Trans cooler questions

[Chiron]

Alright, here's the deal. I had been having some issues with slopping shifting, primarily from 1st to 2nd, even after multiple reworked tunes. I took my car to a local transmission place, they cracked it open and did a light overhaul on it. Changed the filter/fluid, all the bands and clutches, etc. Lately, the problem seems to be fixed, but only when I first start the car up. It seems to me that, after the tranny fluid gets a chance to get nice and warm, the car starts bogging down a bit. When I first get in and go, it shifts great, nice and firm between all the gears.

This leads me to my question. Is my theory of "cooler fluid = firmer shifts" even remotely sound? If so, would a trans cooler be a good investment? What brand? If not, what other suggestions do you guys have? Different fluid?

Oh, forgot to mention, my car's an Auto.

 

[94tbird]

i would hope its an auto if your talking about a trans cooler lol

 

[Scord]

You don't want to beat on your transmission when it’s cold... You want the fluid to be warmed up, just like an engine so it properly lubes all the parts. With that being said... once the transmission gets too warm, the computer will retard the car to save the transmission from imploding itself... The stock transmission cooler, from what I’ve heard and seen is plenty... unless you’re going from stop light to stop light flooring the car and continuing to do so for hours at a time... I don't see the need for an aftermarket cooler.

What kind of power are you putting down Or plan on putting down? If you haven’t done so already, a PI triple disc torque converter would really beef up the transmission... toss in a TCI Input shaft and servos and it should be good for stock block + FI. That’s what I'm running on my car.

 

[06MUSTANGGT24V]

Manual Swap.....Nuff Said!!!!

 

[Scord]

Manual Swap.....Nuff Said!!!!

Why would he want to make his car slower?

 

[Chiron]

Scord, don't get the wrong idea, I rarely get on my car very hard, and it's always after I've been driving for a good while. With that said, I can still feel a difference in the shifts under regular driving, for some reason.

As far as mods go, they're really light. 4.10's and a few bolt-on's, nothing major. I'm not sure where I want to take the car, as far as future mods go, but I'll most likely just run a set of BBR stage II cams, some heads from QMM and a higher converter, like you suggested; Probably a 3500 stall from TCI. I see trans coolers going for $75 or so on AM, would it really be a waste of money, at least right now? Thanks for the help!

 

[Chris06GT]

You can never go wrong running a trans cooler. Period.

A converter, billet servos, and input shaft will beef up the trans, yes. BUT, higher stalled converters cause the trans to run warmer due to turning more rpm to move the vehicle. "Beefing" a trans will not help it run cooler. Servo's will help the shifts, but under hard load mainly.

OP, what type of fluid are you running?

 

[Chiron]

Thanks for chiming in, Chris. Do you have any other ideas as to why my trans could feel like it's slipping a bit? As far as the fluid, I genuinely don't know for sure. When I had the shop rebuild it, I asked them to put Royal Purple Max ATF in, but they ended up being a HUGE letdown as far as the overall experience is concerned, so I'm not really sure what the hell they did in there. My Dad picked the car up from them, so I didn't get to ask them any questions about it.

 

[Chris06GT]

Well, even if they put new clutches and everything in it, if they don't have the right amount of clearance in the clutch pack with all the clutches and steels in it, it can cause slippage with too much play in the pack.

Also, isn't Royal Purple Max ATF Sythetic? We recommend not using any synthetic trans fluids, mainly because they tend to be thinner than most traditional fluids. If anyone brings a 5R55 to us, we always rebuild it, and recommend them to buy fluid direct from Ford that was used from the factory.

How reputable was the shop you went too? Any way you could call them and kind of question them on what tasks' they performed?

 

[Chiron]

I've thought about taking my car to another transmission shop around here, I just hate to pay them $XXX to open it up and tell me everything's in spec. The shop was a local Mom and Pop performance transmission shop, they do a lot of GM stuff and told me they had dealt with quite a few 5R55s'. They only have two guys that work, so the phone is next to useless. Trust me, I've tried. They're only open from 8-4 M-F, and it's about 40 minutes away from my apartment, so I haven't gotten a spare afternoon to head their way. They also fucked my driveshaft up; I get a fair amount of vibration at ~70 mph. The guy said they had some trouble getting the pressfit joint in, but they got it taken care of. Bullshit. Like I said, not happy with that shop at all.

 

[Chris06GT]

Ahhh, ok.

I know how that is.

 

[Scord]

A converter, billet servos, and input shaft will beef up the trans, yes. BUT, higher stalled converters cause the trans to run warmer due to turning more rpm to move the vehicle. "Beefing" a trans will not help it run cooler. Servo's will help the shifts, but under hard load mainly.

I agree... I was under the impression he was FI for some reason. I don't believe he would need to even '' beef up '' the trans in NA forum... as long as he doesn’t beat it like a red headed step child.

 

[Chiron]

I agree... I was under the impression he was FI for some reason. I don't believe he would need to even '' beef up '' the trans in NA forum... as long as he doesn’t beat it like a red headed step child.

Nope, no FI, sadly. Never had the car at a track, and I don't drive like crazy around town. She spends more time sitting in traffic than being driven like she should..

 

[Scord]

Nope, no FI, sadly. Never had the car at a track, and I don't drive like crazy around town. She spends more time sitting in traffic than being driven like she should..

Sitting in traffic is horrible for a car... Daily driving is one of the hardest things on the fluids and drivetrain of a car... A cooler might help you a bit... I've known some people to '' piggy-back '' two stock coolers together as well.

 

[Liberty911]

Take a look at the PA Deep Pan. It adds about 3-4 qts. of fluid and adds a dip stick. It's also a great place to take for a temp sensor. I have run RP fluid with a 2800 triple plate stall and rarely ever gets above 170 degrees. For me the stock trans cooler is sufficient.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

You shouldn't have issues with using the stock trans cooler that you already have. It's enough of a cooler for most uses.
Sounds to me that the fluid you are using isn't working well once it warms up.
You may still have internal issues as well.

 

[Chiron]

Do you have any suggestions for some good tranny fluid? Stick with Ford's original fluid, or should I make damn sure there's some RP in there?

 

[Lee's05GT]

Do you have any suggestions for some good tranny fluid? Stick with Ford's original fluid, or should I make damn sure there's some RP in there?

Also would like to know this answer since im about to put another tranny in and was wondering what fluid would be best.

 

[Scott]

Take a look at the PA Deep Pan. It adds about 3-4 qts. of fluid and adds a dip stick. It's also a great place to take for a temp sensor. I have run RP fluid with a 2800 triple plate stall and rarely ever gets above 170 degrees. For me the stock trans cooler is sufficient.

By any chance do you have a picture of where your trans temperature sender is located on the PA Deep Pan? I have a Autometer Nexus # 6457 Transmission Temp Gauge on order and am about to order the PA Pan. I assume a bung must be welded in the PA Pan for the temp sender. Thanks.

 

[Liberty911]

By any chance do you have a picture of where your trans temperature sender is located on the PA Deep Pan? I have a Autometer Nexus # 6457 Transmission Temp Gauge on order and am about to order the PA Pan. I assume a bung must be welded in the PA Pan for the temp sender. Thanks.

Just drill and tap the pan. No welding in bung required. I drilled and tapped at the bottom front of the pan, 1/2c inch from the bottom of the pan from the position where the fluid would rest. It takes guts to drill and tap a $200 pan, but it is aluminum and simple.