Need/ want a tranny cooler (1 Viewer)

[oleblue62]

I've been convinced, I need/ want a tranny cooler. There are a lot of posts on the subject and install but I couldn't find anyone suggesting the best tranny cooler for the buck, this means under $100 and preferably in the $60 range. Summit Racing has a lot to choose from but I don't really know the difference between them. It has been said to avoid the zip-ties, so my hope is to do so, but what's out there?

My mechanical skills are slim, and I don't have easy access to a garage, but I'm willing to try.

 

[Rigger]

I assume you have an FJ62, and you want/need additional cooling for the automatic transmission.

I'd love to have a good quality kit that would work well, but most of the kits are fin type and zip tie to the a/c condensor. I have wondered how large a cooler element is ideal, how small is too small, etc. Also, there are fin type and so-called plate type coolers, so there is another decision to make.

Do some searching. Someone posted up pics of their tranny cooler set-up, where they ran new soft lines from the tranny to the cooler, replacing the factory hard lines. It was a very nice set-up and a good write-up, too. It had parts lists and everything.

 

[oleblue62]

I think I saw this one. Was it the one where the guy fabbed up a bracket? It looked good and I'm sure it works great. I want to do this without fabricating anything...because I can't, and I want to do this on my own.

Maybe another question I should be asking is: How good are the $35 ones from Summit Racing? Are they big enough to cool the tranny if I don't haul anything? Since they're smaller are they small enough to not restrict airflow to the radiator?

I don't think I should expect anyone on here to go cheapy, but then again there's a lot of clever folk on here.

 

[euclid]

Try this thread in the FAQ:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/76962-fj62-transmission-oil-cooler-install.html

 

[oleblue62]

Greg-
Do you like the B&M cooler #70268 you installed? Has it blocked the radiator from getting the air it needs or is it small enough that it doesn't restrict?

 

[slcfj62]

I replaced a transmission cooler on mine. A previous owner had bypassed the radiator and run the transmission cooler lines to a rather small S style cooler zip tied to the AC evaporator. Small wonder the transmission was rebuilt right before I took ownership. I wound up having new cooler lines fabricated and had to buy new fittings for the radiator. I bought a Hayden OC-1678 for right around your price range. It is a plate style cooler which works better than the S type. I mounted it with the straps (I painted them black) that came with it. You can see how I bent the straps to suspend the cooler between the grill and the AC line. The side that you can't see, the straps were not bent, and both straps are anchored to the same point on the back of the vertical brace forming a triangle. The hoses come out the side of the cooler that faces the vertical brace, and there are two holes in the brace that match up perfectly with the hoses coming off of the cooler (see second pic). So the hoses go through the brace and down through a hole in the cross member.

 

[euclid]

Greg-
Do you like the B&M cooler #70268 you installed? Has it blocked the radiator from getting the air it needs or is it small enough that it doesn't restrict?

Been on there since 06 with no problems. My 62 actually has the wont-get-hot-enough issues so covering the rad is not a problem.

 

[tonyota]

I have a 6 pass fin type cooler on mine. 12"x18" & zip tied to the radiator itself... works great for the tranny & engine cools fine also.

 

[BG_TX]

x2 on plate type/cross flow...

Wholesale Automatics recommended this style so I that's what I got and the trans has stayed cool in 100+ Texas temps.

 

[oleblue62]

Thanks for all the feedback. With my limitations the Hayden system sounds nice and the price is right, thanks slcfj62, Especially if the brackets can bend easily enough to set it an inch away from the radiator. Thanks for the input.

 

[Tinker]

I put a Hayden inline with my Ron Davis radiator cooler - doubt if the 4L60E will ever get too hot (running Mobil-1 tranny fluid, too).

 

[slcfj62]

I bent the straps in a vise with a hammer.