installing tranny cooler

[pontiac3100]

okay i was thinking of installing a tranny cooler.
how big should the cooler be....or does it matter??
i know it'll require more fluid but other than that will it affect the pressure,shift,lockup??

[geoffinbc]

It will extend the life of the oil and which will translate into better transmission performance over its lifetime. It is only worth while if the stock cooler is allowing tranny temps above 230*F for extended periods

Coolers are sold by the GVW of the vehicle.

Unless your really drive the piss out of your car there is really no reason to install an auxiliary cooler. I would suggest just changing to synthetic transmission fluid. It will run cooler and last longer versus conventional fluid.

[sharkey]

a cooler isnt a bad idea. very 20 degrees cooler a transmission running temp is, you double the life of it.

if your going ot get a cooler, make sure you get a stacked plate cooler and not a tube and fin. tube and fin coolers (basicly is a long tube with fins) do not allow the transmission to reach operating temps very quickly. this was no problem when they were designed back in the 60s, but with lockup pwm lockup, and electronic controll, the transmission is designed to work at operating temp, and if it takes a while to get there it can cause damage in the long term. a stacked plate cooler is self regualting. basicly they have large holes in the bottom plates, and get progressivly smaller the farther up the cooler you go. the idea is when fluid is cold, it can only flow through the large holes and as it heats up and thins out, it will flow through the smaller holes. this allows you to run at proper operating temps.

[pontiac3100]

hmm cool.
what kinda worries me is the winter time.
the pcm has a temp sensor in the tranny and if it does'nt reach 130*F it does'nt lock the t/c.

maybe i'll block the cooler with a board of some sort...

[sharkey]

lockup is actualy based off of engine temp. even so, with a stacked plate cooler, it regulates were the oil flows through the cooler. in cold weather, you may only use the bottom inch of the cooler. this allows it to work at operating temps in cold weather.

[pontiac3100]

so then 130*F is a tipical 3100 closed loop?
hmm i thought it was 100*F.

well i asked becuase a friend of mine had a lumina with the 4t60 (no pcm controlled) and he has the tranny cooler.

but he wrecked it and i was thinking of getting it....

we replaced it a few weeks back...

[pontiac3100]

got it out.
it's what you were talking about...stacked.
i've only seen those on the seville sls 4t60.

but in 90*F+ weather with a/c on and in stop and go traffic...the highest she went was 210*F.

is that good....