Trans temp 120 degrees.

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I recently installed a transcooler in my 03 frontier but now I think it is being over cooled. It shifts very smooth. It takes about 20 min of driving to get it above 100 degrees in freezing weather. I wrapped the cooler in card board.

The temp sensor is on the out line of the transmission before it hits the radiator. It is a B&m Transmission cooler.

Do I need to disconnect the cooler for the winter?
 
Originally Posted By: Chadwilliam1
I recently installed a transcooler in my 03 frontier but now I think it is being over cooled. It shifts very smooth. It takes about 20 min of driving to get it above 100 degrees in freezing weather. I wrapped the cooler in card board.

The temp sensor is on the out line of the transmission before it hits the radiator. It is a B&m Transmission cooler.

Do I need to disconnect the cooler for the winter?


I assume we're talking F and not C? If F, then yeah, it's being over-cooled for sure. My trans cooler has a thermal pressure switch so it only flows above a certain temp (84C I think?) Any chance you can add something like that inline?
 
I put cardboard in front of my trans cooler in the winter too. Mostly to smooth out the shifts. In very cold weather it can shift hard. I don't see a need to disconnect it. I don't believe cool temps hurt anything, the fluid breaks down when the temp gets hot.
 
i had a big transcooler on a 2.5 91 grand am, you could always hold the dipstick in your hand when hot. ran over 180k with no problems whatsoever. I personally don't think you can over cool an automatic transmission. If the engine is up to proper temp no moisture will stay in the transmission.
 
170F is ideal
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Originally Posted By: Bluestream
170F is ideal
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170F? Is that vehicle specific? F-150 rund 150's pretty consistent in about 40F ambient temp.
 
Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
170F is ideal
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170F? Is that vehicle specific? F-150 rund 150's pretty consistent in about 40F ambient temp.


Its a generalization for year round use
 
Very platform specific, in my trans the thermostat is required to prevent over cooling.

Easily purchased and installed on the OP's car.
 
Originally Posted By: Chadwilliam1
how long should it take to get up to operating temperature?


It depends on ambient temps, and how the car is driven during the warm up period, and a few other factors. Winter probably about 20 minutes of normal driving, in the summer maybe half that time, it depends.
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I'd say running betweem 170-180*F would be just about perfect operating temp for an AT.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Blocking the additional cooler is smart in winter.
Not perfect, but very good.
http://performanceunlimited.com/documents/tempguide.html
Check this chart out. Maybe not Gospel accurate, but very reasonable. Note that you do want a minimum temp for engines and trannys.


Absolutely, especially in the frozen north!


Link to trans thermostat please.

I think it is being over cooled. If I have to I will disconnect it for the winter.
 
I haven't put a temp gauge on it yet, but I've got a big 11x11 cooler on my tranny, radiator cooler is bypassed. I don't have a thermostat in the line, and it definitely runs pretty cold (feeling the pan after a good drive when it's in the single digits outside makes me think it's running about 100 - 110* F).

However, the computer is happy as long as it gets over 50* (enables OD and TC lockup at that point), and once the fluid gets a little bit warm (probably 70* or so), the tranny shifts fine, and doesn't shift noticeably different as it gets warmer.

The minimum temp for proper operation seems to vary based on the tranny. I've never had anything pointing to moisture contamination in the tranny when changing out fluid, so I don't think condensation is much of an issue.
 
our minivan might reach 140F in the winter with stock cooler, maybe, but it takes an hour+ of driving to get there. during the summer it reaches 125 reasonably quickly then creeps to about 150-160 and stays there in about an hour.
 
Originally Posted By: Chadwilliam1
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Blocking the additional cooler is smart in winter.
Not perfect, but very good.
http://performanceunlimited.com/documents/tempguide.html
Check this chart out. Maybe not Gospel accurate, but very reasonable. Note that you do want a minimum temp for engines and trannys.


Absolutely, especially in the frozen north!


Link to trans thermostat please.

I think it is being over cooled. If I have to I will disconnect it for the winter.


What link? What thermostat?
 
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about 120F. Until I got my ATF temperature gauge installed last year, I had no clue what my transmission temperatures were for any given condition. Most people don't. Where I live, it is common for winter ambient temperatures to be -20C/-4F, and can reach -40 at times. There are many cities throughout Canada and northern Europe that experience similar cold temperature extremes. And plenty of vehicles driven in those cities (and they have been driven in those conditions for just as long as cars have been driven anywhere else).

With the addition of the gauge, in early winter/late fall, and ambient temperatures only slightly below freezing, I have done many trips where the temp never goes above 100F. There is currently no auxilliary cooler on my vehicle.

Yesterday, after parking outside only a few hours in -18C/0F, the gauge started off at only 11F. Granted, I sat inside waiting about 5 to 10 minutes waiting for my wife while idling before driving, and it slowly crept up to 60F, before we drove off.

My point is, I have never heard of a transmission failure due to the cold in any of the northern cities. I do not think you can realistically overcool an automatic transmission, at least from a longevity perspective, unless you get down to temperatures for an extended period where the fluid is far too viscous to flow properly. Gaining heat very quickly from the radiator, I don't think that's an issue.

If real winter is a concern for you, then either install a tranny cooler with a built-in cold bypass, or add a cold bypass valve to one without it. From the get go, I've found the former to be the cheaper option as the bypass valves separately add a lot to the overall cooler price. Santa was good to me, and brought me a B&M (one of the Dana made brands of coolers) for Christmas. I just haven't been in a rush to install it over winter (not needed this time of year, and too cold in my unheated garage to work comfortably, unless it's work I absolutely need to do).
 
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