Maybe I've finally lost it...increasing ATF capacity?

[SteveD2]

I'm probably going waaay overboard here, but at least it gives me something to do.

I'm going to be installing a transmission cooler and inline filter on my '96 cherokee with the AW4 transmission. I was just thinking (uh oh) what if I used a short peice of 2" steel pipe inline with the transmission cooler to add an extra quart or two of fluid? I could strap it down to the frame somewhere so it would also probably help cool quite a bit. Am I just freaking out too much here? What do you guys think...bad idea?

 

[Mike242GT]

Bad idea. A "short" piece of 2" ID pipe doesn't really hold as much fluid as you might think. Roughly 18" of pipe to hold a quart of fluid. And that will increase your system capacity by what? Certainly less than 10%. I'm not versed in fluid mechanics, but the transitions from small to large to small piping/tubing can't be a good thing in terms of flow. Methinks you'd be better off installing two coolers in series if you want to be this obsessive.

 

[MolaKule]

The air-to-oil cooler (heat exchanger) will do more for you than the pipe.

System Wise, you will get more cooling from convection than from conduction.

 

[SteveD2]

I wasn't thinking about it mostly for cooling, but the increased capacity. If 2" pipe wouldn't do much I could use a 3" peice. There's a guy that knows quite alot about these jeeps and has a popular tech page about them, and has a page about welding two stock transmission pans together to make it deeper. I wouldn't trust my welding enough to do that, but it's the same idea. As for whether the pipe would decrease the flow or not, I have no idea...

 

[MolaKule]

If you could increase the capacity by 5 or more quarts then it might be worth it.

Let's do some simple engineering here for a "Hollow Right Circular Cylinder" (Pipe):

Let's say you're using a 3" pipe (R = 0.0381 meters) in an attempt to gain 5 liters of volume, using the formula L = V/(pi*R^2), where V is volume in cubic meters (here it is 0.005 cubic meters), your pipe length L would have to be 1.1 meters or 4 feet of pipe.

Materials: You would need 4 feet of seamless stainless steel pipe of wall thickness 1/8" to 3/16" with the appropriate adapters and high pressure 3/4" hydraulic hoses.

 

[ExDelayed]

I have been thinking along the same lines, but doing it a little differently. My car's Ford CD4E is known to have cooling issues. What I was thinking, especially since the CD4E has its filter built into the trans, making it non-serviceable, is to install a remote oil filter kit. The kits that accept two PH8As (or similar). This would up the capacity by ~2 quarts and also provide me with peace of mind knowing that there would be dedicated filtes working away keeping everything all clean.

I have already installed a trans cooler. The remote filter kit would also give me a spot to connect my trans temp guage.

Going on the tube method you speak of, if I were to do it, I would think about putting a bleeder zerk on it to bleed out any excess air. Going from the small trans tubing to the large pipe isnt probably going to be the best in terms of flow, but if the pipe only has fluid in it, then if pressure comes in, pressure also has to come out. There would be no air bubble to compress.

-Jon

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

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Originally posted by ExDelayed:
I have been thinking along the same lines, but doing it a little differently. My car's Ford CD4E is known to have cooling issues. What I was thinking, especially since the CD4E has its filter built into the trans, making it non-serviceable, is to install a remote oil filter kit. The kits that accept two PH8As (or similar). This would up the capacity by ~2 quarts and also provide me with peace of mind knowing that there would be dedicated filtes working away keeping everything all clean.

I have already installed a trans cooler. The remote filter kit would also give me a spot to connect my trans temp guage.

Going on the tube method you speak of, if I were to do it, I would think about putting a bleeder zerk on it to bleed out any excess air. Going from the small trans tubing to the large pipe isnt probably going to be the best in terms of flow, but if the pipe only has fluid in it, then if pressure comes in, pressure also has to come out. There would be no air bubble to compress.

-Jon

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I guess now that I think about it if I install dual filters instead of the single filter I was planning on I could get about 4 extra quarts of fluid in there.

I think this board has given me some sort of obsessive compuslive disorder...

 

[ExDelayed]

quote:

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Originally posted by ZmOz:
I guess now that I think about it if I install dual filters instead of the single filter I was planning on I could get about 4 extra quarts of fluid in there.

I think this board has given me some sort of obsessive compuslive disorder...

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Moroso has a 4 quart racing filter. Two of those guys could give you eight quarts.

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

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Originally posted by ExDelayed:

quote:

---

Originally posted by ZmOz:
I guess now that I think about it if I install dual filters instead of the single filter I was planning on I could get about 4 extra quarts of fluid in there.

I think this board has given me some sort of obsessive compuslive disorder...

---

Moroso has a 4 quart racing filter. Two of those guys could give you eight quarts.

---

Did you have to tell me that?!

 

[MolaKule]

The only issue here is will the PH8A's handle the pressure?

 

[SteveD2]

quote:

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Originally posted by MolaKule:
The only issue here is will the PH8A's handle the pressure?

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Well of course a fram can't.

But summit racing sells a kit that says it uses that filter or equivalent.
http://store.summitracing.com/productdetail.asp?p=1764

 

[ExDelayed]

All it would take is a call to the manufacturer and you could find out the burst strength.