Living in the Piedmont of North Carolina?

I realize the automatic trans fluid needs to be at a minimum temperature to perform at its best. A gentle trip to church on a cold winter's day would require the heat exchanger to bring things up to temp in a reasonable period of time.

Poot!

I've got to move my heat exchanger and don't really mind doing it. It's just, . . . with all the work I've put into my trans, I don't want my OEM heat exchanger to rupture and foul my trans with antifreeze.

It seems I recall a new one runs around $350 (if they're still available). . . ? Ouch!

Does anyone have an idea as to how often the things internally rupture and cross-contaminate fluids?

 

It was in the way on mine so it went...I found an aftermarket with 3/8 lines about 11"x9". If you trim the black inserts in the grille to 1/2 their thickness and cut off their mounting tabs in the grille there's room to mount it in front of your a/c condenser.
I removed the fittings that were on it because they were like 1/4" holes...I sweated on some copper fittings with 3/8 male pipe ends and pressured them to 120 psi - that's all I have available - no leaks. Then I went to a hydraulic hose supply here in town and said ' make me some 150 psi 1/2" hose with fittings to connect here' . I removed the connections to the trans lines by the bottom of the radiator and connected the new lines there - my lines were a little soft so I replaced the whole run up front.
I still don't have a trans temp gauge, but I know someone else who did the same thing and he said his temps don't get over 220 - 240. BTW, he doesn't tow. My stock trans temp sensor is still in and I still shift into OD, so the temps must be ok.
I'm considering doing the same thing with the oil My new oil temp gauge shows ~ 200* +/-. Just not sure I want to cover the OTHER side of the radiator also. So far the coolant temps look normal, we'll see what summer brings.

 

Well, that's what happened to my current parts truck. It has 266,000 on it. Tranny doesn't work so well with AF in there. Oh well, I only gave $1000 for it.

 

Thanks but I'm not talking about the trans oil cooler located up front. I'm referring the the heat exchanger mounted down under the exhaust manifold.

It serves to heat the trans fluid up to the engine's coolant temperature when the trans is cold. When the trans fluid temp goes above the engine's coolant temperature, then it acts as a cooler if only to a small degree.

I've got a cooler to supplement that little radiator up front . . .





I'm just concerned that considering the OEM unit's age, do I risk a catastrophic internal leak? Or should I just remove it and risk bearing troubles with cold thick fluid till things warm up?

 

That canister under the manifold is what I am referring to. There would be no cross contamination involved with the little cooler up front.

 

That's just a pipe inside a container.
The pipe connects to the trans lines and the container connects to the coolant.

IF your trans line inside the container rusts out and leaves a hole - Then yes you can cross contaminate. You'd have trans fluid in your coolant and coolant in your trans....

NEVER heard of it BUT never say never...

 

From PeytonMaterne's post, you've heard of it happening now..... H.

 

Figured there be at least one

 

David, when you say "risk bearing troubles with cold thick fluid" do you mean bearings as in the shiny metal kind or bearing as in "bearing the load" or tolerating.

I debated this over the winter, how much good does it do? If I drive gently and had removed it, prolly nothing, if I run cold like an animal what would be the eventual outcome?
Why did every 727 in all my gassers never need an exchanger? It's gotten cold up here, I've plowed in blizzards and never needed a heater for my trans.

I thought the thinking was the diesel was slower to warm up, however with the torque input from a Cummins you would figure that would warm up the trans fast. I don't know squat about an auto, so I could be way off.I didn't mean to hijack, but I was wondering what the whole thing was about awhile ago too.

 

That little tube that runs through one side of the radiator is the trans fluid heater/cooler (GM/TH350 as typical comes to mind).



Currently, for racing purposes, I've got one of the engine coolant lines pinched thus blocking the flow. As such, the converter/transmission itself provides the bulk of the heat the thermometer sees.

With that, driving from my house to the Dunn/Benson dragstrip (15+/- miles?) has the trans fluid temperature go from ambient (85* ~ 90*F) to about 120*~130*F. Keep in mind the stock/OEM cooler up front is doing it's thing on the way to the track.
My first pass typically presents with 8.81 in the eighth mile. After the pass, I let the truck idle in neutral (to keep fluid flowing through the converter) so as to cool down. The fluid temp is up to around 160*F in the pan.
After 20 to 30 minutes of cooling, another pass will present with the eighth in about 8.9 seconds. The fluid temperature is now up to about 180*F.

Continuing as such has the fluid get hotter, and the times slower.


IF I continue to run a heat exchanger, I'll have a valve to stop the flow of engine coolant. The fan assisted cooler I show above should calm things during the cool-down period with idling in neutral.

The converter I'm running is a Suncoast unit with Amsoil fluid.


Stinky!! Anybody know of an aftermarket heat exchanger that might be better priced?


Thanks folks.

 

Well. I was thinking of taking out all the B.S and running just a B&M style cooler... But I do live in Mi, so in the dead of winter it does get cold up here... But these motors take fprever to warm up anyway, so five min going down the road, you'd think the trans would warm up just fine.. Just my thought's... But I am leaving mine until I need room for some twins or it fails for some reason.. .To many other things to fix first..lol

 

David:

Mopar has discontinued the heat exchanger and my local Dodge dealer's computer showed no dealer in the US still holding one. Cummins still has them however.

The following thread from 5/11/2008 provides the new Cummins part number as well as a web link to a possible aftermarket replacement:

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=exchanger

 

i have removed mine. it is ugly looking and isnt worth the hassle they can get plugged up i hear easily and this causes more problems. i ran mine through my radiator and then to a trans cooler. I also have a chevy i like the fan set up that is shown on here and is whaat i would have done had i had the money.

 

Make sure you get one with the big 1/2" lines.

 

James, thanks for that link.

I've got an account with QuickServe and as others have suggested, Cummins isn't showing them.

I did find that the link to Reliable Parts that BroncoBilly posted, had only two remaining.


Oops. . .. . . now they only have one remaining.


Folks, I DO appreciate the offers of suggestion and direction.




. . . . . I don't care what those loose looking women said, y'all are alright.