trans cooler in/out ?

mullinax95 said

When I used to have Charger it had a automatic with a high stall. I bought a trans cooler... the instructions said to run it through the rad first then to the cooler. Now from my thinking the trans fluid is being cooled in the rad before it goes back to the trans not heated.... that's why cars with automatics run the transmisson fluid through the rad ... to cool it. I guess my thinking has always been wrong.

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I have been rebuilding torqueflites since I was 17 (28 yrs.) and this is my thoughts. I have a hard time believing the factory trans cooler in the radiator is just there to warm the trans. oil in the winter and actually makes the trans. oil hotter in the summer. I do agree it must be warm to work properly in the winter but they create allot of heat on their own so I'd think they'll reach 160-180 in the winter without going through the radiator. Although it probably does warm it faster. But in the summer I'd bet the trans. temp gets a whole bunch hotter than 180-190 like the radiator temp is if you didn't have it ran through a cooler at all so the radiator cooler has to help. I'd also bet the trans oil running through the radiator actually warms the engine coolant in the summer cause transmissions run very hot especially if your running a high stall converter. It's just my thoughts but I'd think it'd actually be better to run it through the external trans cooler first to cool it before it reaches the radiator so in the summer both engine and trans run cooler and in the winter since the trans oil still runs through the radiator cooler it'd get warmed. I think the temp would be more consistent throughout the year at the trans. and not cause heating of the engine coolant plumbed that way. I haven't actually evaluated this with a heat gun so their just my ideas and take it at face value.:read2: