I know you guys that have Hayden tranny coolers usually mount in front of the condenser right behind the 'hamburger' in the front grill, but will a B&M fit there too? I think the B&M has more thickness to it than a Hayden 'fin and tube' type cooler, please help. I am getting it today and installing this weekend if the weather is good. Anyone in Dallas/Fort Worth wanna help for a 12-pack???

 

I have the biggest B&M stack plate cooler they made (when I got it) 11"x8"x1.5" and it easily fits on the front of the radiator on the driver's side. They now make an 11"x11" version that i have no doubt would also fit up there....
You will want to get the installation kit for the cooler, if you can't find the B&M kit get the Hayden kit(unless you can find the special zip ties somewhere else), The Straight thru zip ties are mandatory for this install. Unfortunatly non of the fittings from the Hayden kit will fit on the B&M cooler so you really want the B&M kit (good luck finding it) otherwise you will be paying $20 for the special zips and buying all the brass fittings at the hardware store for another $10.

 

...I bought it from Jegs, website says it comes with installation kit, is that going to be sufficient or do I need something additional?

 

I think that should be fine....I bought mine locally and it came without the kit...and of course noone had the B&M kit locally
Good luck with your install, if ya need any help let me know.

-Daniel

 

...Thanks man, I am trying it this weekend, and I plan to purchase additional tranny line and some more Mobil 1 syn tranny fluid as has been recommended by others, I just didn't want to get out there with my car on jackstands and the condenser detached and find out the B&M didn't fit in the same place! I was finding only write-ups on Hayden coolers so I was just trying to cover my bases. I am sure you will see me on here on Saturday if I start having trouble...

 

You don't have to detach the condenser... just remove the 2 top mounts on the radiator and push the radiator towards the engine...this will give ya plenty of room to get the Straight zips thru the condenser fins and tighten them. You can remove the driver's side splash guard and slide the cooler right up the front of the condenser (you will need two people for this).

 

I have mine in the lower right hand corner of the radiator driver side. The B&M is built strong too...holds up great.

 

...Have you been able to detect a noticable difference in the way your tranny performs after the cooler was installed? For me, the reason I am doing it is that my auto shifts really rough during the summer and spring months when North Texas ranges from the 80's up to the 100's... But in the winter when its 50 and below most of the time it shifts much easier. I can only deduce that the hotter air is causing more heat buildup in the lube system of the transmission. Have you noticed a difference or did you do it purely for preventative measures?

 

http://www.greghome.com/Greg's%20Garage/1999%20Nissan%20Maxima%20SE/Xmission%20Cooler.htm

This is a great how-to if you need any additional info. Different cooler but the same idea.

 

I mounted my B&M with the in/out mounted towards the ground and not up. Is this an issue? It made no mention of it in the instructions.

 

My car seems to shift the same year round...I really dont know if it would have shifted rough in the summer b/c I installed it in the winter when I first got the car. Hopefully it will work out for you.

Matt

 

Fellas - what about their engine oil cooler? Do you think it's worth it?

 

FI guys seem to swear by it...but not to sure of how many n/a guys are using it. I figure if you got the money it cant hurt anything to have it.

 

My theory on this is, Because the B&M is stacked plate, the tranny will probably not have enough flow thru the cooling lines to push the fluid up past the 2nd or 3rd row if it is mounted with the IN/OUT facing down...I have my IN on the top facing the driverside fender.

To comment on the effectiveness of this setup, I would have to say that since I have put it on my new tranny hasn't started to progressively slip more and more as the miles add up, it is doing it's job. My last 2 trannies didn't have the cooler and started slipping more and more around 5k miles on them...Have 10k so far on this tranny and only slips within "factory specifications" as the Nissan service guy tells me. Shoulda waited the 3.5 months for the 5sp AE's to get to CA.