Hey guys, Im headed to Tenn with the boat here next week. Since it weighs 3500lbs loaded and there are going to be four of us crammed in the ranger I figured I had better add a tranny cooler e-fan. As well as re-position the cooler.

I had a 5" spal laying around and so I used it. The problem is that it's too deep to package in the stock location. And I did'nt like how the cooler was 2/3rds shielded by the bumber bracket as supplied from ford. Seems a bit dumb on Fords part? Why would you add a tranny cooler then put it 1/4" behind something that covers nearly the whole thing?

Anyway, I made two brackets and repositioned it up and foward to give fan clearance and to put the entire cooler in the air stream. (had to buy new tranny cooler hoses that were 3" longer)

Results.. yesterday I took the boat out on a 70mile drive in both back roads and the freeway. It was only 82F but it felt hotter to me. (I had the AC and radio cranked the whole time)

The tranny temps are a bit lower w/o the fans running than they were when the cooler was positioned in it's stock location. At a steady speed of 70mph w/o fans it's running 200Rad & 186tranny. Turn the fans on full speed and they drop to 197Rad & 174Tranny.

Turn fans off/on & slow to 65 and it's the same temps.

Slow to 55mph with the fans off and they both cool down about 5deg. Turn the fans on and they drop to 193R & high 150sT That's well below normal commuter type of driving where I avg 170s

I also spent a good 20 miles driving under 40mph in stop and go. The temps vary some but not too much w/o fans. And when running they don't swing much at all.

Conclusions:
Adding a tranny cooler fan makes a significant difference!

I'm thinking the times when I really need to run the fans are when sitting still, when in stop and go traffic, and when at speeds under 30mph. If ambient temps were over 90, then I'd just turn them on an let em run stright time.
But in this 80degree weather I just don't need to run them even towing a heavy boat down the freeway! As long as I'm moving everything is "cool".

Oh and btw, with everything electical possibly turned on to the max my volts are 11.8-11.9 at a 800 rpm idle. I raised the Neutral idle to 850 which brought the volts up to 12.3 (I have a crank underdrive & flex-a-lite e-fan. See my web page)

Rich



Here is the stock tranny cooler with the two brackets I made. (still need to paint them so it's not as easily seen)

 

neat idea...I'd paint those parts tho...

 

Good idea Rich, i was thinking about doing something like that as well. Wouldn't installing a bigger cooler net cooler temps as well?

I understand your idea and how you can control the temps if they get too high.

 

Mark can you get that stuff in a store?

I'd like to try the Lube guard at least.

 

So any Autozone should have it?

I'm going to try the one in town, thanks.

 

Nice Rich, if you want to drop those temps even more divert the fluid from going into the radiator, its just heating it up to 200 water temp then you are cooling it back down in the auxiliary cooler before it goes back to the tranny.

 

Thank Mark, I'll give that stuff a try too. Your type of hands on experience is very valuable on forums like this. Thanks!

And yeah Zach I know about the rad first flow path. Since this is a once a year type of towing situation and because of where I live... I'm ok with it in the stock configuration. I just wanted the little extra insurance of cooling *ability* when pulling the hills/mountians in East tenn. (It's in the mid 90s now)

If I was serious about towing more often.. I'd not be using a ranger.

Rich

 

idk anything under 4000ish lbs the ranger does pretty well for its size.

 

Rich, your battery is discharging at 12.3V. I would say this voltage will continue to drop as the battery discharges.

This is a good reference for lead-acid batteries, and you can see why your battery was discharging at 12.3V:

http://www.buchanan1.net/lead_acid.shtml

 

Not true, the ATF flow through the cooling lines is the same all the time.
The PCM, however, does control the pump high pressure for shifting.

 

Let's see a link to back your mouth up!!!!!

 

His battery isn't putting out the 12.3V, it is his alternator. The reason being is I don't think Rich has put on a smaller alternator puller to go with the underdrive crank pulley. If you don't put on a smaller alternator pulley, the alternator will turn slower than it did when it was stock causing the voltage and amp output to be lower.

Here is a link to the proper alternator pulley:
http://www.stuffforyourranger.com/st...80b7483ef40330


Good job Rich with the fan. It definately will help lower the transmission temps while towing.


Have you thought about going with full synthetic transmission fluid? I have heard that it helps lower temps a bit also.

 

Bob, good point about the idle voltage. I know it's at a discharge when idling, but I hardly ever get caught in traffic where it would become an issue. And I never let it just sit and idle for more than 2-3 minutes. And keep in mind this is only with the fans running at full bore. Turn them off and it's in the 13.5 area.

I am going to cruise woodward this year with the ranger though. I'll make sure to keep my eye on it & take my portable jumper just in case it becomes an issue.

Mark, I was looking up info about lubeguard. Here is a link about it that seems to say it's not needed for mercon V?
http://www.txchange.com/lubegard.htm

"Platinum Supplement - converts Dexron III fluid into a highly friction modified fluid or Dexron III or Mercon to Mercon V Ford modified fluid. This provides a cost-effective alternative to using such OEM fluids as Honda Genuine, Toyota Genuine, or Chrysler 7176 fluids and Dexron III or Mercon to Mercon V Ford modified fluid. This provides a cost-effective alternative to using expensive Mercon V or HFM fluid."


Your thoughts?

Regards,
Rich

 

I use mercon V. I dropped the pan at 20k miles and installed a drain plug. I then drained it again at 30k. (4 qts) I plan on doing it this way every 10k miles.

btw, when it's hot out I set the scanguage to look at temps. I've only seen it go over 200 once. And that was on sat when I was giving this a try by towing the boat. It got up to 204 when I was accelerating up to 70mph w/o the fans running. After I reached 70mph for several minutes it cooled off into the 190s. Turned the fan on and it dropped into the 180s.

Rich

 

WRONG, if the battery is below the full charge voltage (usually around 12.6V @ 75F), then the battery is being discharged (battery is supplying current).

 

When a vehicle is running, the alternator will provide volts and amps to the battery. The battery will have close (within a .1v-.3v due to voltage drop in the stock power wires) to the same output as the alternator.

Bob, do you have experience with underdrive pulley's....Didn't think so. I have and had the low voltage problem until I installed an underdrive alternator pulley.

 

No on the UDP, I would never put one of those on a vehicle!!!

However, I know electronics and the vehicle electrical system inside and out!! If the battery voltage drops, then the battery is supplying current.

 

I sure am glad you "think" you do. An alternator is what powers a vehicle while it is running. The battery is used for starting purposes and for reserve if the alternator can't produce enough power to supple the vehicles electrical needs.

 

Again, if you measure a battery voltage less than the full charge voltage (12.6V), the battery is supplying the 12.3V, NOT the alternator!!!!

The correct battery voltage when the alternator is supplying the current it should is 14V.

 

Bob, you will never learn and no matter how many times you are proven wrong, you will never admit it.

I am going to drop it in Rich's thread because it is going off topic, but Bob you are wrong.

 

You obviously know nothing about simple DC electricity, or the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance, known as Ohm's law!!