Do any of you folks use a differential cooler ? I see on the 13/14 GT-500 cars with the track pack option, they came equipped with a small differential cooler. How hot is the oil in there..without a cooler? Perhaps one of those heat sensitive strips on the back end of the differential may tell part of the story. A point + shoot IR thermometer...after the fact might work. Heat may well not be an issue on a NA car, with typ diff oils used. How hot is too hot ?
Differential cooler?
- Thread starter Pentalab
- Start date
oldVOR
forum member
My differential typically hovers around 145F under normal DD conditions with ambient air temps of ~80F. Running around a road course, I've seen an increase to ~165F. This is with the factory BOSS 302 / GT 500 finned aluminum diff cover without a cooler.
Stephen31201
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IMO it is absolutely not needed on anything that's not a dedicated track car and even then its not required. But they do look bad ass though.
Roadracer350
forum member
They do help but im not sure how much... I have been kicking this idea around for a bit myself.. Maybe Terry from Vorshalg can chime in on this.
Perhaps with the 13/14 GT-500 track version, with 90-100 deg ambient, and stuffing 600 rwhp through it, Ford opted to offer it as an option.
I wouldn't think that 90W-140 differential oil would even be an issue. The WL watts link differential cover I have doesn't have fins, but is very thick aluminum. I did install the catch can for the axle vent, which imo, is the bare minimum. Some of the 13/14 GT-500 folks have managed to retrofit their optional ford differential cooler into a WL watts link differential cover. The WL watts has drain + fill plugs..which they used to route oil up to the diff cooler.
You only need a differential fluid cooler if you're using a clutch-type unit that produces heat. Ditch the crappy Ford Trac-lock and you won't have an issue.
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Norm Peterson
corner barstool sitter
Thick aluminum isn't as good for rejecting heat from the diff lube as thin aluminum. Yes, it represents a bigger heat sink that will tend to slow down how fast the lube temperature increases . . . or decreases, for that matter. But the rate of steady-state heat flow through it (and ultimately off into the atmosphere) while you're driving will be slightly slower and the fluid will run a little warmer as a result. Basically, any extra cover thickness over the minimum required to guarantee sealing and its own structural integrity (without any WL attachment considerations) behaves thermally like a thin layer of insulation. Very poor insulation, but insulation nonetheless.
Norm
I'll inject my two cents on the whole "diff cooler" argument.
Short answer: None of the S197 owners reading this probably need a diff cooler. If you trust me, you can stop reading there. Yes, the Track Pack cars and Laguna came with diff coolers, but it was mostly for marketing. Those cars also had Torsen differentials and fairly low power/grip levels and likely didn't ever get the diff fluid hot enough to matter.
Long Answer: Depending on the model S197 you have, the limited slip differentials (LSD) type you run, power level being tracked at, and how you use the car/LSD on track (pro level / endurance level abuse) - you might need a diff cooler. Professional road race drivers tend to run much longer sessions, drive their cars hard, "use" the differentials much more aggressively than HPDE folks that drove their car to a track event. for pro teams a diff cooler makes sense and probably extends the service life of their consumables: Diff fluid and LSDs. But are Pro level racers in Mustangs looking at this form and asking these questions? No.
Let's look at some of the history of Mustang LSDs and coolers. For the longest time Mustangs came with clutch style LSDs in a large, steel, "solid axle" housing with no factory differential fluid coolers. LSDs and 8.8" solid axles have been in Mustangs for a long time - since the V8 1986 model from the Fox era, through SN95 (exception: 99-04 Cobra), and all through the S197. So we have had 30 years of the same basic 8.8" solid axle and Traction Lock LSD (exception: Boss302 and Track pack S197s had a Torsen LSD).
I was tracking a 5.0L Fox Mustang with an 8.8" solid axle and clutch LSD since 1990, and didn't see any reason for a diff cooler then. Why? Power levels were much lower back in those days for a vast majority of people running these cars on a road course (HPDE events were a very new concept in those days and Time Trials almost unheard of). Starting with the 99 Cobra some select few folks did see some heat issues with IRS equipped SN95 cars, and the 2000 Cobra R model came with a "trunk kit" that included a diff cooler.
