Trans inter-cooler mounted in bed... Enough air flow? Yes.

[396C-10]

I do not want my transmission cooling unit mounter in the front of the radiator, so I looked at options and read opinions about mounting optional locations, particularly in the bed. Many people have said there is not enough air flow to mount this thing in the bed of the truck so I did it anyway. Here are my results.

I mounted a DERALE 15845 19 Row Hyper Dual-Cool Remote Cooler in the passenger side front of my bed, with a 180 degree temp switch to kick it on automatically at that set temp. I put about 200 miles on the set up and the fans have never once kicked on. Therefor, there is in fact plenty of air flow through the unit to cool my transmission without the fans even booting up.

Here are photos of my inter-cooler install in the bed of the truck. No problems and it runs cool.....


.

[special-K]

With electric fans you have air flow anywhere.

[396C-10]

Originally Posted by special-K

With electric fans you have air flow anywhere.

The fans have never once kicked on was my point..... LOL! "I put about 200 miles on the set up and the fans have never once kicked on. Therefor, there is in fact plenty of air flow through the unit to cool my transmission without the fans even booting up."

[special-K]

Shoot, I overlooked that part. I guess it would be good to know what the ambient temperatures you've run in so far. We don't know what part of the country you are in. What was the trans temp before compared to now? Is this the only trans cooler or is it auxiliary? If it's the only one numbers won't matter. You know it's cooling properly. Reason I ask if it's auxiliary is because a trans can run plenty cool without one and the ambient temp makes a difference. I guess no tonneau cover for you . Looks like a cool (no pun intended) '67

* I'm not being skeptical, just asking for more information to benefit others. I've seen radiators and trans coolers put all over the place, so not doubting it can work.

[B. W.]

He's in kemmerer, everbody knows where that is! (I just googled it, it's in Wyoming - and I thought it was made-up name...stupid me!)

[HO455]

Do you have a temp guage on the inlet to the cooler? That would provide peace of mind for me. The another advantage of putting the cooler in the box is now you don't have to help people move. "Sorry my truck has the cooler in back I won't be able to help you move".

[396C-10]

Originally Posted by special-K

Shoot, I overlooked that part. I guess it would be good to know what the ambient temperatures you've run in so far. We don't know what part of the country you are in. What was the trans temp before compared to now? Is this the only trans cooler or is it auxiliary? If it's the only one numbers won't matter. You know it's cooling properly. Reason I ask if it's auxiliary is because a trans can run plenty cool without one and the ambient temp makes a difference. I guess no tonneau cover for you . Looks like a cool (no pun intended) '67

* I'm not being skeptical, just asking for more information to benefit others. I've seen radiators and trans coolers put all over the place, so not doubting it can work.

I am in Jackson Mississippi, and the ambient temp was about 75 degrees. Yes, you are correct about the ambient temps. It gets HOT here in the summer months, so I will see what happens. I do not have a temp gauge on the unit, but soon I will install one. The fans are set to kick in at 180 deg. This is in deed the only cooling unit, not an auxiliary.

I really do want a tonneau cover as well and that will certainly change the dynamics if I did get one. LOL! I will try anything!

[396C-10]

Originally Posted by B. W.

He's in kemmerer, everbody knows where that is! (I just googled it, it's in Wyoming - and I thought it was made-up name...stupid me!)

Jackson Mississippi. I moved from Wyoming last year.

[396C-10]

Originally Posted by HO455

Do you have a temp guage on the inlet to the cooler? That would provide peace of mind for me. The another advantage of putting the cooler in the box is now you don't have to help people move. "Sorry my truck has the cooler in back I won't be able to help you move".

I do not have a gauge on the unit, but I will add one very soon. Not a bad idea at all. I just put this together the other day and used what I had on hand. There are some draw backs to mounting it in the bed of course, like drilling 7/8" holes in my bed and limits on space, but I don't really use the truck as a moving van. It is just a yard ornament. LOL.

[396C-10]

Though there are draw backs to mounting the trans cooler unit here, there certainly some benefits. Accessibility is huge. It keeps the lines off the headers, nothing blocking or attached to the radiator, visibility of temp, leaks and so far, good air flow to name a few.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by 396C-10

I do not want my transmission cooling unit mounter in the front of the radiator.

Why? GM has done it that way for about a half century, so it must work. Just curious, that's all. Looks like a real nice job that you did on the install. Without a gauge, how do you know it is running cooler?- i.e. if you didn't have fans before and they don't kick on now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's running cooler. Could mean the fans aren't turning on. Could also mean the trans temp was and still is below 180. Please don't get me wrong, not knocking it all, like I said, real nice clean install and I am betting it does run cooler - I'm just wanting to get my arms around how to know it's actually helping and how much it's improved/lowered the trans temp. Personally though, one concern I'd have is that I kinda like the idea of anything with lines being out of the view of the general grocery store parking lot public. One snot nosed kid with a sharp object and you'll have a sliced line. Call me a conspiracy theorist (I DO like the x-files...) but I "TrustNo1" when it comes to stuff like that. Yes, they could do the same damage under the truck on a stock setup, but something about the effort you've put into it and how nice it looks kinda makes me worry it's a punk's target.

[69moneypit]

Originally Posted by 396C-10

Jackson Mississippi. I moved from Wyoming last year.

I'm in Vicksburg . I work in Pearl .

[396C-10]

Originally Posted by jocko

Why? GM has done it that way for about a half century, so it must work. Just curious, that's all. Looks like a real nice job that you did on the install. Without a gauge, how do you know it is running cooler?- i.e. if you didn't have fans before and they don't kick on now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's running cooler. Could mean the fans aren't turning on. Could also mean the trans temp was and still is below 180. Please don't get me wrong, not knocking it all, like I said, real nice clean install and I am betting it does run cooler - I'm just wanting to get my arms around how to know it's actually helping and how much it's improved/lowered the trans temp. Personally though, one concern I'd have is that I kinda like the idea of anything with lines being out of the view of the general grocery store parking lot public. One snot nosed kid with a sharp object and you'll have a sliced line. Call me a conspiracy theorist (I DO like the x-files...) but I "TrustNo1" when it comes to stuff like that. Yes, they could do the same damage under the truck on a stock setup, but something about the effort you've put into it and how nice it looks kinda makes me worry it's a punk's target.

When I started on the truck, it had nothing, so everything under the hood is what I put in, including an aluminum 4 core radiator. The access sucks and I don't want zip tie clips going through the radiator louvers, nor did I want the cooling unit under the front bumper, nor did I want to drill holes in my core support. It had a 3 on the tree before, so it was not set up for an automatic. As for cutting the lines? Someone would have a hard time cutting the braided steel lines. You are right about it being in the line of sight though, as all it takes is a couple of wrenches to remove and steal the entire unit. Most people around here do not even know what it is....

[396C-10]

Originally Posted by 69moneypit

I'm in Vicksburg . I work in Pearl .

Lets get the trucks out some time and meet! Facebook me, Bobby D. Gee. I would like to meet you!