[enrita]

Can anyone (vendors ?) come up with an AT cooler solution? Cant believe in over 5 years nobody has put together a kit.

[triggz]

Originally Posted by enrita

Can anyone (vendors ?) come up with an AT cooler solution? Cant believe in over 5 years nobody has put together a kit.

+1

[NoQuarter]

Can the one from the 5 series be made to work?
We have a engine oil cooler, power steering cooler, AT cooler all standard.

[M3_Dylan]

Bump... I want to hit the track.. without limp mode

[enrita]

Originally Posted by NoQuarter

Can the one from the 5 series be made to work?
We have a engine oil cooler, power steering cooler, AT cooler all standard.

Is there an actual radiator or water exchanger in the 5?
Can you post your model realoem drawing ?

Found it: http://realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.do?mo...&fg=05&lang=en

But the problem remains, you need to adapt it. A pnp kit would solve lots of headaches.

[enrita]

I have done some research and come up with:

Cooler:
1. I have the possibility to buy a second hand AR oil cooler that fits in front of the radiator
Or
2. Get a trans cooler from hayden, they are pretty cheap, thin and have good flow in front of radiator , question is which size http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/me...yden-transaver

How to connect it.
I want to both lower water temps and prevent the trans overheating so i see 3 options, but i also use the car in winter with below freezing temps.
1. Completely remove the heat exchanger and route the trans oil line directly to the oil cooler .
2. Keep heat exchanger and route oil lines from it to the oil cooler and back.
3. Keep heat exchanger but route oil lines first to the cooler and than heat exchanger.

I could also get a 160-180f thermostat, that would work well for winter in case of option 1.
For 2-3 i am afraid water temps wont be lowered enough.
Also maybe with option 1 the MT PWR water radiator can be fitted?
Any input appreciated.

[N54_Fan]

Originally Posted by enrita

I have done some research and come up with:

Cooler:
1. I have the possibility to buy a second hand AR oil cooler that fits in front of the radiator
Or
2. Get a trans cooler from hayden, they are pretty cheap, thin and have good flow in front of radiator , question is which size http://www.bulkpart.com/Merchant2/me...yden-transaver

How to connect it.
I want to both lower water temps and prevent the trans overheating so i see 3 options, but i also use the car in winter with below freezing temps.
1. Completely remove the heat exchanger and route the trans oil line directly to the oil cooler .
2. Keep heat exchanger and route oil lines from it to the oil cooler and back.
3. Keep heat exchanger but route oil lines first to the cooler and than heat exchanger.

I could also get a 160-180f thermostat, that would work well for winter in case of option 1.
For 2-3 i am afraid water temps wont be lowered enough.
Also maybe with option 1 the MT PWR water radiator can be fitted?
Any input appreciated.

I have thought about this as well. It appears that we could possibly use our old stock Oil cooler as a transmission cooler since we upgraded them. According to Bentley Manual the water cooling system will heat up the tranny fluid to proper operating temp and then the water cooling cools the tranny fluid. So getting the tranny fluid TOO cool would be counterproductive. It appears that the usual operating temp for our AT cars is about 197-215 F for WATER temps. I would say that 204-207 F is the norm with daily driving. That means the tranny fluid is at least that or higher for NORMAL temps. I have tried to use the BT "real time" mode to determine the normal tranny fluid temp but have not been able to get good data. So first we need to figure out the "norm" at daily driving before we can figure how low to cool it. If you shoot for 160-180 temps that is too low in my opinion.

So I think that would mean that it does not matter immensely where we route the tranny cooler before or after the heat exchange as long as temps do not go too low. However, if it were before heat exchanger and the tranny cooler got the temp lower than water temp then we could lower water temps as it goes to the heat exchanger but at the expense of probably re-raising the tranny fluid temp a bit. It seems to me that if we had the tranny cooler AFTER the heat exchange then the radiator/heat exchange would lower the tranny temp as much as possible and then the tranny cooler would add to that. The water cooling system I think is less of an issue because most of us going to the track also have big oil coolers and I think you also have dual oil coolers (as do I). These oil coolers do also help reduce the water temps some. I have also upgraded to the 335is 850W radiator fan and I noticed this helps water temps especially at lower speeds turns immediately after a high speed straight. My water temps are typically around 7-15 F lower with the fan even when pushing it. I plan to take it to Sebring in October so I will report how temps are after that to see if it helps much.

Bottom line the tranny temps are helped SOME by the dual oil coolers and water cooling "mini- mods" like using water wetter and distilled water and bigger radiator fans but not enough. I think a tranny cooler is next on my list IF I can document that it is still an issue.

You have tracked your car more than I have so far. Can you tell us have you had limp modes from tranny fluid too high on the track? Also your upgraded transmission has helped some I am sure.

N54_Fan

[tinnsoldaten]

Im thinking of doing something similar , I recently had to replace one of the lines from AT to heat exchanger. By the looks of it new hoses with fittings to match oem should be possible if one could track down parts and have them fabricate new hoses in shop where they make hydraulic hoses and such.

