Ok , whats the concensus on using a external transmission cooler and bypassing the one in the radiator. Ive got a PWR transmission cooler for a v8 (universal fit) 8 x 11 in @ 1in thick. Have done a search, but theres so many different views . Most where old posts , so now ,has anyone had any probs doing it just with the external cooler. Is it ok to just use the external cooler? Cheers Patrick
Stock car? Waste of time imo. It's more something you'd do when upgrading to a radiator which doesn't have the transmission cooler section and you NEED an external one otherwise I wouldnt bother personally. If it aint broke, dont fix it...
If you want to keep your auto box in good working condition, an auto cooler is a MUST. Just think also about that coil in your radiator, acts more like a radiator heater than a transmission cooler. Just my opinion. I've been running a cooler for some years now after paying $4g to have the gearbox overhauled. No probs and very good gearchanges.
I wouldn't have bothered but upgrading to a Koyo it needed a seperate auto trans oil cooler. Contact Caz for a B&M...
I use a transmission cooler (don't use one in the radiator). My trans cooler is located where the drivers side SMIC used to be. I found with the FMIC, Oil cooler, and Trans cooler and A/C condenser all sitting in front of the radiator, was causing me cooling problems. As soon as I put the trans cooler to one side, problems fixed.
For a modified car like yours, definately. The engineers at Nissan are a bit smarter than you or I, they know what's up. For a stock car a seperate auto cooler is overkill imo. Modified or plans to modify? Then definately, but a new rad would be on the cards aswell then and an intercooler and lots of other stuff.
1.) If possible, dont bypass the stock cooler (but sounds like you have too). The coolant heats quicker than the trans fluid so it helps warm it up to operating temp after start. The radiator acts more like a stabilizer than a heater. If the fliud is cold it heats it, if its hot it cools it. Best is to setup a cooler inline either before or after it (debate on which is better is still going on, IMO, it should go before the radiator, as it needs to be warm and it will only get as hot as the radiator, not hotter). 2.) Did you say you'd alreay bought one? If not, go buy a air con heat exchanger from a scrap metal yard. i wish I'd read this before I'd bought mine haha (also has heaps of info about whether to get one or not): http://autospeed.com/cms/A_109772/article.html
the general consensus on this forum has been for a long time and by long time zed knowlegeables, that for an auto transmission, an external cooler is nothing but a very BIG plus ... this was confirmed to me by a highly reputable auto transmission specialist on the gold coast .. zed guru recommendation plus an auto specialist advice was more than sufficient for me to have a large cooler installed ... QED ...!!!!!
not at all .. please grow up ...!!!!! .. the majority of the pre-install preparation was done by a forum member, the pwr unit was purchased separately ..the final tie in only was done by the auto specialist to protect the pwr warranty ... and was done along with an essential full auto tranny service (which i suppose was not necessary, either, at 100,000kms ,,???!!!) your constant negativity and ability to jump in feet first to get it all wrong really does become very wearisome ....
Err, it's called a joke? Lighten up or get out, seriously. Talk about being overly dramatic... My point is that Nissan Engineers aren't retarded. They know what's adequate for a stock car and it's something that would of been tested at great lengths before they launch a vehicle to the public. Keep in mind that 300ZX's were built for the American market, with extreme varying temperatures. They were built to handle very high temps aswell as below freezing temps. Ever seen the photos of Nissan engineers testing Z cars? They ran them inside freezers aswell as ovens! Stock car, unnecessary. Modified, definately. Regular fluid changes are the key to a long life for an automatic trans, which I bet alot of people dont do as often as they should.
Interesting article on cooling included I put a largest possible aftermarket oil cooler on mine and it works really well, my gearbox is modded and I used to run shift at will both of which upped the temps considerably, all down to more friction. Pointless using the one in the rad as well, the need to warm the tranny oil in our climate is unlikely unless you live in the snowy, or stanthorpe fro eg. Cooling is the big thing, the cooler the better and gives a longer life to your oil and tranny. Baz, I wholeheartedly agree with you, talk about open your gob to exchange feet (& in writing!!) This is a fun place to be where we celebrate owning & loving our Zeds I doubt if 'in person' the comments would be the same.....not without ducking anyway.:bash:
The comments would be exactly the same, are you that saying you're both smarter than Nissan Engineers? Riiiiight... My point is valid, and it stands. Im surrouned by whiney babies, lighten up ffs.
Well, your in Qld, in Perth we have winters with 0 degree nights (the best tie to drive turbos mmmm) so like the article said, it depends on the climate you live in.
I dont disagree there, I was simply trying to make a point that for a stock car Nissan have it setup exactly how it should be for adequate cooling if everything is tip top. If it wasnt trannys would only last 2 years and cook themselves and blow up and Nissan would get their asses sued off for selling lemons. Nissan have always over engineered their cars, that's the ONLY point I was trying to make before everyone had a bloody cry about it. It gets alot hotter for longer time periods in some states in the U.S than it does anywhere here in Australia i.e in Pheonix, Arizona where it's 40C+ constantly for months on end. Bypassing the cooler in the rad and going with an external is definately good, but largely unnecessary for the majority of people but hell if you got one already just throw it on! It may extend the life of the transmission some sure, but not as much as regular fluid changes will. I bet more transmissions have been killed due to lack of fluid or old fluid than overheating that's for sure!
The majority... There are other reasons why people upgrade to an external cooler and it's not always because the stock one is inadequate, it's sometimes to do with the cost of a replacement OEM radiator when it gets blocked up and it's easier/better in this case to go external. http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_info.php?products_id=831&osCsid=bc5e4c941
different people have different opinions on whether you should run it solo or inline with the stock one in the radiator. most people run it solo and dont get problems. i personally run my external cooler inline with the stock one still connected. so the fluid runs from the box thru the stock one in the radiator, out to the external one and bak to the trans box. at the time i thought this would be the best thing for me to do as the fluid would be cooled down somewhat passing thru the stock one and cooled even more thru the external one... been like that for a few years now and its great. i used to get my fingers real hot and couldnt keep them there on the trans panel thingi were it says p-r-n-d-2-1 coz it use to be so hot, but now i can keep my hand there and its nice and cool... i think the main reason why i did it like that at the time was because i was afraid of the box heating up too much in traffic...if only connected thru the external cooler and it was getting no airflow to cool the fluid down i was afraid of heating the box too fast....but still many people run that setup with no problems. and also the main reason why people dont run the stock one when installing an external one is because the stock one is just a pipe running thru the end tank area and some say that if ur box is shooting out metal filings they can sit at the bottom on the pipe in the radiator and overtime block it up....although i havnt heard of that hapening, and if it was well u have a bigger problem with ur box to start with...
:thumbup: Since this guy already has one, sweet. Bang it on, might aswell. Bypass the original one, it's fine. Mount it somewhere nice, you could even get a mini puller fan for it aswell to give you a bit more flexibility on the install. Try finding somewhere that's in the path of direct airflow but not in the way of anything else, it's not that easy so the fan can help. Extension brackets on an aftermarket radiator is a good trick, mounted vertically along the side of the rad. Or you can go horizonally flat or on an angle inbetween the radiator and intercooler (if it's a FMIC). In the wheel well if you're creative. There's a few ways to go.
Yes See Tech Article. With Zeds approaching 20 y/o it will definately prolong the life of your tranny by lowering the operating temp which can exceed 140 degrees in Summer traffic. Someone should fit an external cooler to his brain Joke!
