Questions About Trans Coolers

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After doing a few long trips lately in almost 40 degree heat, i noticed a few aromatic smells coming from a well and truly heat soaked engine

not burning smells of course, but enough to give me the impression the transmission obviously had put up with a lot more heat than it normally does.

it got me thinking, the stagea seems to be built for snow conditions, so is the transmission cooler up to the australian summer? its a series 1 stag, and only has the small (pathetic really) trans cooler.

would it be a worthwhile investment putting a larger one on for reliability sake, even though im not pushing any more power out of the engine?

[chook]

Should be one of the first upgrades for the Stagea. Nissan realised this with the S2, although even this is not big enough for some Australian conditions, eg, towing in brisbane as I do. I run 2 coolers, plumbed parallel, not in series, with the cooler in the washer bottle space running its own motorcycle size thermofan, triggered by a thermo switch in the transmission pan.

You should find plenty of info in old threads about trans coolers.

[BensDR30]

I fitted an R31 S3 cooler to my S1 about a week after I bought it in '04. The R31 was a logical choice for me - Nissan spent mega-bucks adapting the car for Aust. & the S3 has the same gearbox as the Stag.

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you can pick up decent sized (4+ litre engines) coolers even from supercheap auto. is there any reason to go with a nissan specific one?

the other thing is the fitment issue. im not that knowledgeable with auto tranmissions, if i undo the pipes going to the cooler, is it going to spill fluid, is it under any pressure, is gravity going to make all the trans fluid pour out? i dont know these kinds of things

[chook]

you will get some leakage, just have the hoses ready to put on before you unhook the old ones, might lose a litre or 2 depending on how long you take, easy to top up with fresh fluid, not under any pressure. I recommend you go with the largest one you can fit.

[RBPOWA-(TJ)]

thats next on my list, when i get my seal fixed... always leaving puddles of tranny fluid were i go.... yet dipstick say's A.O.K MATE !

auto service and nice big cooler

just jap have a huge selection too if i remember right

[BensDR30]

you can pick up decent sized (4+ litre engines) coolers even from supercheap auto. is there any reason to go with a nissan specific one?

the other thing is the fitment issue. im not that knowledgeable with auto tranmissions, if i undo the pipes going to the cooler, is it going to spill fluid, is it under any pressure, is gravity going to make all the trans fluid pour out? i dont know these kinds of things

The answer to your first question is 'cheap & plentiful', especially when you have access to a car being wrecked

The fluid is not under pressure, but gravity/syphoning will cause a mess if you're not careful. It's a good idea to have a couple of bolts handy that you can put into the lines to minimise the mess while you stuff around getting things sorted.

[KiwiRS4T]

The answer to your first question is 'cheap & plentiful', especially when you have access to a car being wrecked

The fluid is not under pressure, but gravity/syphoning will cause a mess if you're not careful. It's a good idea to have a couple of bolts handy that you can put into the lines to minimise the mess while you stuff around getting things sorted.

There's a why and how to in the DIY section above

[Tangles]

Davies Craig brand, from $110 to $140 depending on end-size and where you buy from

Universal fitment, logical cheap upgrade. Fits fine and works very well indeed.

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well i picked up one with dimensions 30cm X 19cm X 2cm, so hopefully thats a decent upgrade over stock. next size up is for light trucks i think so i dont think theres enough room up front for it