Does it matter if the fittings on my transmission cooler are up, down or sideways? Is it better to have the connections at the bottom of the cooler? or does it make a difference if there on the side?
You have less chance of air pockets if the cooler is mounted with one fitting above the other. The most important part is to have the front transmission fitting connected to the radiator cooler and the rear fitting connected to the auxillary cooler. You connect the two coolers with a jumper line.
If you have a typical cooler with the connections down, it is possible for air to remain at the top of the cooler. Remember that the oil flows out of the transmission through a hole that is less than 1/4". The tubes in the cooler are usually 3/8" to 1/2" and the flow may not evacuate all the air. In the newer cross-flow coolers it is even more likely because the flow of the oil never forces flow to the top - it can flow across all the way from the connections up. Without positive flow to evacuate the air it can become trapped in the upper regions of the cooler - making it less effective than it should be. It is always best to mount coolers with one connectopr at the bottom and the other at the top. That way gravity helps the flow to purge the air as long as oil enters at the bottom and flows out the top fitting.
Been there, done that too. Seem's to me that any air pockets in the system would be vented out the transmission vent while under the high pressure's being delivered to the radiator/aux. cooler. These device's are nothing but heat exchangers that remove heat from the fluid that passes through the tubes. Radiators use water as a heat extractor and aux. cooler's use air passing through the fins and over the tubes. One thing a lot of drag racer's forget about, is cooling down the transmission in between runs. This is especially true in bracket racing to maintain some consistency in et's etc. Use of a high grade trans. fluid is very important to how the car reacts, especially in later rounds when down time become's less and less. We use an old squirrel cage blowet mounted on wheels, to direct air to the transmission while servicing and waiting for the next round. With the hot temps here in Arkansas, we need every advantage we can get to compete. As I said before, this is usually used in later rounds like the 4th thru final's. Seem's as though I never need to worry about it much, "three rounds and out" is my nickname, lately.
No cooler in the rad, so this is the only one, all plumbed with AN fittings, from the AOD to the cooler, my tranny guy said I could even mount it under the car if I wanted to.
Be sure to mount it where it will get GOOD air flow. coolers are oil to air heat exchangers and they do need air flowing through them to be most efficient.
they also sell inline coolers for tight tight spaces, (need airflow) and if you mount it in behind the valance or somewhere in the rear of your car, you could always get one with a fan built on to make sure it has adequate airflow...
