Thread: Can I run w/o trans oil going into radiator???

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OK, guys, you may be overthinking this. Do you want to protect your transmission or determine the eficiency of your of your radiator and or your cooler?

Do you want to know the temperature of the fluid in the trans, or impute it from the temp of the fluid coming back from the cooler? Suppose you have a really, really good cooler, and all you see is 160* fluid in the return line. OK, looks good. However, that cooler is giving you a 40-50* drop, and your trans fluid is really over 200*. You're fat and happy until your trans burns up.

Why would you want to know whether hot fluid was going into the trans? If hot fluid is going in, it's surely going to be hotter coming out, because there is minimal cooling inside the trans. You can tell whether your radiator is working from the water temperature.

An automatic transmission - especially one with an overdrive - can flash excessive heat in a very short time. And, the temp IN the trans is what makes or breaks it. I want the best info at the potential point of damage.

Your mileage . . . or temperature . . . may vary.

Originally Posted by Henry Rifle

OK, guys, you may be overthinking this.
Do you want to know the temperature of the fluid in the trans, or impute it from the temp of the fluid coming back from the cooler? Suppose you have a really, really good cooler, and all you see is 160* fluid in the return line. OK, looks good. However, that cooler is giving you a 40-50* drop, and your trans fluid is really over 200*. You're fat and happy until your trans burns up. And knowing you've got a temp drop over the cooler, if you see 200 degrees going into the trans you know you're in trouble.

Why would you want to know whether hot fluid was going into the trans? If hot fluid is going in, it's surely going to be hotter coming out, because there is minimal cooling inside the trans. . MY point Exactly!

An automatic transmission - especially one with an overdrive - can flash excessive heat in a very short time. And, the temp IN the trans is what makes or breaks it. I want the best info at the potential point of damage.

Your mileage . . . or temperature . . . may vary.

Measuring the oil temp outside of the pan is not a great way to do it. Maybe adding sensors to both cooling lines is the way to go! I'm glad I just hooked it up to the radiator and was done with it. I know some guys who don't even bother with it and just run a short tubing. Just my .02 cents and IMHO!

If we are building a new space shuttle we would like two sensors (in and out) to check whether the radiator cooler is doing any good. Thanks for the reassurance about the inline compression fitting I may yet put it into the line before the cooler; I agree that tells the higher temp of fluid. I will figure out something so the mismatch between the gauges is lessened.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder