You might think that bigger is better. But this may not be the case. The 4EAT will not shift into fourth until the transmission fluid reaches operating temperature. 150/160 degres. This is helped by the coolant being right next to the tranny fluid. It will also not go into lockup until the fluid is at operating temperature. So from my end, over cooling is not a good thing. There is a post with diagrams` of a set up to turn the external cooler on in summer and off in winter. I think SVXCESS made the drawings. Some ownera have reported a "hunting" between fourth and lockup when the transmission temp is moving slightly between operating temp and below that while driving down the interstate for instance. It sounda like the built in cooler may be clogged and what you might need is a new radiator. Or take off the hoses from the tranny cooler, remove the screen at the inlet and blow out the cooler from the outlet side.The'92's and some early '93's had a screen at the inlet ot the cooler which would clog up thus giving the tranny NO cooling. It sounds like this might be your problem. Take care and remember, heat kills trannys, BOBB

[n00b on demand]

Well i only use D on the highway anyway. Most of my driving is city driving. If im on the highway its only for about 8 miles or so. I know someone on the network who also had the same cooler i have. I will ask him if he had any problems getting it in 4th gear. I'm also in alot of stop and go traffic so i need something thats going to give me maximum cooling. You do make an excellent point though. dunno what to do now.

[oab_au]

I got to agree with Bobb. It depends where you mount the additional cooler.
If it is an early model 92/93, it may have clutch plate debris in the radiator cooler. I would reverse flush the cooler tube, and fit a transmission filter to the trans outlet. The additional cooler is fitted between the filter and the radiator inlet. The outlet of the radiator, goes back to the transmission.

If the additional cooler is mounted after/or instead of, the rad cooler the ATF temp can be too low, for the proper operation of the trans. As Bobb says lock up may not operate, which will cost you in miles/gallon.

It is important that the rad cooler is the last, before the trans. This stabilises the temp and prevents the oil from being cooled too much. The filter must be for an auto trans, an engine filter is too fine and will restrict the oil flow.

Harvey.

[n00b on demand]

Well i am planning to mount the cooler inbetween the radiator and a/c condensor. I was told i would get the best cooling by doing this. Also if my radiator was clogged up wouldnt the temp needle be having a fit and climbing? The temp needle has not changed at all and has remained at normal temp since i bought the car....even in 95 degree weather in one hour of stop and go traffic with the a/c on high. I am mechanically inclined a little bit but not a whole lot. I am just starting to learn to work on cars. This whole situation had gotten me worried but then again i tend to over react alot . I really dont have the 400 or so dollars it would cost for a new radiator...and cant ask anyone for any more money. I allready owe my mom 500 bucks . I did beat on the car more than usual from June up untill now so i am going to assume that with that and the summer heat the fluid got cooked. The fluid wasnt even that brown....i was actually debating whether it was still pink. Meaning that i wasnt sure if it was brown ( me over reacting again). I am going to buy that 5 dollar radiator flush stuff from the store tomorrow and see what happens. Hope tomorrow i can get everything done so that tuesday i can start driving my car again.

[Zeppelin]

I had the same exact cooler in my car, and it worked fine. I lived in NY too, the fluid always stayed around 180* no matter what temp it was outside and how I was driving. The radiator is going to keep the cooler warm in cold weather. You're going to be absolutely fine with that cooler, and it's going to work wonders for you

Get the fluid changed in those diffs and you'll be set for awhile!

[n00b on demand]

yeah and you lived in NY's antarctica ( buffalo). Thanks Mark you made me feel alot better!

[Bobb]

Hi soobie, the way to tell if your tranny fluid is off color is to put a drop of new fluid on a piece of white paper. Then put a drop of fluid from your dipstick on the paper and it will be easy to see if the drop from your tranny is off color. Also unless you have a separate tranny temp gauge the rad temp gauge is just for the engine coolant. There is a warning tranny deal in the upper left of your instrument cluster. If it gives you a warning your supposed to pull over and stop untill the temp goes down. I've had my SVX since 1997 and have never had the tranny temp warning come on. Take care, BOBB

[n00b on demand]

Thanks BOBB, Yea i know about all the lights and none of them have ever come on. The thing that made me wanna get the tranny flushed again was that little tid bit you just told me about putting new fluid on a piece of paper and comparing the colors. The color of new fluid is bright and very livley looking pink...the fluid of mine was dull and has a little brown mixed in....it was pink but just not as pink as brand new fluid. Can't wait for this to be installed so i can drive my SVX again!

[svxistentialist]

Tom,

The radiator in your car has two coolers. One [as normal] for cooling the engine, keeping the coolant at a set temperature, and another smaller one in the left corner.

This is the part of the rad that keeps the tranny oil cool.

Being an early model car, your oil cooler will have the filter inside that caused trouble, and it's built in and can't be removed.

This filter tends to catch a buildup of dirt when there is no canister filter in the oil circuit. In turn this reduces oil flow, so the tranny can overheat. That is why you should take ob-au's advice seriously. It is difficult to do a reverse flush of the rad cooler properly, and when I say properly, I mean without dislodging some of the gunk, which might later travel back into the tranny and block some small but critical oil passages there.

There is an awful lot of threads in the history here which will tell you how to do this if you run a search. As you are a newbie, and learning the mechanical side of things, I don't want to worry you too much, but if you make a mistake with it, it could cost a lot of money by killing your tranny. If you are unsure how to reverse flush, get a tranny shop to do it for you, and don't forget to connect in the proper filter when you are doing the job.

Best of luck with it,

Joe

[n00b on demand]

I dunno guys. All of what you say makes sense but then again i have my own theories about why the fluid turned that very light brownish color. I just had the tranny flushed on friday and i dont think the radiator is clogged. Back in june the tranny fluid was brown....i hadnt checked it before then so i dont even know when the last time it was flushed before that. Since the flush in june i beat on the car a little bit....floored it when i found the power light...showed what it could do for other people to see. With that and the hot summer temps that is probably why the fluid cooked. But the fluid wasnt even that brown...it still looked pink....just not as pink as brand new fluid. I'll say as ive heard before...one joy ride is all it takes to cook the fluid. The coolant level in my car is fine...ive never had it smoke up...never had any fluid spill out...car works great....i just need the cooler badly.