if you dont mind me asking how much did they charge to service your trans and transfer case?

 

275 for Trans filter/flush/adjustment, T-case change, Rear Diff Change. Not bad in my book, definantly made a huge difference in the way it drives. Hey how would one place one of those tranny coolers with a fan? Would i have to worry about it being too cold in the winter?

 

the fan would need to be temp sensor controlled.... B&M (IIRC) makes one with the sensor built in with the fan.

 

Yeah i get that part, but will it get too cold not running through the RAD? Plus there's not alot of space with the aux cooler and the condensor in there

 

Bump. Can i fit one of those BM Super Coolers with the fan in there with the condesor? And do i have to worry about overcooling in the winter either way?

 

If you get a trans cooler that has an integrated fan, you will want to relocate it to a different location, not in between the radiator and condensor like your stock aux trans cooler. Probably the best spot would be either to the right or left of the radiator in that open space that usually has just a rubber flap. Remove the flap and mount the cooler there. As for overcooling, if the cooler has a fan, it likely also has a thermostat that controls the fan (I doubt it is designed to just run the fan all the time, if so, I wouldn't want one like that), so that should make it fine for the winter time. Fan won't kick on unless it needs to.

 

I'm worried about the ambient below-freezing air in the winter though.

 

Do you have a trans temp gauge? If so, then just try it and see what your temps are. If they are too cold, then take it in and have the radiator fittings fixed so you go through it again. If the temps are fine, then just leave it be. You'll be better off that way in the hot summer months.

 

What's too hot and too cold for the tranny, i'll put a trans guage in the next couple weeks, also, where should i mount the sender for best results?

 

Normal operating temp is supposed to be around 195-205. I think I read somewhere that your trans temp light will come on somewhere around 225-235. Mine runs about 150-175. I think anything below 145 or so, for extended periods, might be too cold. Anything over 215 I consider to be too hot. Whenever I see temps over 215, I change the fluid, but that's just me.

As for where to mount, that is a topic of discussion for sure. Some say the sending unit should be in the pan, other say it should be in the pressure line going to the trans cooler. Personally, I have mine mounted in the diagnostics port on the side of the transmission. I did this mostly for convenience of install. Some people don't think it is accurate though (conflicting reports as to when fluid is actually passing through that port). It is accurate enough for me though (i.e. I know what it says normally, and can thereby tell if things are getting too hot, which is the main thing I want to know).


Ideally, I think you really need at least two trans temp readings to fully understand if you are running too hot or not, and to what degree. You should have a reading from:

1) a sending unit in the pan so you know how hot the fluid is that is about to go into the trans.

2) a sending unit in the pressure line coming out of the trans on its way to the cooler. This will tell you how hot the fluid is getting after use, and also how well your cooler is working (by comparing with the reading from the sending unit in your pan).

If you have only #1 above, then you never really know how hot the fluid is getting during/after it's used, you only know how well your trans cooler is working. It could start out cool in the pan, but then get way to hot while in use, breaking down the fluid. If you have a good cooler, it will come back into the pan cooled (but the damage to the integrity of the fluid will have already been done, you just would never know it).

If you have #2 above only, you know how hot your fluid is getting after it is used, but you don't know how good your cooler is working, so you don't know how hot the fluid in the pan is, which is the fluid that is about to be used again.

I have all the stuff I need to do a new setup to be able to have both 1 and 2. I have a single trans temp gauge in the cab mounted on my steering column. I currently have one sending unit in the diagnostics port on the side of the trans and another in my trans pan. I am going to insert a SPDT toggle switch. It will allow me to toggle my single trans temp gauge back and forth between the two sending units so I can see how hot my fluid is in the two locations. I eventually plan to also install a sending unit in the pressure line between the trans and the cooler. It would either replace my diag port sending unit, or act as a third sending unit, in which case I would replace the SPDT switch with a SPTT switch, and measure coolant temps in all three locations (pan, diag port, and pressure line). Whenever I get time to hook this all up, I will of course post my results.