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Auto Box Oil Cooler


bishbosh

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So what size is needed?

I think I was advised that a 19 row is more than enough at the back of the engine bay (loads of room as the engine is a long way forwards) with an electric fan.

Alternatively, I could put one at the front which I assume could be smaller as it would have normal airflow / engine fan to assist bur more prone to clogging with mud.

Plenty of options available to me from ebay and a friend buying from the states, but is it really a case of fitting the biggest one I can?

What do people think?

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My Laminova on the ZF4 used to work a treat and it was out of the way but it was a tad expensive. IMHO seems to be a good solution on diesels where you have less heat to shift.

If you're going for a conventional oil to air I'd get it up and out of the way with as big a volume as possible simply to give you more fluid.

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Definately want to stay air - oil as I don't need the added plumbing or expense of a Laminova!

I have decided that the cooler needs to be in front of the rad as I don't have any space elsewhere having found a home for the air filter behind the engine.

Putting it there means that for a 19 row cooler I would have to remove the slam panel struts and use bonnet pins. Not the end of the world, but if I can get away with a smaller cooler then it would fit with the struts in place - I could even use the struts to mount it on.

So, what coolers do you guys with autos use?

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So, what coolers do you guys with autos use?

Kenton's racer with ZF box uses a 13 row cooler mounted up front, no fan to draw air through as rad is in the back, but usually moving enough to keep air flowing through. No idea if it works as there is no temp guage on gearbox oil - actually I think it's fine as the oil stays nice and red and clear.

I don't think I'd want to go much smaller than that. No real tech calculations about heat transfer efficiency etc, just what looks and feels about right.

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Another great idea! Shame I just finished the rad install.... could be persuaded to revisit it though as that sounds like an easy win. Is an inch really enough :ph34r: and does it clear the viscous fan...?

Thanks, and keep them coming!

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I use 2 19 row coolers mounted behind my truckcab, fastenend side by side on the roll cage, out of the airflow and with no fans etc on them and have had no problems with overheating or oil degredation etc, even after along hard challenge with a big V8 warming things up nicely.

I just guessed that some lads don't bother cooling at all, so a reasonably big cooler with long pipes dissapating in air must be a vast improvement on a bog brush mounted behind a half blocked hot radiator on a challenge truck that hardly moves in fresh at all.

I had a on site pipe hydraulic pipe man make a couple of swaged pipes from the autobox to the cooler with good strong angled ends on so the pipework of the box was dead easy and dead pro and cost about £40 if I remember correctly.

Good luck and use a new or extremely clean cooler.

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The things I do for this forum, eh?

21062008793s.jpg

In front of the rad, in front of the stays (with the stays curved slightly and slotted bolt holes, and a few fins bent away) and behind the grille. I've no temperature gauge on the box either so I can't say whether it works or not either. "One day" I'll drill the gearbox sump and weld a nut to it to take a coolant sensor, and then wire that to the Racetech temp gauge so I can get a reading in deg C. Of course, one day I'll bash out the dents and paint it...

Edit - for the slow of brain, there is no rad shown in this pic. This fault has since been rectified.

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Another great idea! Shame I just finished the rad install.... could be persuaded to revisit it though as that sounds like an easy win. Is an inch really enough :ph34r: and does it clear the viscous fan...?

Thanks, and keep them coming!

Yes no problem, i tweaked the lower ends of the panel struts and used 1/4" spacers to push them forward of their lower mounts, i think they normally bolt behind them. Everything else is standard up front.

I can stick some pics up if you want, but it wont be till my daughter comes round after the w/end (she has the camera).

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ermm at risk of looking a complete moron, does the ZF auto box have its own oil pump inside it?

my plan on my auto was to mount the bog brush behind the cab with 4 very small 12volt fans, or to mount it length ways, in a tube and have a fan pushing/pulling air through the tube.

i thought that was quite a good idea, so dont scream too much.

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The ZF does have its own pump, or at least it pumps its own oil around the place.

Not sure about your idea though - I certainly wouldn't go for the in the tube idea - don't think you'd get the airflow.

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ermm at risk of looking a complete moron, does the ZF auto box have its own oil pump inside it?

my plan on my auto was to mount the bog brush behind the cab with 4 very small 12volt fans, or to mount it length ways, in a tube and have a fan pushing/pulling air through the tube.

i thought that was quite a good idea, so dont scream too much.

yeah, ive sat and thought about my idea, the tube would actually make the cooling effect worse.

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I have a zf stage 1 from ashcrofts who advised the below as suitable.

With the exchange rate including shipping it still worked out miles cheaper that an uk equivalent.

and it arrived within 3 days of order..... fast

Brand: Derale

Product Line: Derale Electra-Cool Remote Fluid Coolers

Part Type: Fluid Coolers with Fan

Part Number: DER-15800

Overall Height (in): 10.000 in.

Overall Width (in): 12.500 in.

Overall Thickness (in): 4.000 in.

Cooler Construction: Tube and fin

Cooler Material: Copper/Aluminum

Fan Quantity: Single

Maximum Fan CFM: 650 cfm

Fan Diameter (in): 10.000 in.

Inlet Size: -8 AN

Inlet Attachment: Male threads

Outlet Size: -8 AN

Outlet Attachment: Male threads

Number of Cooling Rows: 16

Core Height (in): 10.000 in.

Core Width (in): 12.375 in.

Core Thickness (in): 1.750 in.

Cooler Finish: Black painted

Quantity: Sold as a kit.

Notes: Includes two (2) -8AN to 1/2 in. hose barb adaptors. For use on vehicles up to 25,000 GVW.

Mounted mine on back of cab

post-892-1220223624_thumb.jpg

post-892-1220224088_thumb.jpg

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