Sorry for posting this guys, I've been searching for 40 mins.

I know that the answer is on here somewhere, but I haven't been able to locate it.

I want to bypass the "stock transmission cooler" in the radiator when I install my B&M cooler today. I am wondering how you plug-off the in/out ports to the radiator when bypassing straight to the cooler? Should I just tape over them, or is there a more civilized way to do it?

I know where to connect the lines to the transmission, and where to install the cooler, etc. I just don't want to have any problems with crap getting into the "stock transmission cooler" lines in the rad.

Thanks.

 

If you are concerned about anything getting in the stock cooler, you could simply get some rubber caps at the parts store. They have them in several sizes for vacuum lines and other such applications. But as for the stock cooler tubes, I suggest you ignore them. They won't be doing anything from this point on, after the small amount of trans fluid leaks out. Totally separate from the engine coolant portion of the radiator.

 

Excellent.

Thanks.

 

http://www.greghome.com/Greg's%20Gar...n%20Cooler.htm

It's for a 4th gen, but its all essentially the same.

If you want more advice, search whatever you've been searching for, but use Jime as your poster.

 

Thanks,

I've read that, he runs it in-line.
I was just curious about complications when running the cooler alone.

I think I'll just plug the rad ports, and call it a day.....

P.S. Jime is where I got the idea to run the cooler alone, just forgot the username....

 

How could you ever forget his user name, being that you're auto?!?!

 

Knew him by the TurboXS pic......

 

Actually, you aren't supposed to block off the radiator cooler but use it in conjuction with the B&M cooler.

http://www.bulkpart.com/transmission-cooler.html

Most cooler manufactures and automobile manufactures information we have read, recommends installing the coolers In-Series with the factory radiator cooler for maxium cooling efficiency.
So unless the manufactures who have spent 1000's of hours testing different installations are wrong, the suggested cooler installation is in-series......
Transmission > Radiator cooler > Auxillary cooler > then Back to the transmission.
If you must bypass the radiator because the cooler tube is leaking or for other reasons, be sure to increase the size cooler you install by 1 to 2 sizes.

 

I threw in a manual radiator a month or two ago, and have been running a standalone trans cooler. Hayden 401 I believe.

I don't have any actual data (trans fluid temps) to back this up, but I've seen absolutely no detrimental effects because of it.

 

From what I've read in older posts, the reason for this recommendation is so that the transmission temperature is "regulated" with the engine temperature. My car is only driven in the summer, when the radiator is hot due to the temperatures, which keep the transmission temperatures pretty high.

I went with the consensus that with the cooler alone, the only temperature transfer to the fluid would be the cooling from the cooler. The model that I purchased also has a thermal bypass valve that will not run the fluid through the cooler until it hits a certain temperature. This way, an under-cooled fluid should not be a problem.

I'll be getting a trans temperature gauge pretty soon (Before I drive the car this summer), so that will give some answers.

 

Running the stock cooler in series is ok for the normal guy who just wants a bit more cooling for his auto. However if you are a serious racer or running boost eliminate the stock cooler. My temps are always below 175 unless I have to sit a long time at the tree when it occasionally goes over 200. I also have a manual fan on the cooler for serious work but its seldom needed.

 

So here's a few pics of the install.

I have one thing to note, as it may help some future members with their install.
When I removed the stock lines to the radiator, I thought that I would try remove the bolt that the lines connect to. This was a bad idea. A small amount of coolant began to leak out of the threads, which tells me that even though the transmission fluid is separate from the coolant, this bolt serves TWO purposes. The bolt allows transmission fluid to travel through the middle of it, while the threads seal the radiator so that fluid cannot escape.

You can see this in the first picture below. The Red Arrow points to where the hose once connected to the radiator. The Blue Arrow points to where the coolant began to leak out once I began to remove the bolt. It was obvious since the transmission fluid was Red and the coolant was Green.




One other thing to note is that when I attempted to pull the stock transmission line from this bolt, the original connector (The middle part of the bolt that connected to the transmission line) broke off. I was glad that it broke off in my hand, as opposed to while I was driving. You can see that the middle of the bolt is practically flush in the above picture, while it should have a part protruding to connect the lines to.

When I got to the other side, I decided to simply cut the line instead of breaking this bolt as well.




Now, onto a few install pics/tips.

You will have to remove the driver side skid plate. There are a few plastic rivet-type things that you pop off with a flat head screw driver, then pull out. There may also be a 10mm bolt or two.




Once you position the cooler in front of the AC Condenser, locate the transmission fluid out/return lines. The picture below shows the "Out" line in Red and the "Return" line in Blue. You will recognize the Out line, as it has the "Banjo-bolt" as I have heard it called before.




Remove the stock lines and attach the supplied lines. The stock lines look lke this:




Continued Due to the Number of Image Restrictions.........

 

Expect a small amount of fluid to flow out from the detached lines and radiator. Below is a picture of the small amount that came out during my install.



Don't worry if you have a lot of pieces left over, I barely used any of it - as you can see through the clear bag below:




That's about it for the install:
1) Mount Cooler in front of the AC condenser or Radiator if not equipped.
2) Run lines to the transmission and cut to length.
3) Remove stock Lines and install supplied lines.

Here's a more detailed install:
http://www.greghome.com/Greg's%20Gar...n%20Cooler.htm

Note: The instructions in the link are for running it in-line, which is very similar.
The only difference is that instead of tapping the return line from the radiator and running it to the cooler, the stand-alone method requires that you tap the fluid lines directly from the transmission.

Final Install Pic from through the grill:




I just noticed that I haven't included a picture of the cooler itself.
It is on the right-hand side of the below image:

 

I ran mine in series.

Scroll down to post #34 for pics of my install
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=407838