And I would think of using high flow valves on new hoses allowing you to use heat exchanger or extra radiator . maybe use of valves that will allow for use of oem cooler plus aux cooler.

If we use extra radiator and apply new sections with hoses , amount of oil needs to be compensated in regards to AT oil levels , my thoughts.

[N54_Fan]

Also, I think in front of the radiator at the bottom is the best place or maybe in the wheel well on top of the oil cooler. We also need to figure out the size of tranny cooler to use. I have been researching the amount of heat that is dissipated by an cooler core and the size needed but have not been able to get definitive information.

If a BTU is the amount of heat to change 1 gallon of water by 1 degree F and there are 9.5 liters (~2 gallons) of ATF in our AT then this means we need 2 BTU per cycle of the ATF to run through the upgraded tranny cooler to lower the temp 1 degree. This is assuming that the tranny fluid changes temps as easily as water which I do not know if that is true. Also I do not know how quickly (in liters/min) the fluid is circulated. So figuring out the appropriate size cooler core may be more trial and error unless we have some hard numbers and facts.

N54_Fan

[N54_Fan]

Originally Posted by tinnsoldaten

Im thinking of doing something similar , I recently had to replace one of the lines from AT to heat exchanger. By the looks of it new hoses with fittings to match oem should be possible if one could track down parts and have them fabricate new hoses in shop where they make hydraulic hoses and such.

And I would think of using high flow valves on new hoses allowing you to use heat exchanger or extra radiator . maybe use of valves that will allow for use of oem cooler plus aux cooler.

If we use extra radiator and apply new sections with hoses , amount of oil needs to be compensated in regards to AT oil levels , my thoughts.

The only thing I dont like about this setup is that it seems you would have the new cooler off and on as needed. If run in series with the stock system we could allow the stock system regualte the temp and we are in effect just making the heat exchanger larger. Maybe I dont understand your setup but thats how I read the diagram.

Also, just FYI the tool needed to take the transmision cooling hoses off the system is ~$260. The hoses are not typical fittings and require a special BMW tool. This tool would need to factored in the cost of this upgrade.

[tinnsoldaten]

The cooling lines are made from metal from AT and then when exchanger is reached it connects to rubber hose that is again connected to quick coupling connector that connects to exchanger. I was thinking that in area where line goes from metal to rubber , here it should be easy to make connections/extensions and such. The big question to get answers to is what pressure is present on pressure side on lines? I understand that pumping happens in transmission , with some dual action making pressure on one line and suction on other line. Am I wrong there and its pressure all the way.

[tinnsoldaten]

And I just recently replaced oil line on AT cooler ( suction ) , no need for special tool in that job. Maybe I misunderstood you, lost in translation....

[N54_Fan]

Originally Posted by tinnsoldaten

And I just recently replaced oil line on AT cooler ( suction ) , no need for special tool in that job. Maybe I misunderstood you, lost in translation....

Its been a while since I read that in the manual. So let me look for it. maybe I recall incorrectly.

[enrita]

thanks guys.
At the track i have seen MAX 130 C Oil temps but water temps up to 116C, so oil is no issue for me but water definetely is and i am pretty sure the reason of high temps is the AT. In inpa i have seen once some codes not related to overheating and the temp reached was about 120-125C for the tranny oil.
I have now changed oil when upgraded the trans with Redline D6 which should allow higher temps and less shear.
Maybe having the AT cooler before the heat exchanger would be the best solution and keep the oil on a steady temp when warm , lower water temps since not that much heat has to be exctracted and help in winter as well?
I am definetely getting something done next spring , just need to find the right approach.
The AR cooler might be too bulky for AT , those hayden seems maybe the best option .

[tinnsoldaten]

Originally Posted by N54_Fan

Its been a while since I read that in the manual. So let me look for it. maybe I recall incorrectly.

On transmission its used a clamp to secure the lines going into transmission.
Used a allen key to losen the clamp. On the heat exchanger couplings it was squeeze and pull. Wiggle and pull and they come out just fine.

To remove the cooling line section I unbolted the steering rack and pushed out of the way to be able to sneak the line out.

Lines are not so pricey and will practical to bring any decent hose shop that presses hydraulic hoses and such.

[Adam Way]

ALCON,

I have had an AR design tranny cooler for my AT for over two years now. He has a solution for what you are looking for. A long time ago, he posted a thread to see how much interest there would be in this and there was zero interest from what I remember. I am not sure if he has it on his website, but he DOES offer a complete kit. Since mine was the prototype for this, I haven't a clue what he charges. I remember thinking it was VERY reasonable for the what I got.

[enrita]

Adam, thanks for answering my pm. i will check with Andrew AR about the solution, i have already the AR in driver wheel and can get a second hand AR in front of radiator so i might do the same as you have done. Get the PWR MT radiator and use the oil cooler in front of it as Tranny cooler.
What are your water temps now on the track? Did you completely remove the heat exchanger?