Opinions on remote electric transmission cooler?

[Gaugster]

I am mocking up a fluid cooler to mount in the front wheel well. It will cool a 6 speed 6R80 going into the 68 Cougar and looking for a sanity check on my idea and any potential pitfalls. The cardboard cutout is intended to be 1/8' aluminum stock. A wire mesh screen will go over the cooler and I will use some type of rubber isolated mounting to hold it to the stand offs. This transmission has 1/2" cooling lines (-8AN) and I am keeping that size throughout. Roughly 7' hose lines are needed. Fluid draining back into the pan can happen but unlike engine oil I need the car running and up to temperature before checking fluid level. Transmission also has an internal thermostat valve to regulate oil flow to the cooler. This is a B&M cooler with a thermal switch to kick on the fan. I didn't want the transmission heat feeding back into the engine compartment. With an AC optioned car there wasn't room anyway. Once I find the right pluming I will route the S.S. braided lines downward. Currently the car is a low HP cruiser but I intend to make it a high HP cruiser in the future. I'd be luck to put 3,000 miles on it each season.

[Cobrajet2]

Should be okay if you protect it from stones and don't drive it in the rain, I would think.  We did a similiar idea, but mounted it on the inside of the trunk drop off with a hole in the drop off. Just a little more protected.

Mike

[shady]

I think it is overkill. I would run a conventional cooler in front of the rad. and monitor the trans temps. with a gauge. I tow heavy with a 4L80 and I put an electric pusher fan in front of the cooler and it never comes on. Modern trans with lock-up converters make almost no heat when locked up. Never goes over 180.

[Gaugster]

Thanks for the comments. I will work on some sort of shield but for now just going to admire my work. I do tend towards overkill and it will be interesting to read the temperatures and see how often the fan turns on. See my undated build thread for the progress.

http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=9507.msg107632#msg107632

[wcbrowning]

Definitely fabricate a shield or screen, but don't worry about driving in bad weather.  Lots of air cooled Porsche 911's have factory engine oil coolers mounted in the fender well.  It's not a problem for them.  Don't see why it would be for you.

Good job being creative.

Thanks for the comments. I will work on some sort of shield but for now just going to admire my work. I do tend towards overkill and it will be interesting to read the temperatures and see how often the fan turns on. See my undated build thread for the progress.

http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=9507.msg107632#msg107632

[cleandan]

Thoughts that pop into my mind with this project.
1) Why mount the cooler in that particular position? What makes a more traditional position undesirable?

2) The wheel well space, in the dead zone in front of the tire, and behind the headlight, is a good space. Just be certain the wheel will not contact regardless of suspension travel or wheel turning.
The air is relatively ambiant and not effected by underhood heat. The air can be quite dead so forced air is a must...already covered with the fan attachment.

3) A comprehensive debris shield must be installed to protect the cooler. This shield should also not trap anything otherwise it will likely be filled with sand and other small debris in a relatively short time. I would think making the shield from some sort of rubber belting, like conveyor belt, or heavy truck mud flaps, would work very well.

4) With the fan motor you could run into harmonic resonance in the fender...maybe not, but it should be tested to verify.

5) The T-stat cooler is the best way to go with this kind of system.
I play with a lot of Cobra Roadsters and many of them have straight run oil coolers. Most of the time with the non-T-stat oil coolers the engine oil NEVER gets up to temp even on the hottest summer days. But then, when the cooler spring and autumn days are perfect for driving, the engine oil temp is even less up to temp...causing wear issues and oil contamination problems to be sure.
I have built a few blocker shields for Cobra guys who do not want to invest in a T-stat cooler, but want to keep the look of the cooler.
I have even done a fake cooler on a few Cobras. Cooler, lines, and everything except for literal hooking up of the oil flow lines. Looks "right" but is nothing more than window dressing...and the engine runs perfectly and all temps are safe.

I think your fenderwell trans cooler will work fine if done correctly and thermostatically set properly.

I suspect it will scare a few people when the fan comes on automatically. Especially after shutting down and things are quiet in a parking lot or garage.

[Gaugster]

Definitely fabricate a shield or screen, but don't worry about driving in bad weather.  Lots of air cooled Porsche 911's have factory engine oil coolers mounted in the fender well.  It's not a problem for them.  Don't see why it would be for you.

Good job being creative.

Thanks for the comments. I will work on some sort of shield but for now just going to admire my work. I do tend towards overkill and it will be interesting to read the temperatures and see how often the fan turns on. See my undated build thread for the progress.

http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=9507.msg107632#msg107632

Thanks for the kind words. I had forgotten that many of those older cars were air cooled. I'll look into them for further inspiration.

[Gaugster]

Cleandan, Thanks for the comments. My Cougar is a factory A.C. car and I wanted to run a fan based trans cooler. Not a lot of depth in front because of the radiator & condenser. The 6R80 has 8AN cooler lines and I'm concerned it may make lots of heat. Has a lock up converter but is clutch plate based otherwise. Also like keeping any extra heat out of the engine bay.

Plenty of tire clearance as far as I can tell. In fact the same area but on the driver's side holds a vacuum tank the size of a average watermelon. I'm leaning towards some type of louvered period correct shield.

I have rubber mounting that suspends the cooler. Still loud though. If the air pressure is fighting the fan my guess is that overheating and/or fuse blowing frequently would be a telltale.

I share your thought on oil temperatures. I'm pretty hawkish about actually. If the oil can't boil off moisture it can cause many problems. If all goes well I will have plenty of topics to discuss at my local car meets.

[Gaugster]

Just circling back  about what I ended up using for a debris shield. Instead of trying to create some period correct piece I just went the simple route. Found a gutter leaf guard at Lowes. Cut it into two smaller sections and voilà.

[Bolted to Floor]

It looks good.

I used the same thing on the Vintage Air defroster vents in the Mustang. It worked out well. 

[Falcon67]

>Currently the car is a low HP cruiser but I intend to make it a high HP cruiser in the future.

If that includes any higher stall, the B&M cooler may prove inadequate.  Just depends on what you do with the converter stall.   I use a 16 pass unit on my dragster, if I was to mount a separate fan controlled unit on the door car it would be at least a 8 pass unit.  But then that's a 4800 stall converter.  It uses a big cooler in front of the radiator but it's not sufficient for any lengthy street cruise.  Low speed weekend cruise of 3~4 miles will put the trans at near 200F. 

[Gaugster]

It looks good.

I used the same thing on the Vintage Air defroster vents in the Mustang. It worked out well.

That is good to here. When I found it at the store I was like 'bingo'.

[Gaugster]

>Currently the car is a low HP cruiser but I intend to make it a high HP cruiser in the future.

If that includes any higher stall, the B&M cooler may prove inadequate.  Just depends on what you do with the converter stall.   I use a 16 pass unit on my dragster, if I was to mount a separate fan controlled unit on the door car it would be at least a 8 pass unit.  But then that's a 4800 stall converter.  It uses a big cooler in front of the radiator but it's not sufficient for any lengthy street cruise.  Low speed weekend cruise of 3~4 miles will put the trans at near 200F.

Thanks for this. I am using the 6R80 with stock converter. It's a 2400 to 2600 stall stock but can be locked up as needed. No hard launches in my immediate future but a lot of cruising. It will be interesting to track the temperature. The US Shift controller for the electronics was very specific to keep the 8AN cooling hose size throughout the system.