Rescuer

a buddy of mine has a 95 Impala SS, and directly behind his radiator he has an external oil filter. basically, he has some kinda adapter with two hoses attached to the oil filter and it mounts behind his radiator. one hose is the "in" flow and one is the "out" flow.

the idea i have is in regards to the external Tranny Cooler install. there are two hoses, one with the flow into the cooler, and one flowing out.

*correct me if i'm wrong*
now, i guess a main reason our trannies fail is because the lines/tranny get's clogged with little metal deposits stemming from the overheating problem and the bearings or gears getting worn out which makes the little metal things.

now, what IF we put a filter on one of the hoses with the tranny fluid running through it? like the hose with the hot fluid before it get's to the cooler? would this help with collecting the metal deposits that get built up in our tranny which eventually leads to failure?

all just a thought in my head

lrutt

It does sound interesting. Would be easy to do. Just have to come up with the correct spec filter etc.

Rescuer

well, IF an oil filter would work the same even if it's tranny fluid running through it, then that would be very easy to do because we could use whatever size filter we want.

then, i could ask my buddy where he got the adapter that the oil filter screws into and we could use that.

then the HOT hose coming off the tranny would then go in the "in" part of the adapter where the filter is, and then continue to the "out" flow which would then to into the external tranny cooler.

to me it sounds like it would work

scalbert

Just BTW, there is a transmission fluid filter in the transaxle. Are you wanting to add an secondary unit??

lrutt

the one in the transaxle is not replaceable, this would be pretty good.

scalbert

It is replaceable and on top of the transaxle. It just isn't as easy as many in-line units.

randomwalk101

There *IS* a tranny filter in the TL/CL already (by looking at the Helm's manual).

EricL

You could have clutch pack material and/or ferrous material running though the transmission.

One of the problems that Acura is not being to candid about is the magnetic particles that get stuck in the solenoids. There is already a small magnet that is supposed to pick up some of bearing's metal. However, the solenoids, used for shift control, generate a pretty nice magnetic field and at least one of them is on at any time. The presumption is that you can filter out crud before it gets into the solenoids.

And, there is that clutch pack disintegration issue. The small junk is supposed to get stuck in various passages. Once again, you would have to insure that there was a filter between the source of the particles and the location where they get stuck. I don't know how much you are going to gain by this. It probably couldn't hurt to add something inline with the B&M if it as high flow, but you might just get "penalized" by Acura for creative thinking.

I've mentioned this before: my local dealers will install the Comptech “branded” cooler kit (just a B&M with metal mounting brackets, hoses, and instructions [1 page??]) and hey will back up the warranty with Acura. They REFUSED to do a "stand-alone" install When I talked to Acura Care, they went "nuts" when I mentioned the addition of a cooler and were already “itching” to void my warranty as their hands typed furiously while asking, "Is it already on the car ... you know that your warranty does not allow this ... blah, blah, blah..."

IMO, by the time you start to see a lot of junk floating through the transmission, it's time to call the tranny meat wagon.

My opinion only… YMMV

Rescuer

well the reason i thought of this is because i am adding a tranny cooler along the lines of "preventive maintenance" and adding on a filter to help out even more would still be along that same line. so i thought i'd post about the idea and see what kinda responses i could get

Rescuer

link to comptech tranny cooler
i got this link from the shop i support. $140+ is WAY too much for the same tranny cooler. comptech really jacks up their prices on things to a level of insanity.

EricL

Do yourself a favor and call one or two of the dealers you might visit for any warranty work. See if they will back you up with the cooler on the car.

I tried arguing about putting the same exact parts in my car at two local dealers (the other wouldn't even go for the Comptech setup) and both REFUSED to honor or help with a tranny warranty if they didn't install the Comptech kit.

Perhaps you will have better luck -- but, call the dealer you want to work with and talk to the service manager.

You might reconsider the $50-$90 savings if your tranny takes a dump (And, sure you can remove the cooler and the lines, but how much will you pay to have a friend drag tools to your now stuck car to remove the cooler).

YMMV

scalbert

That is one nice thing about being in 4X4 territory, every one knows and believes a cooler transmission is better.

Yee haw...

EricL

Well, I don't what the brain lock is ... but if it says "Comptech" on the package, they'll put it on. Explain all day until your blue in the face that the parts are the same one in their kit and you just get a "No, sorry..."



I guess the brackets, "stickers", and 1- to 2- page instruction makes all the difference...