Moving Factory Trans Cooler

[ssshonky]

Just have to move the factory Stagea tranny oil cooler and wanted to know if there is anything I need to avoid?

Like does it have to be the same height as it was before? Or will the oil pressure sort that out?

I am thinkingg of relocating it to a lower position underneath the drivers side headlight cause our front bar has a big vent there, sound reasonable enough ? I am guessing I nneed to top up trans fluid , but do I need to bleed the system of air ?

[chook]

Just need to consider that there is no air flow there when stationary, no clutch fan flow. So it will be slightly hotter in traffic than factory position. Also consider cutting out slots at the back to increase the air flow, (see intercooler side). My cooler (larger aftermarket one) is mounted there with a motorbike fan on the back, manual and temp switch (in the tran sump) operated. Did this because FM intercooler got in the way of factory trans cooler.

Nothing else, height etc to consider, biggest headache is customising mounts/brackets.

Since I do a lot of heavy towing in QLD, am going to mount another cooler in similar position as factory one and run the 2 in parallel, not series which adds strain to the oil pump.

[DaveB]

This is how my (_stock_) trans' cooler is mounted on my series 2 RS Four. The relocation was done by MV Automatics (Adelaide). I don't do any towing, but I also had a heavy-duty high stall torque convertor upgrade done at the same time.

I've noticed it takes a little bit longer (maybe few minutes) to warm up in the morning and start changing into 4th/overdrive, which tells me that moving at least, it has better cooling capacity than stock. Feels warm after a drive; used to get rather warm before though. No trouble after ~6 months.

[ssshonky]

Thanks Simon

Good point regarding the lack of airflow when the car is at a stand still, something I might need to consider. The car does not see any towing duties and to be honest rarely has more than 2 people in it, but still worth considering a small thermo fan setup like you suggested. Oddly enough as fate would have it , the bracket that I removed from the factory Intercooler is a PERFECT fit for the 2 mounting lugs on the side of the factory Tranny cooler, and oddly enough the other side of the bracket seems perfectly bent to fit under the steel bumper ( are they even called bumpers anymore?? ) so I just need to test fit the front bar and get some extension hose for the cooler and I should be right to go !

Fingers crossed that when I get the front bar meshed again you shouldnt be able to see much of the oil cooler at all.

Considering that the cooler will probably get MORE airflow when the car is moving do you think a small thermo will be needed?

Regarding Draining the oil when I remove the factory oil cooler, whats the best way of doing that? If I remove one side of the hose ( so it gets some air in the system ) will it then drain back into the transmission? or is it just going to piss everywhere?

Just need to consider that there is no air flow there when stationary, no clutch fan flow. So it will be slightly hotter in traffic than factory position. Also consider cutting out slots at the back to increase the air flow, (see intercooler side). My cooler (larger aftermarket one) is mounted there with a motorbike fan on the back, manual and temp switch (in the tran sump) operated. Did this because FM intercooler got in the way of factory trans cooler.

Nothing else, height etc to consider, biggest headache is customising mounts/brackets.

Since I do a lot of heavy towing in QLD, am going to mount another cooler in similar position as factory one and run the 2 in parallel, not series which adds strain to the oil pump.

[ssshonky]

DaveB , thats an awesome outcome hey? gives me hope that my relocation might look just as good.

[DaveB]

Cheers Sean. Yes I was pretty happy - you don't notice it at all down there really unless you know it's there; it's recessed a fair way. They didn't have to remove the front bar to fit it either. I discovered that if you remove the driver's headlight (which doesn't require removing the front bar, just the grille) you get better access so I think they may have done that.

[-RBD2-]

i just moved my trans cooler as well down to the drivers side front bar vent,will need to re-do the mounting brackets as i ran out of time to finish properly.used a random oil cooler core i had laying around.after a clean out she went straight on.

wheres the transmission filler so i can top up the fluid?

thanks lads

[ssshonky]

you fill it up thru the dipstick , or so I am told

i just moved my trans cooler as well down to the drivers side front bar vent,will need to re-do the mounting brackets as i ran out of time to finish properly.used a random oil cooler core i had laying around.after a clean out she went straight on.

wheres the transmission filler so i can top up the fluid?

thanks lads

[-RBD2-]

ok,cool.thanks sean

[ssshonky]

ok .. you know when something seems too good to be true , that means its normally too good to be true?

Well after reading the PWR instructions on this cooler I just got it makes it pretty clear its supposed to be a SUPPLIMENT to the existing oil cooler not a REPLACEMENT oil cooler. Fck !

So head on over and comment in this thread pls http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/st...-topic-f79.html

I just need to know if anyone has used these as a replacement vs an add on oil cooler,

Thanks all

[KiwiRS4T]

ok .. you know when something seems too good to be true , that means its normally too good to be true?

Well after reading the PWR instructions on this cooler I just got it makes it pretty clear its supposed to be a SUPPLIMENT to the existing oil cooler not a REPLACEMENT oil cooler. Fck !

