Aux Trans Cooler & Filtration: 2006 Dodge Sprinter

[rlent]

Since I occasionally run at, or near GVWR, and because a replacement transmission is somewhere around $7K or so from a Dodge dealer, I decided to add some auxiliary cooling and filtration to my 2006 Sprinter van.

Below is a picture of the mounting bracket I built to hold various components - with the remote spin-on filter mount, sandwich adapter, ATF oil thermostat (all PermaCool), and a B&M SuperCooler mounted to check dry-fit. This bracket is mounted between the frame rails in front of the engine oil pan (barely) and just behind/below the radiator (again, barely) The location for the cooler was chosen due to limited space in front to the vehicle's radiator and behind the grill - I may try and relocate it there later this summer.

It took quite a bit of time to do, because it not only had to fit the vehicle , there had to be adequate room for the various components it was going to hold, not just for their mounting, but in the case of the spin-on filter to be able to change it - and to be able to connect all the hoses. There are another 6 hoses that are not shown in the image (because they connect to other parts on the vehicle - ie. stock cooler and a Motor Guard bypass filter) - a real plumber's nightmare to be sure,

The various pieces of steel were cut a piece at a time, then welded up and then placed on the vehicle to check dry-fit, pulled off and then the process was repeated for the next piece. I didn't have a bender for the steel, which would have made things way easier - so I did it using a bench vise, the welding table, C-clamps, and a 3 lb. hand sledge. That was before I got smart - and realized that I could just cut the metal halfway thru in the bandsaw, then bend it into position easily, and weld the cut closed.

 

[rlent]

I decided that I wanted a little different paint job than what Ralph Wood supplies them with - I opted to use Dupli-Color Ceramic Engine Enamel (rated to 500°F)

For transmission fluid, this just seemed appropriate, color-wise:

 

[rlent]

This is where I located, and how I mounted, the Motor Guard bypass filter for the transmission fluid - under the passenger side headlamp.

I took a cardboard box and put a plastic bag in it, and then wrapped the filter housing in a plastic bag and placed the filter in the box and shot "Great Stuff" expanding foam into the box around the sides and bottom of the filter. The foam expanded around the filter and to the shape of the box, forming a "mount" which cradled the filter housing. Once the foam was cured, I shot more foam onto the bottom of the mount (the stuff is extremely sticky) and placed into position underneath the headlamp assembly and foamed around it to fix it in place.

I really wanted a "hard" mount - but there didn't seem to be a real good way to do it, and certainly none without drilling any holes, which I generally prefer to avoid.

The feed and return hoses were covered in Gates HG 14 nylon hose guard to protect against abrasion, and then routed under the gray "bumper" to the sandwich adapter on the remote filter mount. There is a piece of regular (flexible) foam that fits on top of the filter, between it and the headlight, to protect the filter and hoses further and make things real secure. Enough extra hose was provided to remove the filter housing and set it up on the top front cross member to make changing it easier.

 

[rlent]

The work detailed in the images above was done last July/August (2008)- since then I have put 50K miles on the vehicle.

It was very nice here today (60's and sunny) so I decided to crack open the transmission bypass filter and have a look at the element for the first time, and if it was dirty, change it out. Because of where the element is located (under the passenger headlamp), it isn't quite as simple to get to as the bypass filter for the engine oil. The housing tends to accumulate grime and debris and needs to be soaped up and rinsed off, prior to cracking open, to avoid any possibility of contamination.

Here's what the element looked like after 51,909 miles (sitting next to the new "element" for reference)

 

[rlent]

Below is an image of residual fluid from the filter housing which I drained into a glass and then set on top of white piece of paper to illustrate the fluid color. The glass is roughly 1 3/4" in diameter and the fluid is about 3/8" deep in the glass. I plan on extending my drain to at least 80K miles, and possibly 100K (Dodge/Mercedes-Benz recommends every 60K) - provided I don't start to experience any anomalous transmission behavior: RSN - or rumble strip noise (a phenomena peculiar to this particular vehicle/transmission), etc. that I can tie to degraded fluid. I will however pull a sample at some point and send it into Blackstone for analysis.

 

[rlent]

Another shot of the fluid:

Additional comment: this bypass filter has no restriction orifice installed in it - there is however a poppet valve (with roughly a 2 psi cracking pressure) in the sandwich adapter which feeds the bypass filter. Should the bypass filter element become restricted, the poppet valve opens, allowing flow to continue. When the poppet valve is open there is some noise as fluid pushes past it (chatter)

Upon installing the new roll of TP, the noise ceased (indicating that the previous filter element had caught enough debris that it was restricted, at least to some degree)

 

[oilboy123]

Thanks for the Post

Looks like you are doing a good job. What fluids are you running?

