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Questions About Trans Coolers

zoomzoom

By zoomzoom,
in Four Door Family & Wagoneers

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zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

Posted
Posted

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?

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chook Mentor

chook

Posted
Posted

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 Experienced

BensDR30

Posted
Posted

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.

zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

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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 Mentor

chook

Posted
Posted

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) Grand Master

RBPOWA-(TJ)

Posted
Posted

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 Experienced

BensDR30

Posted
Posted
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 Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted
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

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