Suggestions on cooling a C4.. Update

ntsqd · Jun 27, 2017

They're all singly pointed at maximizing the cooling and there is no question that a liquid to liquid cooler is more effective (but not because of the temperature differential as the liquid to ambient air cooler has that advantage), but there is much more to consider. I stand by my logic, it has worked for me for decades.

bronconut73 · Jun 27, 2017

Why not before and after....that's what I was thinking....may sound like overkill but here in central Florida we can get into slow moving, high revving, super hot four wheeling in sand and or mud...that lack of air movement can cook tranny fluid.

bronconut73 · Jun 27, 2017

blubuckaroo said:
I'm no expert on this and I'm just voicing a concern about the length and pressure/flow loss.

Oh...would additional coolers reduce flow too much?
I was considering just the conventional tube and fin assuming that it is just a longer hard line with fins on it....

ntsqd · Jun 27, 2017

Depends on the pressure drop over each individual cooler. This just like electrical resistors, series and parallel rules apply.

I don't think all OEMs place the aux cooler after the radiator all of the time.

It's not just the cooling of the engine & trans, its also about achieving and sustaining a temperature that removes any condensation from the fluid and reduces wear.

ntsqd · Jun 27, 2017

If the OEM's also routinely jumped off a cliff would you follow that too? ;D What I suggest does work and has worked for me for decades. Normally I don't veer from stock until I understand why stock is the way that it is. In this case it was back in the Dark Ages when the 'Net was a figment of someone's imagination and I had to think it thru and experiment on my own.

Concur, fluid R&R's don't happen often enough. Which reminds me, the CTD is due for both....

Tiko433 · Jun 28, 2017

thanks for all the input guys , a lot to think about. I will keep y'all posted after I get the temp gauge in and see what the operating temperature actually is.

5001craig · Jun 28, 2017

sanndmann3 said:
I'm running a F350 superduty trans cooler in front of my radiator. have an Autometer trans temp gage and 2 senders. one is coming out of the trans and the other just before it goes back in. use a switch to check hot and cool side.

Last trip to the dunes, the trans was running 160 deg. on hot side and 100 on the return. I'm currently adding a thermostat https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-25719
to try and get the temp up to 180 or 190 so I'm not dumping so much heat in front of radiator...

I went with one of those also. Sends the fluid back to the trans until it reaches 180° when it sends the fluid to the cooler. I mounted my Derale 15875 out back and do not run the fluid through the radiator. My rig is fairly purpose-built.

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Tiko433 · Jun 30, 2017

I little update guys
I got a temp gauge mounted on the pan . As of now my trans out line feeds right into a Derale Atomic cooler . The thermo switch is installed on the out of the cooler then line feeds back to trans.
Took it for a good drive today. The trans never got hotter then 195 . The thermo switch kicked on at 180 . I'm glad to see it never went over 195 . I even let it idle after the drive for awhile and the temp held . I'm happy to see that , but I'm still going to add the Radiator cooler to the system and see how it effects the temp.
I'm happy to know it doesn't climb any hotter

Tiko433 · Jul 20, 2017

Update guys ... I ran lines from the trans to the radiator, radiator to my Derale cooler out the cooler back to the trans. Temp has stayed no hotter then 205 on a day that was high 90s . Before using the radiator and just the Derale cooler it would climb to 220 . So I have it running cooler then what it was. My motor is consistent 195 .

sprdv1 · Jul 21, 2017

Tiko433 said:
Update guys ... I ran lines from the trans to the radiator, radiator to my Derale cooler out the cooler back to the trans. Temp has stayed no hotter then 205 on a day that was high 90s . Before using the radiator and just the Derale cooler it would climb to 220 . So I have it running cooler then what it was. My motor is consistent 195 .

That's good to hear.....

Tiko433 · Aug 10, 2017

Another UPDATE... I didn't like the 200-205 temps, like most of us can't leave it alone. So I added a Derale stack plate cooler. It's mounted in front of the radiator. So routing is ....from trans to radiator- radiator to stack cooler -stack cooler to cooler with the fan . Fan is temp switched at 180. I know it sounds over kill but now I have not seen any temps higher then 160 . I'm thinking a lil cooler has got to be better then running 205 all the time .

bronconut73 · Aug 10, 2017

As long as the fluid gets above 212° somewhere in the system to burn off condensated moisture.

Tiko433 · Aug 10, 2017

bronconut73 said:
As long as the fluid gets above 212° somewhere in the system to burn off condensated moisture.

I had no idea that would be a issue. My temp sensor is in my pan, so it should be the return line temp. I could try get a temp reading on my line out and see what the temp is

Broncobowsher · Aug 10, 2017

Pan temp is the right pace to watch it.
Heat will drive moisture out, even if it isn't 212. Not much moisture can get in to start with. Rear ends will run years, decades and most will never get over 200. They are more suseptable to getting actual water in them as well. I know modern ATF cooling packages that work real good to stay around 160 for normal driving and only when towing hard might get close to 200, and those run forever just fine.

It looks like your cooling package is working good. At this point leave it alone.
If you start seeing engine cooling issues (when working the convertor hard) I would suggest trying the coolers the other way. The oil to air first. That way you can shed heat before getting into the engine cooling system. But since you have a good cooling package now, just leave it alone.

bronconut73 · Aug 10, 2017

There will be areas of the system that exceed 212 even if it is cooled to 160 under best conditions.
Kudos for having a good tranny cooling system.

ntsqd · Aug 10, 2017

From all of my research an operating temperature 160°F to maybe as much as 180°F is the sweet spot. Warm enough to remove any condensation and reduce wear without being too warm. When I told my auto trans guy that I self-limited the max temp of the CTD's trans to 220°F his response was "you're awfully nice to my trans!". The temperature vs. life-span curve is logarithmic and the point where a little more heat starts to be a huge reduction in life seems to be somewhere around 250°F. Clearly they can run warmer than that for short periods, but I wouldn't go there if it can be avoided.

Tiko433 · Aug 10, 2017

Thanks again guys .

My 3 speed was so simple........

Suggestions on cooling a C4.. Update

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