LX4CYL

After 5 hours it's all done!!!

Mounting the cooler was much harder than I thought it would be, because the zip-ties/rods that it came with were too thick to pass thru the A/C condenser, so we mounted it in front of the A/C condenser using brackets and bolts. There is a 1/2" space between the cooler, and the A/C condenser We had to cut and bend some of the brackets too.

Routing the hose was a bit hard, as me and my dad had to take off the lower center splash guard so we could reach the bottom of the stock return line at the bottom of the radiator. The stock return line had these hose clamps that were a PITA to take off too We also used foam pipe insulation to protect the lines from heat and sharp edges.

It looks a little crooked and messy, but I'll go ahead and redo some of the zip ties and foam insulation to make it look neater (even though the bumper covers it all up ) sometime later on. When I started the car there were absolutely no leaks or any other kinds of problems, but we did have to add about a 1/2 quart of fluid since we spilled some, along with the added capacity from the added cooler...

Now I need to see how this helps out the transmission at tomorrow's Auto-X

LX4CYL

The transmission still warmed up just as quickly during the cold weather thanks to the SuperCooler's "bypass" feature:

http://www.bmracing.com/products/acc...perCooler.html

It costs more than most other coolers, but to me it's worth every penny of it IMO, especially when the transmission costs thousands, while this cooler only really cost me about $75 including a quart of Honda ATF-Z1, and a 10ft length of 3/8" transmission hose (cooler came with 4ft already).

96JdmAccord

Thats pretty cool man. Can I ask something, How does that benifit for your car as far as performance wise? Like I get that it keeps the tranny cooler but does that really affect you? JW.

Jon

92lx

Allows you to run more power through the auto tranny more reliably is about the bottom line. Heat is about the biggest problem with an auto tranny holding power and abuse.... Pretty much the best update for an auto tranny you can do, next to an upgraded/custom torque convertor.

- Nathan

MeiSoSlow

Is the tranny cooler worth it when the ambient temp is around 110? Summers in Vegas make my tranny slip like crazy

KjG8erZ8

How much $ do these coolers run?

MrChad

An Auto Tranny cooler is also VERY good to have if you spend alot of time in traffic with the A/C.

Hot summer heat kills trannies. I had an old dodge FWD (I know-I know) it ate trannies in the summer with the A/C on until I installed a tranny cooler.

An ATF-cooler is worth every penny compared to new/rebuilt tranny.

Surfacing171

Can you buy a tranny cooler for just general purpose use, or do you have to buy them vehicle specific? Would adding a tranny cooler prolong the life of the transmission? The reason I ask this is because my mom is about to buy an auto Element, and she is worried about the tranny in them(because tranny's don't come cheap) so I was wondering if we added a tranny cooler, if that could possibly offer a little peace of mind.

MeiSoSlow

All the mods and you still left the intake resinator on the car? Let her breath man!!

LX4CYL

probably true, but I did it because on my first Auto-X, my transmission would shudder whenever I put it in D for 2 seconds. The problem disappeared after it cooled off overnight. I started to let the engine cool down at idle for as long as possible between auto-x runs, and the problem NEVER reappeared, but it was pretty obvious that it was getting hot (during hte hot summer too). Worht every penny IMO.



The SuperCooler I got was the 11"x7.375"x1.5" 24,000GVW model for $49.95. I got it from Summitracing.com, but they added a $8.45 handling fee. Most other stores I see them at sell them for ~$57 :dunno:

:werd: The car already has a stock transmission cooler built into the radiator, and it warms the transmission up quickly on startup. It does a pretty decent job, but in extreme situations like auto-x, or hot weather, adding a bigger one inline will help a lot.

The reason why I chose the supercooler was because it can't overcool the fluid on startup in cold weather (the stock cooler is warming the fluid at this point), since it kinda "bypasses" the cooler core...

Yep, the transmission cooler is pretty much universal fit, as long as your Element has a stock transmission cooler (most likely built into radiator), then all you have to do is route the hoses so the fluid flows like this:

transmission->stock cooler/warmer->SuperCooler->back to transmission


haha, I wanted to do it but me and my dad were both hungry as hell, and were tired after messing around with hoses and brackets for 5 hours. I'll probably do it next time I pull the bumper to realign the cooler, and try to make it sit lower and to the left (stock power steering cooler is in the way).