Moving the tranny cooler

[xjtrailrider]

Coolers might be in the same spots ... but our clutchfans arent ..

Have you tried on the other side as an experiment ... or have you got a fan over-ride on the e-fan - so you dont have to wait on the PCM to finally activate the e-fan ??

Are you still hooked up to the tranny oil, heat exchanger in the radiator ??

All are great questions, I can move it to the other side without issue.

No over-ride on the e-fan, mine is 96 and from what I have read, if I over-ride the e-fan I will get a code.

I spent last night looking at different e-fan set-ups. Part of my air flow issue is that all of my wheeling is in the rocks and I'm moving too slow to get air across the grill. The winch is not helping much either.

No, I'm no longer using the heat exchanger since this rig is rarely used in the winter(our trails close after bear season is over and re-open in the spring)

 

[techno1154]

awww ... it will be fine ....

Until some idiot, kamikaze pedestrian, takes a swan dive over the hood .... aperwork



Where to put the tranny cooler ????

... At a running temp cost of an extra 5*f, in hot weather .... which I sorted with a 5* lower thermostat and some other simple adjustments ...

Mine sits right here ..... in front of the clutch fan. (RHD export)

Nice cooler. What brand is it. By-the-way, it is up side down. It should be placed in such a way that it is filled with oil at all times when the engine is running. That way the oil pushes all the air out resulting in better cooling.

http://bmracing.com/wp-bnmcont/uploads/bm_cooler_techdoc.pdf

I know your cooler isn't a B&M but still,....I would think the same principles would apply.

 

[hadfield4wd]

I spent last night looking at different e-fan set-ups. Part of my air flow issue is that all of my wheeling is in the rocks and I'm moving too slow to get air across the grill. The winch is not helping much either.

But if you put it in front of the mechanical fan you'll have air flow all the time.

You know you can get yours inspected. You worry too much. If I could get my jeep inspected you can get yours.

 

[clean4drxj]

what kinda radiator & pump are you using?

 

[PacificEd]

Jon,

From what I have been told, this type of cooler is much more efficient than the style mounted on your XJ. Maybe a cooler like the one above might work better? I have used this style in a Scout and it did wonders cooling down the power steering fluid.

JP Magazine did an article about mounting the new cooler like you bought and plumbing the whole thing with AN fittings and braided hose. I seem to remember them mounting theirs under the XJ.

 

[carves]

I can move it to the other side without issue.

Might be worth considering the age and condition of the fanclutch as well ??

No over-ride on the e-fan, mine is 96 and from what I have read, if I over-ride the e-fan I will get a code.

Codes seem to be a lucky dip situation ... post '97 models get it the most common according to forum info.

I spent last night looking at different e-fan set-ups. Part of my air flow issue is that all of my wheeling is in the rocks and I'm moving too slow to get air across the grill. The winch is not helping much either.

As long as the fan/fans are in good condition ... the winch shouldnt be an issue ... at the slower speeds ...

No, I'm no longer using the heat exchanger since this rig is rarely used in the winter(our trails close after bear season is over and re-open in the spring)

damn thing causes more troubles than what its worth, IMHO ... but handy for your cold winters I guess ??

Nice cooler. What brand is it. By-the-way, it is up side down.....

Brand ... http://pwr.com.au/#/view=home/

Personally - I wouldnt think it would be any better, than anybody elses 8 x 10 x 3/4 stacked plate cooler

Airpockets ... Yes, a possibility - but wasnt an issue ... Setup has been all good ... Over the last 12mnths the AW4 has been about a constant 150* (measured at the sump) with very little variation under load.

... mind you - Im a sedate driver and not on the rev limiter in all gears ..:laugh:

But if you put it in front of the mechanical fan you'll have air flow all the time.

Yep .. that was my reasoning ... Even the reduced fan airflow before the fanclutch kicks in properly at about 160* ... is beneficial to the cooling ... compared to waiting for the PCM to wake up and activate the e-fan.

........ Maybe a cooler like the one above might work better? ....

Thats also my understanding ...

 

[hubs97xj]

No over-ride on the e-fan, mine is 96 and from what I have read, if I over-ride the e-fan I will get a code.

The simple way to operate the fan manually on a 96+ is to put a relay on the power wire running to the fan itself. There's no reason (at least IMO) to bother with the PCM.

 

[H8PVMT]

Thats where mine is now and its not getting the job done and my engine is running warmer than it should.

Your cooler is behind the crossmember? I was gonna tuck money down there this weekend, or is it the one blocking the radiator, I was gonna throw a ps fluid cooler next to it in the other crossmember hole

 

[xjtrailrider]

Thanks guys for the responses. I'm mounting the cooler that came with the fan on the pass side so that the mechanical fan will always be pulling on it.

