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trans was too hot

4K views 22 replies 6 participants last post by  spun360 
#1 ·
here is the comparison picts :nerd
 

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#2 ·
235* on a cool spring time rush hour commute!
so hot is was bouncing water off my bell housing. thank goodness for the new glowshift gauges! :IDEA:
 

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#3 ·
I doubled the size of the stock cooler.
had to fab up my own ideas to make a 3rd gen power wagon cooler fit.
 

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#4 ·
#5 ·
the tru-cool buy-pass was interesting to me. since I took off the stock rad and eliminated the heat exchange loop from said unit I suspected that the 46re might suffer from prolonged exposure to cold temps during the winter months. "PATC" told me that a trans will not stress from being too cool! this buy-pass will help with that warm up process, yet I had not witness any ill effects from being too cold.
while the tru-cool H pipe is still- all four ports blow through at an equal rate. there is no direction to fluid. this allows incoming fluid to by-pass and circulate without primarily using the cooler. once HOT the internal thermal stat slides over to channel a directed flow. the pressure side only flows one side and the return side is divided from the hot line.
I like it. seems to work well at 180*
the power wagon trans cooler was a lot to work with. I had to cut the long mount tabs off each side. this to clean up the application. and the pipes from the cooler were too long. I used a wheel cutter for copper plumbing. not a hack saw! chips might contaminate the trans. also I had the tubes stuffed with a long piece of rolled paper towel to plug the remnants out! after the cut, leaving the paper towel in, I polished & chamfered the ends for the O rings with a sheet of green scotch brite. NICE AND SHINEY SMOOTH! for some reason the cooler had two positions on the pipes which could accept the quick connects. sweet! so the lines are 3/8ths and these nipple fittings can be found at any parts house.
although at first I was not real impressed with the overall quality of the cooler, after working with it, it serves a purpose. it works! the lines are soft, pliable and thick. I guess that's a good thing.
with my thermal gun, across the cooler, this unit cuts 25* out of the fluid with no fans on! I took the truck out on a torture test. really I couldn't keep a sustained temp over 200. I watched the temps pop over 180* on the gauges and watched the results of the by-pass work. temps dropped like a stone. the rise and fall was something to see. after my anemic stock cooler scared me so many times, I have more confidence in this newly engineered system. I see an average of 20* less on my hard pressed run times. and temps don't stick HIGH! :rck:
my "built" 46re needed it so bad! :gr_patrio
 
#6 ·
comments please?
 
#7 ·
looks a lot larger than stock, and I like the light behind the grill.
I haven't upgrade mine yet as I don't get temps much over 180* normal driving or 200* when towing, but my e-fans kick on at 195*
I didn't know there was enough room to run e-fans and keep the stock fan. I'm not sure how much the stock fan is helping without a shroud, but it's definitely moving air.

What prompted you to install what appears to be a external trans filter?
 
#8 ·
the drip filter down in the pan was just not good enough. I filter down to smaller than 5 micron and the contaminants are removed "once every year" easily. each service interval was 3 years or 30,000 miles for my 46re. and with trans fluid at over $5 a quart, the fluid and pan filter costs for my application were over $100 for parts and refill. -so I wanted to cut my costs down, stretch apart my servicing a little further and protect the valve body and friction surfaces against contaminants better.
my external filter is protection for my heavily invested trans. I can change a filter with out dropping the pan and the fluid is staying super clean longer.
I am not gentile with my vehicle at all. it is always loaded with a ton of tools. plus the high stall converter helps to produce heat. there are many reasons I added the external filter.
 
#9 ·
the drip filter down in the pan was just not good enough. I filter down to smaller than 5 micron and the contaminants are removed "once every year" easily. each service interval was 3 years or 30,000 miles for my 46re. and with trans fluid at over $5 a quart, the fluid and pan filter costs for my application were over $100 for parts and refill. -so I wanted to cut my costs down, stretch apart my servicing a little further and protect the valve body and friction surfaces against contaminants better.
my external filter is protection for my heavily invested trans. I can change a filter with out dropping the pan and the fluid is staying super clean longer.
I am not gentile with my vehicle at all. it is always loaded with a ton of tools. plus the high stall converter helps to produce heat. there are many reasons I added the external filter.
 
#10 ·
wtf? a double post.
dodgetalk is more glitchy than a 46re!
hopefully what I have done helps my ram survive.
common fellas- show me some love!
 
#12 ·
I give you props for engineering that together, and I'm guessing you got an awesome deal on a trans cooler from a power wagon?
If I ever replace the factory aux tranny cooler I'll probably go with a slightly smaller version.


Well if I had to guess it is the LED's under your hood that are causing all your heating issues Spun haha. What about the filters you are using, could they be restricting flow?
I was wondering about that as well.
Granted the factory filter isn't the greatest for filtration of small particles, but between the magnet and the filter is does an adequate job.

