juniel

Fellow TL'rs,
I have installed a B&M tranny cooler EXCEPT the 2 hoses to finally connect to the ATF lines.I am wondering if I should proceed.
My questions are :
1.How many in this forum have installed it ? ;
2. Did you really notice any improvement in between shifts?
3. Who had transmission breakdowns despite/after installing it?
Thank you for a kind response.
juniel

TopGum

1. I have
2. yes
3. It is probably too early to tell.

SilverBulletCLS

B&M 70255 Tranny SuperCooler (Detailed write-up, DIY!)http://home.satx.rr.com/silverbullet/tranny.htm

I have also, and its noticeable in traffic or long drives that it helps. I have 10k of miles, still no problems.

rysky007

how much is the tranny cooler and how hard is it to install?

1999TL

Nice site dude.

power3dfx

yeah its a good resource, thanks for taking the time to help out others russell!

daimler560

I installed it, and noticed a 20 degree drop in temp. (had an inline oil temp probe before/after)
It sure shifts crisper in all situations! Not sure about durability, but a Tech at the Acura dealership wanted to see my bracket I made (didn't use the zip tie things for fear of damaging the components that it'll be attached to).

roadman

Just curous, which line did you put the temp guage on, outbound or return, and what was your reading. I would guess that the return line would read exactly the same as the coolant temp

SilverBulletCLS

Not that hard really.

SilverBulletCLS

Anytime!

juniel

Daimler 560......greetings...
Your ATF cooler........installed on your TL or TLS?
I have a 2000TL and want to be sure I am comparing notes on the same car.
Thank you once again.
juniel

snapple

any problems with your tranny yet

daimler560

2003 TL-S navi. Put the cooler on the day after I bought it.

I put the temp gauge on the original 5 inch hose at the back of the transmission, drove it 15 miles, then installed the temp gauge on the return line after.

the gauge was never permanant, I had it attached then duct taped to the winshield on the test runs.

For reference, the day was 88-90 degree heat in the bay area during the testing, and pre-cooler was 180-190, post was 155-165.

also, with cooler, it requires another quart of transmission fluid.
I have almost 4 k on it now, runs great as it always has.

good luck all!

randomwalk101

Daimler560,
can you take a few pics of the bracket you mod for the cooler?

roadman

Daimler560,

The pre-cooler temp reading you got of 180-190 sounds right on target. Did you install a B & M unit with the built in thermostat ? That temp is well within the fluids operating temp range and will not cause any type of heat related failure.

The biggest reason your tranny may seem like it is shifting better is because of the extra fluid in the system, the dirt is now more spread out. Did you ever consider an in-line magnetic tranny filter ?

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

1) I haven't
2) N/A
3) I don't think it will really prevent a tranny failure. The problem is not overheating in the tranny, it's a bearing inside the transmission that could break apart or premature wear of a third-gear clutch part that could scatter metal bits inside the transmission case. Installing the cooler isn't a bad thing obviously, especially considering the relatively low price... but it won't necessarily prevent a tranny failure.....

daimler560

I thought the drain plug has a magnetic type filter. (My Accord did, so I'll assume that the Acura has it too...)
It should be said too that my transmission is not covered under the extended warrenty from Acura.
I don't think it will prevent a bad transmission from failing either, but when you lower the temp by 15-20 degrees, you also double the life of the transmission fluid. And no, my B&M didn't have an inline/built in temp probe. I had a oil temp probe with gauge around so I had it hooked up just to see the difference--sorry about the typo's in the last post, but the temp gauge was hooked up then taped to the windshield (outside) for the test drives.

ZodiakTL

installed it on my car at PAA. didnt really notice a difference in driving conditions, though i'm sure the temp did drop. my tranny failed about 10k later, i dont think it'll make a diff. due to the nature of the failure.

roadman

Hi Daimler560,

The drain plug is magnetic, but the more debris that it collects the less effective it becomes.

The tranny cooler is a requirement if you put the tranny through high load conditions such as towing. I was very surprised to read that lowering the fluid 15-20 degrees doubles the life of the fluid. Where did you locate that info ?

In SilverbullerCLS's post he refers to a B & M website that talks about a built in temp guage that keeps the fluid at a constant temp. I was wondering if your model had the same feature.

SilverBulletCLS

I don't recall reading that myself. Our cars have a device that uses the coolant to regulate our tranny fluid temp.

daimler560

I worked over in Germany for a summer at DaimlerChrysler (Mercedes division) and it was just one of the facts they threw around. I think I remarked to one of the engineers there on the size of the oil coolers (both engine and transmission) and he mentioned that the tranny oil was far more sensitive to temp then engine oil. Also, it's a fairly common fact (at least I thought so)--do a search on Google and it'll pop up.

Examples:
http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page02.html
http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/tran...on_coolers.htm

roadman

Attached is wording from your attachment:
(The reason I choose the B&M is because it has a valve that stays closed when cold. It keeps the fluid from being too cold which can hurt the tranny, then once it warms up it opens). Here is a link for a more detail explanation of it. Click here

snapple

hey Daimler560 I live in he bay area also and I was wondering if you can install the tranny cooler for me. Let me know if you are willing to. I'm also willing to pay. PM me if you are interested.

roadman

Daimler560,

I agree that at high temps the fluid does break down, but as you can see from the charts displayed in these web sites that occurs at +300degrees. Your Pre-cooler temp readings were in the 180 degree range before you installed a cooler. Not that putting a cooler in is a bad idea, but I think that it is minimal insurance. For the $100 of so that it costs for the part plus the labor to install one may be better served to simply change their fluid regularly. The manual does not call for a fluid change for 100k, for the price of a cooler you could buy at least 20 litres of new fluid. Driving fast does mean that your fluid is overheating, towing is a notorious tranny killer and would require a cooler.

daimler560

300 degrees is the extreme temperature where your transmission will fail fairly soon. Since most cars do not have a temp gauge for the transmission oil, you really don't know how hot it gets. If you noticed, from 185 to 220 degrees, the oil life goes from 100k to 50k. So if you left your oil in for that 100k miles, half of the miles would be driving on oil that's no longer working as it should.
The cooler I bought was 35 bucks, and the hoses added an additional 25 bucks. And it took me about three hours to install, most of the time spent on making the bracket that works. Changing the oil more often is fine, but it's also more of a hassel if you do it a lot, and in the end with labor it'll cost at least the same, if not more.

roadman

I completely agree I was using your pre-cooler temp and outside temp as a reference. Changing the tranny fluid is a piece of cake and I do it every time I change the oil. It still did not prevent the tranny's from going but that was not a heat or bad fluid related problem. You would think that as critical as the tranny fluid is to the life of the unit that cars would have tranny temp or even fluid level guages

snapple

Hey Daimler560 can you install the whle tranny cooler system in my TL-S. I'd be willing to pay you. Let me know.

juniel

Thanks to you all ...I now have a sound basis of installing it.
juniel