I have a 3 row all brass rad and stock water pump

The cooler in the cross member is for the power steering

Ed, yep that cooler is getting retired.

 

[Talyn]

I wouldn't install the stacked plate design with the barbs pointing downward. When I did my install a few places said it will trap air and another member here said he used an IR camera that showed fluid wasn't getting where it should be with the barbs pointed down. http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1026658 it might be in my thread some place.

Edit: Its in this thread http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1011262

 

[xjtrailrider]

Okay, with the advice given by many of you(thanks guys!) I ditched the "cooler on the hood" idea and went a more traditional route.

The tranny cooler is now moved over to the pass side. I got rid of the "zig-zag" style cooler and went with a much more efficient "stacked plate" style(the one that came with the fan/cooler combo). This turned out to be a 6 hour job since the winch had to be removed in order to get the grill out and put the new cooler in. As luck would have it when I was re-installing the upper radiator support I dropped a #8mm socket down into and behind the water pump pulley. Yep you guessed it, I had to take the pulley off to get to the stupid socket! Another hour wasted. While I was at it I installed a second B&M temp sensor in the output line of the tranny. Now I can toggle my tranny temp gauge between the output and input lines to see how efficient the cooler is working.

My original plan/reason for installing the cooler on the drivers side was that I was going to have a switch on my E-fan so that I could turn it on at low speed. The problem that I ran into with this idea is that when you disconnect the factory wire harness from the E-fan on a 96+ XJ(OBD2) it will throw an annoying CEL that has to be cleared each time. I know there are other ways around this but I didn't want to deal with it. "If it works don't mess with it" is my philosophy.

Now that the cooler is on the pass side it will get more air at low speed since the mechanical fan is always pulling the cooler will always be getting air even when crawling along at slow speeds. I plan on replacing the mechanical fan with a E-fan that will run off of a thermostat controller for even more air flow at low speed and less parasitic drag on the motor.

SO guys, no ugly fan/cooler/basket mounted on the hood!

 

[hubs97xj]

You got it done, and it works, but your assumptions on the efan are incorrect. The PCM can't tell if the fan is there or not; it only monitors the control side of the fan circuit. Manual control of the fan is simple.

 

[xjtrailrider]

You got it done, and it works, but your assumptions on the efan are incorrect. The PCM can't tell if the fan is there or not; it only monitors the control side of the fan circuit. Manual control of the fan is simple.

PM me a wiring diagram and I'll do it. I'm good at wiring but not good at figuring out ways of doing it

 

[hubs97xj]

http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii244/AHhub/forum stuff/?action=view&current=FanPCMBypassed.jpg

My drawing sucks, but it's simple. Cut the blue wire in the fan pigtail. Connect the fan side of the wire to terminal 30. Connect the harness side to the Normally Closed terminal(87a). Run a fused power wire from the battery to the Normally Open terminal(87). Add the ground and a switched power lead (or vice versa) to 85 and 86. I use illuminated switches, which clutters the drawing a bit more, but it's still just a simple switching setup.

With the switch off, the fan is powered by the stock circuit. When the switch is on, the relay holds the stock wire open, and powers the fan with the new hot wire. Works great, nice and simple.

edit-whoops, that's not a PM. Anyway, props to CharlesS for the idea, I just sketched it out.

 

[xjtrailrider]

http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii244/AHhub/forum stuff/?action=view&current=FanPCMBypassed.jpg

My drawing sucks, but it's simple. Cut the blue wire in the fan pigtail. Connect the fan side of the wire to terminal 30. Connect the harness side to the Normally Closed terminal(87a). Run a fused power wire from the battery to the Normally Open terminal(87). Add the ground and a switched power lead (or vice versa) to 85 and 86. I use illuminated switches, which clutters the drawing a bit more, but it's still just a simple switching setup.

With the switch off, the fan is powered by the stock circuit. When the switch is on, the relay holds the stock wire open, and powers the fan with the new hot wire. Works great, nice and simple.

edit-whoops, that's not a PM. Anyway, props to CharlesS for the idea, I just sketched it out.

Thanks! On my to-do list!

 

[bigalpha]

Since your junk seems to run a little hotter than you like, maybe you should think about upgrading your fan clutch to the HD version?

 

[xjtrailrider]

Since your junk seems to run a little hotter than you like, maybe you should think about upgrading your fan clutch to the HD version?

I would but my fan clutch is new and I'm upgrading to another E-fan soon for that side. No need in wasting the money.

 

[ferntr33]

you ever think about WAI? I came from the F/I scene and a lot of guys would mist their intercoolers.