Trans oil cooler

[Sawdusted]

Guys, getting ready to install a trans oil cooler.

Are there any differences between the tube-fin cooler vs a plate-fin cooler setup what are the advantages and or disadvantages if each?

Also I read that it is possible for the zippy tie things that mount it through the radiator to to rub through the tubes of the radiator and or condenser core?

Comments welcome.

Tanks, Julian

 

[zzyzzx]

Doesn't your car already have one?

 

[Astro14]

I understand that plate type coolers are more efficient, they also have less of a pressure drop when the fluid is cold...the plate type coolers are bit more pricey though...

I never really cared for the zip-tie mounting system, but it works and I've never seen any negative consequences from it. Personally, I fabricated a few aluminum brackets to mount the plate cooler on my truck.

 

[Chris142]

I work at a Radiator and AC shop. When those Zippy things rub holes across the aluminum tubes in you Radiator or Condenser we cant fix that!

Mount some metal straps across the front and mount the cooler to those.

 

[HerrStig]

The ties won't hurt anything but you might want to cushion the
contact points of the cooler and radiator with some squares of dense foam rubber.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
The ties won't hurt anything but you might want to cushion the
contact points of the cooler and radiator with some squares of dense foam rubber.
Like I said. They will eventully cut the tubes in the radiator or Condenser. I see this almost daily at my shop. I can't fix this (Properly).

 

[Towncivilian]

For our Pathfinders, there are pre-drilled holes in the radiator core support. The B&M 70268 cooler I purchased came with some metal brackets which I used for mounting. Sorry for not getting pictures yet, I will snap some this evening for you!

 

[Sawdusted]

Thanks Matt. Wanting to do the install soon as I have only a short time to install before I head down south for my new job.

 

[UNC017]

Plate type coolers are significantly better in terms of efficiency and lower flow restriction.

The zip-tie mounts are generally fine for coolers and radiators where the tubes are vertical. The weight is carried not by the radiator tubes, but by the zig-zag finning betweeen the tubes which itself doesn't carry coolant- I've put many 100k miles on zip-mounted trannny coolers with that setup.

All bets are off for horizontal-tube radiators though (end tanks rather than top/bottom tanks). With horizontal tubes, the zip tie will drop down and apply pressure to a coolant-carrying tube, and I would wager that over many miles you could indeed wear through the tubing wall due to vibration causing the zip tie to rub in one spot on the tube. I'd go with another mounting scheme under those conditions, such as mounting to the AC condensor if you have to use zip ties. AC condensor tubing is much thicker-walled since it has to tolerate >300 PSI, and won't wear through in the life of the vehicle.

 

[Towncivilian]

Got some photos for you, I hope they will be helpful. http://imgur.com/a/giVyz

The passenger side hose is the cooler return line. Sorry for lack of pictures of the plumbing down there, the engine undercover is in the way and I am not in the appropriate place to remove it at the moment. Again, apologies for the delay with these photos.

 

[Sawdusted]

Matt, thanks for the photos. it really helped a lot.

I have several questions if you don't mind. On the top of the trans cooler, I see one corner fastened to the vertical radiator support bar. Is the other upper corner bolted in too? I do not see any fasteners there (or could it be obscured by the cooler lines)?

Would there be enough space to mount it with the cooler lines pointing downward instead?

Do you remember of the bolt holes in the lower radiator support are M6x1.0? Mine are fairly rusted and need to chase the threads. Don't want to send the wrong tap threads down!

Thanks

 

[Towncivilian]

I have the cooler secured by only three brackets. Two bottom as shown, and one secured to the center of the radiator core support. The cooler does not wiggle at all, I feel it is very sturdy with just the three corners secured.

I do not know if the engine undercover will clear the hoses if you install with the hoses pointing downward. I originally chose to install with the hoses pointing up to prevent any air accumulating in the transmission cooler, though I don't know if that is actually a real issue.

The bolt holes are not threaded, they are just pre-drilled holes. I believe I used 10mm bolts, or whatever that came with the transmission cooler.

If you haven't considered it, I would suggest installation of a Magnefine in-line transmission filter. It has a magnet to catch nearly all (if not all) ferrous wear material that passes through the filter as well as filtering media (around 35 microns, IIRC?) to catch most anything else. 3/8" hoses and Magnefine filter should fit everything well.