Southwest Chuck
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Costa Mesa, CA
This is my '96 XJ, 4.0, AW4 I set-up as an Expedition Vehicle. Among many other mods, it has a RT Tent and weather proof surplus Viper Rocket Case mounted on a modified Conferr Rack. I've been racking my brain to find a solution to my A/T over heating when fully loaded and under a load, uphill, highway conditions.
Long story short, the previous owner had by-passed / abandoned the radiator trans cooler and installed a large cooler in front of the radiator. This seemed to works fine under normal loads, but under heavy loads, doesn't provide enough cooling for the tranny.
Obviously, the simple, common sense thing to do would be to plumb it back into the radiator cooler to solve the problem. BUT, and here's my dilemma, the radiator cooler is already in use as a water heater for my on-board hot water shower system, so I need to come up with another solution. Other than installing a second trans cooler with a thermostatically controlled fan, I was at a loss to come up with any other options until now. I'd like to get feedback on this idea, if anyone has every experimented with it, any drawbacks/ problems etc. anyone can see that would prevent it from working, I would appreciate any input / opinions.
I recently had to replace my heater control valve after it failed (blew apart) on a recent trip. That is how I slowly concocted this crazy idea.
What if.... :
1. .... I capped the radiator heater hoses.
2. .... I modified the heater core intake and outlets and ran the trans lines/fluid through them using the hot trans fluid as a heater heat source while at the same time dissipating (cooling) the trans fluid?
3. .... I also Modified the ducting system to be able to selectively divert the hot air from the core either inside or outside of the vehicle?
4. modified the ducting system again to divert (blow) cold air conditioned air over the heater core to add additional cooling power
5.... Installed a valved bypass loop before the core to bypass it all together** (and just use the external trans cooler), thus enabling the use of the air conditioning system for driver comfort when extra trans cooling is not necessary?
**(this would also ensure that if the core failed, I could by-pass it and not lose all of my trans "cooling capacity" or fluid)
Has anyone ever attempted this and if so, the results? Is it practical. Would it be efficient enough? Would the heater core stand up to the temps and/or pressure or the trans fluid? Most importantly, would it be a reliable alternative, at least for me?
To say the least, I'm thinking out of the box here :wow:. Any input would be appreciated.
SC
Long story short, the previous owner had by-passed / abandoned the radiator trans cooler and installed a large cooler in front of the radiator. This seemed to works fine under normal loads, but under heavy loads, doesn't provide enough cooling for the tranny.
Obviously, the simple, common sense thing to do would be to plumb it back into the radiator cooler to solve the problem. BUT, and here's my dilemma, the radiator cooler is already in use as a water heater for my on-board hot water shower system, so I need to come up with another solution. Other than installing a second trans cooler with a thermostatically controlled fan, I was at a loss to come up with any other options until now. I'd like to get feedback on this idea, if anyone has every experimented with it, any drawbacks/ problems etc. anyone can see that would prevent it from working, I would appreciate any input / opinions.
I recently had to replace my heater control valve after it failed (blew apart) on a recent trip. That is how I slowly concocted this crazy idea.
What if.... :
1. .... I capped the radiator heater hoses.
2. .... I modified the heater core intake and outlets and ran the trans lines/fluid through them using the hot trans fluid as a heater heat source while at the same time dissipating (cooling) the trans fluid?
3. .... I also Modified the ducting system to be able to selectively divert the hot air from the core either inside or outside of the vehicle?
4. modified the ducting system again to divert (blow) cold air conditioned air over the heater core to add additional cooling power
5.... Installed a valved bypass loop before the core to bypass it all together** (and just use the external trans cooler), thus enabling the use of the air conditioning system for driver comfort when extra trans cooling is not necessary?
**(this would also ensure that if the core failed, I could by-pass it and not lose all of my trans "cooling capacity" or fluid)
Has anyone ever attempted this and if so, the results? Is it practical. Would it be efficient enough? Would the heater core stand up to the temps and/or pressure or the trans fluid? Most importantly, would it be a reliable alternative, at least for me?
To say the least, I'm thinking out of the box here :wow:. Any input would be appreciated.
SC
's forums. Thanks. you're a credit to the organization.