What was different on the 2000 Cobra R were: higher power and a much smaller differential housing (IRS).
The 2000 R model's unique 5.4L DOHC V8 made some real power from the factory, for once. And unlike the supercharged 03-04 Cobras, it wasn't supercharged so it could be driven for more than 2 laps before the engine overheated... the 00 R was a competition model and was raced professionally.
Most Mustang folks today don't have heat problems in S197s until they get into the higher powered cars, or giant race tires, or serious abuse on a road course. And even then... most folks who think they have heat problems don't have any real hard data or failures to point to, just "internet wisdom".
Now personally we DID run into some problems with differential heat on our TT3 Mustang. Burned up two sets of outer axle seals, the diff fluid kept getting cooked, etc. But we traced a LOT of this problem to the clutch style Ford Traction Lock differential.
We were burning clutch packs up in 2 track days after the car got more serious in 2013, and my guys at the shop got tired of replacing the carbon clutch packs. The LSD was getting cooked because HOW IT WORKS creates heat.
After we moved to a Torsen T2-R differential, all of those heat problems went away. The fluid wasn't getting burned, the seals weren't melting, and the same differential was used from late 2013 through today. Worked great, no wear items to worry about, and the fluid did run cooler.
If we would have (foolishly) stayed with the clutch-style LSD then yes, we would have technically been a good candidate for a diff cooler. But going to the Torsen dropped over a second a lap from our times (track to track testing) and the diff temps were never an issue again.
Down Sides to a Diff Cooler
There are downsides to adding a diff cooler to your Mustang, namely:
1. Cost + added weight + added complexity of use (you have to remember to turn the cooler on/off)
2. More places for fluid to leak (hoses, heat exchanger fittings)
3. These pumps are pushing THICK fluid and takes some electrical power to run
Mostly adding a diff cooler adds new places for leaks to form, which is the main downside. That and the cost. Expect to pay $1000+ in parts and labor for a quality, functional differential fluid cooler, other than a junkyard sourced OEM unit.
Cheers,
Short answer: None of the S197 owners reading this probably need a diff cooler. If you trust me, you can stop reading there. Yes, the Track Pack cars and Laguna came with diff coolers, but it was mostly for marketing. Those cars also had Torsen differentials and fairly low power/grip levels and likely didn't ever get the diff fluid hot enough to matter.
Long Answer: Depending on the model S197 you have, the limited slip differentials (LSD) type you run, power level being tracked at, and how you use the car/LSD on track (pro level / endurance level abuse) - you might need a diff cooler. Professional road race drivers tend to run much longer sessions, drive their cars hard, "use" the differentials much more aggressively than HPDE folks that drove their car to a track event. for pro teams a diff cooler makes sense and probably extends the service life of their consumables: Diff fluid and LSDs. But are Pro level racers in Mustangs looking at this form and asking these questions? No.
Let's look at some of the history of Mustang LSDs and coolers. For the longest time Mustangs came with clutch style LSDs in a large, steel, "solid axle" housing with no factory differential fluid coolers. LSDs and 8.8" solid axles have been in Mustangs for a long time - since the V8 1986 model from the Fox era, through SN95 (exception: 99-04 Cobra), and all through the S197. So we have had 30 years of the same basic 8.8" solid axle and Traction Lock LSD (exception: Boss302 and Track pack S197s had a Torsen LSD).
I was tracking a 5.0L Fox Mustang with an 8.8" solid axle and clutch LSD since 1990, and didn't see any reason for a diff cooler then. Why? Power levels were much lower back in those days for a vast majority of people running these cars on a road course (HPDE events were a very new concept in those days and Time Trials almost unheard of). Starting with the 99 Cobra some select few folks did see some heat issues with IRS equipped SN95 cars, and the 2000 Cobra R model came with a "trunk kit" that included a diff cooler.
What was different on the 2000 Cobra R were: higher power and a much smaller differential housing (IRS).
The 2000 R model's unique 5.4L DOHC V8 made some real power from the factory, for once. And unlike the supercharged 03-04 Cobras, it wasn't supercharged so it could be driven for more than 2 laps before the engine overheated... the 00 R was a competition model and was raced professionally.
