Installing transmission cooler questions

[8pack]

I did a search on here and on google and can’t quite find the answers.


Does the cooler go in the return line?
Where is or which line is the return line?
When you install the cooler do you just cut the line and then attach each cut end back to the fittings on the cooler?
Where do you cut the line? I am under the impression if you cut it in the right spot one end of the line can come straight to the cooler and the other end gets spiced into a length of hose coming off the other side of the cooler?


Any other tips or pointers I could benefit from but did not ask are appreciated!

Thanks

[AKAMick]

Depends on the style of transmission cooler you plan on using where the lines get cut but you most likely will need extra transmission line, a fin and tube type mounted in front of the radiator will need more line and a couple of splice barbed connectors, or a inline magnefine filter can replace one connector, the upper return out of the radiator would be the line to use for this type of transmission cooler,

[8pack]

Ok. Thanks. Seems simple enough. I am just getting a simple cooler to mount on the front of the radiator at the local parts store. I can't find a magnefine filter locally so I will just have to go with a couple for now.

[8pack]

As I read through some other stuff on the internet, which I know is dangerous, there is some talk about the transmission fluid potentially never getting up to temperature with the cooler on the return side since it cools the fluid after the radiator and in cold climates it drops the temp below the operating temperature....

Thoughts and perspectives?

[Astro14]

Read through this: http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?27334-02-XC70-Transmission-Flush-From-Bottom

Yes, it goes in the return line.
The one that goes back into the top of the transmission pan.
You cut the line. It's quite difficult and you'll have to add couplings and more hose to reach the cooler.
Cut it in the middle, there isn't much hose.

[Astro14]

As I read through some other stuff on the internet, which I know is dangerous, there is some talk about the transmission fluid potentially never getting up to temperature with the cooler on the return side since it cools the fluid after the radiator and in cold climates it drops the temp below the operating temperature....

Thoughts and perspectives?

If that thought bothers you, add a thermostat.

But "up to temperature" is quite cool in a transmission. It's not burning off moisture. It doesn't need to be engine oil hot to work.

Heat, on the other hand is hard on them.

Fin and tube is both more fragile and less effective than plate type. A filter is a good idea.

In the thread I linked, I described my set-up in detail. So did others. You'll find it useful.

[AKAMick]

As I read through some other stuff on the internet, which I know is dangerous, there is some talk about the transmission fluid potentially never getting up to temperature with the cooler on the return side since it cools the fluid after the radiator and in cold climates it drops the temp below the operating temperature....

Thoughts and perspectives?

You are leaving the radiator cooler in the system so it will come up to temperature, not many transmissions fail from being over cooled, but overheating has killed many transmissions, transmissions operate best at 160 to 180, the radiator thermostat operates at 195 so that is what a transmission in a XC70 is cooled at using just the radiator system

[8pack]

Thanks everyone! What size is the hose ID so I get the right magnefine filter? 3/8 or 1/2

[AKAMick]

Thanks everyone! What size is the hose ID so I get the right magnefine filter? 3/8 or 1/2

3/8 is Transmission line size. removing the bumper makes the install easier, the fan might need to be removed to set the nylon backing anchors, couple of holes through the plastic side panel in front of the radiator with a stepped drill bit for the lines to go through make it a neat and tidy install.

[Rabid Koala]

I put a cooler in mine a year ago, it was one of the best things that I have done for my XC. It would occasionally downshift roughly when hot, with the cooler that problem has been eliminated. I'm sure that it will add substantially to the life of the transmission. I have been doing a Gibbons (pump out) flush every two years since I got the car, too.

[sjonnie]

I put a cooler in mine a year ago, it was one of the best things that I have done for my XC. It would occasionally downshift roughly when hot, with the cooler that problem has been eliminated. I'm sure that it will add substantially to the life of the transmission. I have been doing a Gibbons (pump out) flush every two years since I got the car, too.Yep, had a Hayden cooler in my '02 for the last 8 years. Original transmission still works great.