 

[Gary Allan]

Excellent large scale dental surgery on the filter placement!

Man I admire your motivation.

 

[AzFireGuy79]

What ATF are you using with this?

 

[rlent]

oilboy,

You're quite welcome - thanks for viewing.

For ATF I am using a Febi-Bilstein fluid (part number 27001) that (supposedly) meets the Mercedes-Benz 236.12 spec - which is required for this transmission for both the Sprinter and Chrysler Crossfire specifically - due to the presence of a particular friction material in some of the clutch packs, which is apparently not found on other vehicles using this transmission - a NAG 1, 5-speed electronic transmission. (In the NAG 1 family there are apparently a number of variants.)

 

[AzFireGuy79]

It looks like it held up very well. It's amazing how much the filter element caught in 50K! I am a huge believer in bypass filtration in transmissions having installed two of them with the help/advise of Gary Allen. Im thinking about going to 50K with my Amsoil setup and performing a UOA, flushing and then installing a new element. I don't know if I could go 100K ( just a habit that's hard to break I guess) but cheers to you for having no issue doing it. Thanks for posting!

 

[XS650]

Nice job. This thread is worth reading just to steal your Great Stuff foam mount method.

 

[rlent]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Excellent large scale dental surgery on the filter placement!

LOL - thanks !!! ...... you mean the headlight and grill removal ?

If so, it isn't too bad - about 10 or 11 fasteners total - most of them torx head screws - I can have the grill off (1 torx bolt removed, 2 torx screws loosened, and 2 push-pin body clips removed) and the headlight assembly (6 torx screws removed) out in less than 5 minutes ..... if I have the tools handy.

Quote:
Man I admire your motivation.

Sick ain't it ?

 

[rlent]

Originally Posted By: AzFireGuy79
It looks like it held up very well. It's amazing how much the filter element caught in 50K!

Yes, I was surprised at the crud - I still have to cut the TP apart and examine it closely.

I did drain the ATF and drop the pan yesterday - what I found was:

A. Wiping a finger across the bottom of the pan in about 10 different spots produced no visible residue whatsoever - only clean fluid.

B. The pan contains a 3" flat donut magnet to catch ferrous metal - it had the least amount of debris that I have ever seen (I've changed the fluid twice before @ 62K and 123K) - only a slight film on the magnet, and the entire surface of the magnet was not even completely covered - there were spots where it was completely clean.

Quote:
I am a huge believer in bypass filtration in transmissions having installed two of them with the help/advise of Gary Allen.

After seeing some of the crud that occurs and builds up inside transmissions - and after working in an auto parts store for many years and seeing what often passes for filtration in an automatic transmission (might work good on a screen door to keep the bugs out, but not so much for fine filtration), the idea made alot of sense to me. Gary Allen has provided me with invaluable help/advice as well - stand up guy.

Quote:
Im thinking about going to 50K with my Amsoil setup and performing a UOA, flushing and then installing a new element. I don't know if I could go 100K ( just a habit that's hard to break I guess) but cheers to you for having no issue doing it.

The original recommended service interval for this transmission was: "service once @ 80K miles ......"

Apparently that didn't work out so well for Mercedes - and they cut the service interval in later model years to every 60K miles .... and lost the "service .... once" language ......

I am having currently having transmission issues (hence the reason for dropping the pan) - the issues do not appear related to how long I've ran the fluid, or the bypass filter - in fact, the bypass filter may well have prevented the problem from occurring sooner, or lessened it's severity. In all likelihood, the issue is a consequence of the design of the transmission, and a function of the mileage on the transmission/vehicle - 175K miles.

Long story short, transmission is electronic and has a printed circuit board mounted inside, on the top of the valvebody. On the PCB there are two speed sensors (Hall-Effect) which are strong magnets (much stronger than the donut magnet in the pan) ..... these attract ferrous metal debris, which once it accumulates can cause a wide variety of weirdness and inconsistent operation. I presently have dropped the valvebody/PCB assembly and am inspecting it for contamination (there was some present) and will probably replace it with a new PCB - and then clean the old PCB and keep it as a spare.

Quote:
Thanks for posting!

Thanks for viewing and commenting - always nice to get some feedback !

 

[rlent]

Originally Posted By: XS650
Nice job.

Thanks XS !

Quote:
This thread is worth reading just to steal your Great Stuff foam mount method.

Yes, it has worked out very well I feel - by all means, free to pilfer anything of value that you may find here - that's why I posted it

I do have to point out (can't remember if I did this already or not), someone, somewhere, mentioned that the Great Stuff may well be combustible (will catch fire) - so be cautious where exactly you place it ....... me, I carry a fire extinguisher .....