So head on over and comment in this thread pls http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/st...-topic-f79.html

I just need to know if anyone has used these as a replacement vs an add on oil cooler,

Thanks all

Stop taking those drugs! When you buy something you can do whatever you want with it. Ask your self why you bought it. I gather you bought it because you couldn't find a way to mount your current cooler in a different position so you are going to replace it with a comparable unit. So go ahead and do what you want - you are the master of your Stagea! The S1 Stagea has a tiny exterior cooler and I REPLACED it with the aftermarket one because it was bigger. You are not looking for more cooling you just want to relocate it and the new one you bought is roughly comparable to the stock S2 one so go ahead and fit it where you want. IT will be OK!!!

[pyro-ns]

slight thread hijack, but is there a way to tell (outside of a temp gauge) if the oil is getting too hot, before the tranny dies? i know absolutely nothing about auto transmissions (except that they are hideously complex)... should i be on the lookout for flare between gears? bad changes? etc?

[KiwiRS4T]

slight thread hijack, but is there a way to tell (outside of a temp gauge) if the oil is getting too hot, before the tranny dies? i know absolutely nothing about auto transmissions (except that they are hideously complex)... should i be on the lookout for flare between gears? bad changes? etc?

The short answer is no (that I know of anyway). The symptoms you describe would suggest that damage has already ocurred. The other thing to look for is brownish atf -not just dirty but burnt looking. Nearly all auto trans failures are caused by overheating so unless you already have a decent cooler in addition to the heat exchanger in the radiator your car would probably benefit from an aftermarket cooler (and a change of atf for a quality synthetic one).

[ssshonky]

I guess as part of my job I need to think logically. The S2 stagea trans cooler is quite large. Perhaps 50-60mm thick ?

And at a guess maybe 200mm x 120 mm. Having said that I am looking for comparable cooling, and I just dont think I am going to get that from a cooler ( PWR ) that is much thinner ( 19 mm ) and perhaps 50% larger surface area again than the factory one. I guess I want to make sure the part is fit for purpose you know? Sure I CAN install it , but will it do the job?

I really dislike it when I fck up

Stop taking those drugs! When you buy something you can do whatever you want with it. Ask your self why you bought it. I gather you bought it because you couldn't find a way to mount your current cooler in a different position so you are going to replace it with a comparable unit. So go ahead and do what you want - you are the master of your Stagea! The S1 Stagea has a tiny exterior cooler and I REPLACED it with the aftermarket one because it was bigger. You are not looking for more cooling you just want to relocate it and the new one you bought is roughly comparable to the stock S2 one so go ahead and fit it where you want. IT will be OK!!!

Edited December 30, 2009 by ssshonky

[-RBD2-]

understand what your saying sean,and ive taken onboard the good advice so far in this thread.in addition to relocating my trans cooler and swapping the core for a larger one im also going to install a motorbike thermo fan to the back of the trans cooler basically as a safety precaution.i dont tow at all but do occasionally get heavy traffic heading to work.will hopefully have time to spend on it tomorrow,as its 40+ in adelaide today

[DaveB]

I guess as part of my job I need to think logically. The S2 stagea trans cooler is quite large. Perhaps 50-60mm thick ?

And at a guess maybe 200mm x 120 mm. Having said that I am looking for comparable cooling, and I just dont think I am going to get that from a cooler ( PWR ) that is much thinner ( 19 mm ) and perhaps 50% larger surface area again than the factory one. I guess I want to make sure the part is fit for purpose you know? Sure I CAN install it , but will it do the job?

I really dislike it when I fck up

Yours are the same reasons that I was concerned about my cooler; when I was investigating getting my cooler relocated, I was eventually going to be paying for a new cooler (about $160 I think it would have cost extra) however when I took the car in to MV's the standard cooler was larger than expected, and Mike said it would be fine for the job (with the high stall convertor as well). So we used that, and I saved on a new cooler. I think there are some mounting points around the standard cooler which can be utilised to mount it just like a DC kit or similar.

[STAGE1]

Engine oil cooler on driver’s side. Auto oil cooler on passenger side if I can find a thermo fan to suit the auto cooler I will feel better about putting in an aluminum radiator.

Each cooler has free air through the front bar. I have cut a hole about 200mm square out of the plastic inner guard and replaced it with expanded aluminum mesh to allow the air to travel through.

[ssshonky]

The 6cyl PWR cooler fits PERFECTLY in the position of the old cooler. You just need to drill one hole on the PWR cooler to make it fit and you are done,

Here are a few pics. Does anyone think that the bend in the hose for the top connection is a bit too tight in the radius of the bends?

[KiwiRS4T]

Engine oil cooler on driver's side. Auto oil cooler on passenger side if I can find a thermo fan to suit the auto cooler I will feel better about putting in an aluminum radiator.

Don't feel better about putting in an aluminium radiator. The main purpose of the heat exchanger in the radiator is to raise the temp of the atf to optimum operating temp asap given that the vast majority of trips are short.

[STAGE1]

I understand the need for the heat exchanger but the coolant in the radiator won't flow until the thermostat opens regardless of the size of the radiator. Here in QLD it can get to zero in winter and rise to over forty in summer. In winter I can see the need for the heat exchanger in the radiator so the plan after new year is to go to the local wreckers and pick up an old copper radiator with the auto line in it and cut it open to see what it looks like (straight pipe or fined). If it is a straight pipe I will buy an aluminum radiator and have it modified then I should have the best of both worlds (unless someone knows where I can get one ready maid)

After paying ($2,800) to have my auto overhauled I want to treat it right.

Cheers

Phil