I serviced the last 46RE every 30k and had good longevity.
The newly rebuilt 46RE in the 01 will get the same treatment.
Once I get the axles back under it I might consider upgrading the trans cooling system :grin
 
#13 ·
indicative to manifold -to- manifold coolers, they have a low pressure drop even if they are partially clogged. its the other type -the linear tube- that clogs to restrict flow. and my stock cooler was original from after 3 other trans builds. SO it was time it need to be replaced!
for the external filter I use the large ph8a or a puralator 30001 equivalent. the large filters have very little pressure impedance. on the engine oil I also use the large ford filters. and when I do oil changes I always have a few of these filters around. awesome they are, filter down to the microns, cheap and have very little pressure problems, even in a high pressure situation!
I refuse to have clogged valve bodies anymore. I have had gone through the governor pressure solenoid issues, and I ant doing that any more!
the stock filter in the pan lets the paper fragments through. the cheap torque converters have paper clutches in them. also the drum bands are material that is not attracted to magnets. this stuff is just floating around in the system, coagulating vital parts.
it might be the "built" trans with a high stall converter that develops the heated condition. I dont have to worry bout that anymore.
those led under the hood have become extremely useful. the night I had done my trans cooler, I worked till midnight under those lights. they replaced that rinky dinky courtesy light I originally had. I just cut and spiced in, and extended the wire, pasted the sticky back leds right were the yield would be great, I haven't regretted it. some of my better ideas are super simple!
 
#14 ·
Cool pics and fab work. :popcorn:

But I don't know about all that trans stuff :drivingz:
 
#16 ·
I'm in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and coldest the winter temps get around here is about 40-degrees. Heck, winter time is about two or three weeks then temp starts going right back up. I hate to think just how hot our summer is going to this year because the RGV had two 100-degree days this past February! I'm kinda stuck right now waiting on the auto shop because the repairs cannot move forward until the plenum box in pulled and repaired. The shop just keep putting me off, so all my money and time is being ate-up working on my mother's 25-year old Buick PA until then. I should be done with her Buick by the end of the month and then it's back to my Ram. For now, the Ram is looking kinda sad and it's a "windows down A/C".

The setup for the 5-45RFE is different but the need to keep it cool and running a normal temp is the same. I have the Amsoil engine oil bypass kit and the HD trans cooler for my truck but haven't put them in truck yet. A trans-temp gauge for my truck would be nice as well. What kind of temps do you see just driving around in city traffic? How big a difference do you believe your filter bypass and larger cooler will make on your transmission temps? Are you going to add some kind of protective shield for the hoses and filter? If the belt breaks or comes loose, it could take-out or punch a hole in the system hoses. What about road debris and the filter? Maybe one of those cooling sleeves on the filter would be enough protection.

:) :tup:
 
#17 ·
I had temps upwards of 235* on cool spring mornings. albeit I was not gentile on the trans yet, it shouldn't be struggling to cool off in 50* ambient temperatures.
after a few weeks now, i'm bouncing and dropping like a stone off 200*. the bypass opens at 180 so after it opens for full flow, the cooler needs to catch up.
i'm trying to answer your questions- not to make false and fanciful claims- I have knocked out 30* on a 70- 80* day.
ready! cant wait for this summer full of spirited driving!
protection, shields, and sleeves, for that just in case, what if scenario- no! fuel lines, radiator hoses, metal oil filters, they all seem durable enough
 
#18 ·
Nice drop! :) :tup:

I was just thinking the the filter is lower than normal and the hoses are in a direct line with belt.


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#19 ·
yah! your right. everything is all in the wrong spot, right in the line of fire!
had the trans filter system going a few years now. never found a ding in it. flyin stones In front of the frt wheel? nah! I just couldn't find a better place for it.
trans lines and wires are hiding behind the 1 3/4 rad return hose. theres a whole lot in the engine bay that could be eatin up by a rogue belt. as for tomorrow, just the rear tires on the menu.
 
#20 ·
Not trying to put down or rain on your project. All the years in the R&D engineering lab have me a-little jaded. One of the project engineers would hand me something and I'd end up fixing it. And even then, I would have to make sure it meet national insurance standards by freezing the unit at 40-below all night and then starting it up the next morning to see if I could make it explode. If it passed that freezing test, the next would see if it unit could get so hot that it started a fire; itself or the walls around it. If it passed, then I'd get to tear it down, trash it, build a new one, and then call the inspector so he could see me do it all again. I had one explode so hard, they thought there was no way David could still be alive in the lab. They found me on the floor laughing my a$$ off but somewhat deaf for a few hours. Funtimes!

And I maybe in the same spot with my engine bypass oil filter. I'm having a hard time finding a spot that my poor back and leg can get too so it can be serviced while not put the lines and filter in a variable spot.


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#21 ·
I could understand that. I'm my own test crash dummy, do all my own stunts! figuratively.
R & D is something meant to be broken. this weeds out the week and progresses the best. and if I hadn't done it myself, I to would be skeptical of others results. like you I am the kinda guy who fixes the bosses day consistently.
comments and critiques, love it, I'll take it, i like them all!
 
#22 ·
Same here... I love the comments and critiques as well but folks seem to think I'll come down on them because I'm a Admin. I'm not like the past staff members. But all to often, I have to search the web in the hope to find the right answer, or a better part, or whatever. Kinda sucks.


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#23 ·
because of the system layout, theres no other place to configure accessories.
not without a major reroute and a significant amount of new tubing. I would prefer to think it was practicality and not laziness as the final deciding factors. with the proven durability of the materials used, its just not practical to involve more work.
 
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