Re: Trans Cooler/Cruise Control

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

The aliens commander decided Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided> would make a
perfect specimen for dissection, and he yelled...

>Is this really the way to do it, John?
>
>I was thinking it would be better to hit the AUX cooler (in front of the
>radiator) first to cool it down as much as possible (assuming a huge aux
>cooler) and then run it through the in-radiator cooler to add a little
>heat back in for those cold mornings.. 

No... according to the instructions that came with my B&M cooler, you
definitely want to maximize the cooling effect by having the cooler *after*
the radiator connection.  While it's true the transmission fluid needs to
be heated to some minimum temperature to adequately vaporize any water
which might have condensed, the primary goal of the cooler is to get the
fluid cooled!  This might not apply to other cheapie transmission coolers,
but the B&M cooler does contain a special flow design that tends to lessen
the cooling effect on colder (thicker) fluid, and maximizes the cooling
effect on hotter (thinner) fluid.  It's not a true bypass valve, but merely
flow channeling depending on viscosity.

>Would it be possible to heat the fluid first (in rad) then cool it down
>too much AFTER the factory cooler, and negate any heat added?

I suppose that might be a valid concern in extreme cold climates, but then
you probably don't need an auxiliary cooler if that's the concern.  In mild
to hot climates when you put heavy loads on the transmission, it seems
logical to me that the bigger concern should be doing everything you can to
*cool* the fluid, not heat it up.  But in either case if you install a true
thermostatically controlled transmission cooler bypass valve, then there's
no problem.

Regards,

John L.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
jlandry AT halcyon DOT com      | 
Conservative Libertarian        |  "The road to  tyranny, we must never
Life Member of the NRA          |   forget, begins with the destruction
WA Arms Collectors              |   of the truth."
Commercial Helicopter - Inst.   |                     William J. Clinton
http://www.halcyon.com/jlandry/ |    10-15-95, speech at the Univ. of CT