Most Mustang folks today don't have heat problems in S197s until they get into the higher powered cars, or giant race tires, or serious abuse on a road course. And even then... most folks who think they have heat problems don't have any real hard data or failures to point to, just "internet wisdom".
Now personally we DID run into some problems with differential heat on our TT3 Mustang. Burned up two sets of outer axle seals, the diff fluid kept getting cooked, etc. But we traced a LOT of this problem to the clutch style Ford Traction Lock differential.
We were burning clutch packs up in 2 track days after the car got more serious in 2013, and my guys at the shop got tired of replacing the carbon clutch packs. The LSD was getting cooked because HOW IT WORKS creates heat.
After we moved to a Torsen T2-R differential, all of those heat problems went away. The fluid wasn't getting burned, the seals weren't melting, and the same differential was used from late 2013 through today. Worked great, no wear items to worry about, and the fluid did run cooler.
If we would have (foolishly) stayed with the clutch-style LSD then yes, we would have technically been a good candidate for a diff cooler. But going to the Torsen dropped over a second a lap from our times (track to track testing) and the diff temps were never an issue again.
Down Sides to a Diff Cooler
There are downsides to adding a diff cooler to your Mustang, namely:
1. Cost + added weight + added complexity of use (you have to remember to turn the cooler on/off)
2. More places for fluid to leak (hoses, heat exchanger fittings)
3. These pumps are pushing THICK fluid and takes some electrical power to run
Mostly adding a diff cooler adds new places for leaks to form, which is the main downside. That and the cost. Expect to pay $1000+ in parts and labor for a quality, functional differential fluid cooler, other than a junkyard sourced OEM unit.
Cheers,
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I'm going to add on to Terry's post...if you're having problems with heat in your diff, look at your axle catch can situation. Make sure it allows drainback to the axle and doesn't just vent stuff everywhere, and, most importantly, make sure it exists. I trashed a set of carrier bearings after I lost a quart of gear oil after a couple track days without a catch can.
I think there is aprx 2.5 qts to fill it up, so if you lost 1 qt, that's a lot.
I'm assuming the eaton-tru trac is in the same boat as the Torsen..vs the oem CF clutch packs in the ford traction-lok lsd. I'm guessing the same diff oil also lubes both axles. Lose a qt, and I can see creating a lot of problems.
http://shop.bobsautosports.com/Must...oir-KR-style-axle-reservoir.htm?categoryId=-1 This is the axle catch can I installed on the pass side of my 2010. So far, so good. When the WL watts link went in, ( + tru-trac, both on the same day) we also used a new...'lube locker' diff gasket. The drain + fill plugs on the WL diff cover makes it easier to keep an eye on the level.
How often is it supposed to be changed??
Me? The forum should be resizing all embedded images to a maximum of about 800 pixels wide... it does on my screen. Maybe if you are reading this on a smart phone from 2002 it might be a problem....
Norm Peterson
corner barstool sitter
At 1920 x 1080 resolution on a 17" laptop I wasn't seeing the full width of that picture post either. I could deal with the occasional picture being too wide if it didn't drag the accompanying text off the screen with it.
Then again, most days I need to zoom the display a bit and I suspect that Frank is in the same boat. I've got it at 150% right now, and the fixed pictures fit into a normal post width just fine.
Most likely you'll need to zoom your display in some day.
Yes, forum software probably should be doing this automatically (Camaro5's does . . .)
FWIW, as long as I run my car with only a NA 4.6L and street tires I can't see any need for differential cooling cropping up, though a finned aluminum cover probably wouldn't hurt.
Norm
Then again, most days I need to zoom the display a bit and I suspect that Frank is in the same boat. I've got it at 150% right now, and the fixed pictures fit into a normal post width just fine.
Most likely you'll need to zoom your display in some day.
Yes, forum software probably should be doing this automatically (Camaro5's does . . .)
FWIW, as long as I run my car with only a NA 4.6L and street tires I can't see any need for differential cooling cropping up, though a finned aluminum cover probably wouldn't hurt.
Norm
Last edited:
Norm Peterson
corner barstool sitter
This afternoon they wouldn't fit at 100%, but tonight they do at 150%. What the hell is going on here???
Norm
Norm
Wes06
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the forum has a resize thing built it, it just doesnt work 100% of the time
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