Cooling a 350 turbo Trans

I have purchased a 35 Ford pk up repro Radiator with a built in trans cooler, what do you guys reckon on the performance of these rad`s, should I have fitted an outside trans cooler, Im using a 283 SBC with 350 Turbo trans.....Thanks for reading........Cheer`s Bri

 

Under normal conditions with regular driving an OEM radiator cooler is fine.
Towing, racing, mountain driving, very high air temps etc can all require additional cooling.

I'm leaning towards saying your trans is fine with just the rad cooler...but if you have a place to hide it and if it makes you feel a bit more comfortable, why not run a small aftermarket cooler anyway?
Can't hurt and I bet it gives you peace of mind as well.

Just remember to mount it carefully and use quality clamps, rated hose and route that hose to keep it from rubbing and wearing.

 

I ALWAYS install a inline extra transmission fluid cooler ... ALWAYS ...
Shown below is the extra cooler and the extra transmission filter ...





And a extra transmission filter



The extra filter adds one quart of fluid ( which helps cooling ) and keeps any trash or transmission wear pieces from ever getting in the transmission pan. The extra cooler ... ( when in line before the radiator ) helps keep the engine cooler. It helps keeping the transmission fluid heat off of the radiator and then it also transfers heat to the transmission fluid from the radiator. ( helping the engine temperature ).

 

trans cooler not needed

 

See if your 283 runs normal or tends to run hotter with your style driving and weather. Then if needed do as others have said and add a second cooler. Another additional option, is to get a deeper pan that allows an additional quart of fluid. Each of these things can help towards a cooler transmission temp.

 

With a stock torque converter, the radiator cooler should do the job. If you have a higher stall converter, then you might need more transmission cooling.

Also consider how many miles you're gonna put on the thing...if you don't drive it much, then it's kind of silly to go to much trouble to make sure that your TH350 (cheapest transmission there is) lives for 200k miles

 

Thanks guy`s for your info, I will defo fit a trans filter & see how it runs next year as you all probably know England is not that warm even in the summer..........Cheer`s Bri

 

Here is the SouthLAnd ... it gets well over 100 degrees ... for 80 to 100 days a year. It is 90+ today ... so I need all the stuff I do to keep my transmissions COOL .

.

 

Wow, thats great Roddin weather, we are dominated by the cold Northerlies from Siberia. we can have all 4 seasons in one day..

 

The cooler is also using coolant to help warm up trans

 

I note on the B&M filter there is in & out, which outlet on the trans is out & return.....

 

A Trans "cooler" in the radiator isn't a "cooler" at all ,,it's a Trans WARMER ,,radiator coolent temps heat up the trans fluid ,,,'by p*** the radiator and use a aftermarket "Cooler" in front of the radiator like the one "Duece Roadster" showed ,,Super Cheap Insurance ,,

 

TH350, TH250

Fitting Location Thread Size Flow Direction
Upper ¼" Pipe Return/in
Lower ¼" Pipe Cooler feed/out

Off the internet go here ...

http://www.tciauto.com/Products/TechInfo/cooler_fittings.asp

 

I set up my remote oil filter almost exactly like Deuce Roadster's. Being mine is a TH400 the supply is at the bottom and I used a flex hose to the inlet of the filter.

 

I have a 400 Turbo in the 32 roadster and a 700R4 in the 32 3W ...
The extra filter and the extra cooler is so easy and inexpensive to do ... I ALWAYS do them ... as a preventive measure. I do believe one of the reasons both my 32's run as cool as they do ( here in the HOT SouthLand ) is the extra filter and the extra cooler. Both items are less than one hundred dollars ... so WHY NOT ??

The 2000 to 2005 Ford Explorers have a factory transmission oil cooler ( cheap at the junk yard ... I gave $10 ) that works great and has flared end fittings

 

Is there a fitting on the Turbo 350 trans were I can fit a temp sender unit........

 

Not really, you generally need to weld a bung into the pan.

 

Thanks Squirel

 

I run a stock radiator cooler with my TH400, I added an aftermarket inline cooler, aluminum lines wrapped in heatshield, and a Derale trans pan with the cooling tubes in it and drain plug/threaded bung for a sending unit. I've got a remote trans filter like the one pictured above but haven't installed it yet, along with a trans temp gauge not yet installed. I figure overkill is better than taking any chances.

 

And now for the dissenting opinion (speaking as a former Minnesotan, you know Rocky and Bullwinkle, Frostbite Falls. etc. ) -use the factory setup.

In cold wet climates a vital function of the factory transmission 'cooler' in the radiator is to warm the transmission fluid hot enough to evaporate any condensed water. Water=bad for paper clutch plates, etc.

'Back in the day' in MN if we added an auxiliary cooler we plumbed it BEFORE the factory radiator cooler, instead of AFTER it. The logic behind this was that if the fluid was really hot, BTU's were thrown off the fluid before it hit the radiator. On cold days the fluid would be closer to the engine coolant temp, since it's the last stop before going back into the ******, doing a better job of evaporating any condensed water.