transmission cooling at low speeds

[ShuttlePilot]

Yup, I checked my paperwork I have the Large like pjpvi. And yes they do wrap over a little. If you go this rout carefully pre bend the tips of the louvers for a close fit. I could have done a better bend job on mine. Here is a few photos for reference if someone was thinking of doing it. I took these with my phone camera so they are not very clear.



When I did mine I cut out as much of the hood under the louver as I could but left all of the "bracing". And only cut where there is a louver opening. It made an odd shape of cut out under the hood as you can see in the photos but the outside looks normal.

As far as cooling. I noticed a huge difference at all speeds and conditions but, I can only vouch for my vans configuration. Other van configurations my have varying amounts of benefit.

-Eric

[daveb]

Louvers seemed to make a big difference on trans temp for me. All I can figure is it allows more less-restricted air flow. When I added the louvers, the engine was stock and no tunes except the FICM Atlas 40. My alarm has always been set to 220 on the transmission gauge and every now and then I'd reach that limit, usually crawling slowly on a trail in warmer weather. Since the louvers were added the temps rarely reach 220.

After the engine was bullet proofed I ran a 50 tow SCT tune. Transmission temps seemed to stay the same but the engine fan was set in an aggressive mode...anytime the AC was on so was the fan. Just that alone seemed keep the T-temps down and more steady but was annoying to listen to. The last mods I did was the water pump, a new aluminum radiator and a DP tuner. Vast difference between the SCT tune and the final tune Jody sent me so it's hard to pin down what is doing what. One thing the second shop found was the fan clutch was toast. Jody programmed the fan to kick on somewhere between the typical pickup type tune and an aggressive set point like the SCT had. Now with a specific DP tune geared to my engine, I'm seeing slightly lower than average temps in EOT & ECT's. The transmission has stayed lower than the stock running temps ever did and have yet to trip the 220 alarm. If I can squeeze in a remote T-cooler I might do that down the road. The shop wanted to cut holes in my Aluminess bumper but I still want to do some more testing this summer. Right now the T-temps seem to be between 180 and 200 on flat ground and run around 210 on a reasonable uphill grade. BTW, like Herb mentioned, I never knew the fan clutch was not fully engaging properly. It's been loud from day one. Now the noise is less noticeable when it kicks on. The engine bay gets so hot I thought it might have contributed to the engine harness becoming brittle and failing. That was a 1200 dollar job the real reason I added the louvers. I just wanted to provide more flow to keep the bay temps down especially since I'm running a modified tune. High heat stresses several components out that are under the hood. I guess time will tell if the louvers make a difference on stuff under there, but it sure seemed to help the transmission temps.

Dave

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by daveb

Louvers seemed to make a big difference on trans temp for me. All I can figure is it allows more less-restricted air flow.

As I understand it the air that enters through the transmission cooler, radiator, and intercooler exits beneath the engine. Thus, the idea of the air also passing by a big tranny pan like the Mag-Hytec and getting some radiational cooling. That may or not be the case and most evidence suggests that the all the bigger pan does is act as a bigger sump. Temps will still get as hot. Another reason I didn't do the hood scoop mod under the aluminess bumper but with the louvers maybe it helps. I worried about creating backpressure.

Originally Posted by daveb

High heat stresses several components out that are under the hood. I guess time will tell if the louvers make a difference on stuff under there, but it sure seemed to help the transmission temps.
Dave

And that's probably the biggest benefit. Heat kills the FICM, alternator, and the wiring harness. Either way the Louvers can't hurt and they look cool

What has made the biggest difference in my transmission temps has by far been the bigger tranny cooler. I've done two trips now to Moab/Fruita and then to SW Utah with some offroad. The highest I've gotten has been ~190F and generally just cruising along it doesn't even get hot enough to open up the thermostat on the 5R110. 170F is when the thermostat opens and coolant is flowing through the cooler. That's measured using the PCM sensor via scanguage. I have an analog gage in the pan and that's typically 10F cooler.

[ShuttlePilot]

Creative engineering juices are flowing. Great discussion. A while back I posted in a similar thread a link to a video that discusses solutions to the challenges of heat in a vehicle. It doesn't really mater what the vehicle is, even airplanes.

Just encase you wanted to dive deeper.

Do I need a new radiator or is this an easy fix? - Page 3 - Sportsmobile Forum

-Eric

[JoeH]

Indeed. Tech discussions and mods

For reference when slow off-roading I would easily see 225-230F and the max I hit was going over Imogene at 275F.

No fan issues or anything other than a 10,000lb van, slow speed, maybe waited too long to go to 4lo, and the fact that the aluminess front bumper blocks the lower third or more of the coolers.

[MadScience]

Originally Posted by JoeH

I'm not convinced the louvers do anything while moving but most certainly help dissipate heat once stopped.

That mirrors my anec-data from pulling the hood off.

I did the Tru-Cool 40K earlier this year on my 6.0 and that was the game-changer. It appears the days of +200F ECT are over.

Thanks for sharing that. Honestly when my old one was working,and not getting clogged by my already failing transmission, it made a huge difference.

I've been using the Tru-Cool 40K (which needs to be replaced with a virgin cooler, along with the transmission that had metal shavings in it since I got the van 20k miles ago), and ended up getting another based on what little data I could find. This obviously flies in the face of a lot of the 6.0 cooler recommendations.

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by MadScience

That mirrors my anec-data from pulling the hood off.



Thanks for sharing that. Honestly when my old one was working,and not getting clogged by my already failing transmission, it made a huge difference.

I've been using the Tru-Cool 40K (which needs to be replaced with a virgin cooler, along with the transmission that had metal shavings in it since I got the van 20k miles ago), and ended up getting another based on what little data I could find. This obviously flies in the face of a lot of the 6.0 cooler recommendations.

On thing to consider with trying to use a cooler from the 6.0 is the lines are 3/8" and what you have is most likely 1/4"?

[MadScience]

Originally Posted by JoeH

On thing to consider with trying to use a cooler from the 6.0 is the lines are 3/8" and what you have is most likely 1/4"?

I'm sticking with the tru-cool 40k. The new one showed up today. I only ever encountered 3/8" lines, both for the stock cooler and for the tru-cool. Though the new cooler seems to have come with a length of 23/64" ID hose. Though honestly I'd worry more about temperature ratings than that difference in size.

[JoeH]

Originally Posted by MadScience

I'm sticking with the tru-cool 40k. The new one showed up today. I only ever encountered 3/8" lines, both for the stock cooler and for the tru-cool. Though the new cooler seems to have come with a length of 23/64" ID hose. Though honestly I'd worry more about temperature ratings than that difference in size.

Nah, my bad. I meant that the 6.0 coolers whether it's from the F series or E series have 1/2" fittings. I was worried that the 3/8" fitting at entry and exit would result in a restriction in flow going back into the bigger 1/2" return line to the transmission. Turned out to be a non-issue.