Auto trans cooler?

I was wondering if anyoen runs a aftermarket one? I was up in the mountains the other night "doing some spirited driving", my at temp light started to blink and my car start to run really hot. I'm thinking about getting a aftermarket cooler just wonder if anyone runs one and what size?

first ? - have you done the power mod?

I have not done it, I just locked it in second.

why would you do that? if you think that gives you a 50/50 split that is incorrect

No I know only 1st and R that gives you the 50/50 split. I did that so it wouldn't shift up when I let off the gas to brake or go around a corner, if It shifted up I would have to wait for it to down shift before I can start to accelerate out. When I say "spirited" I mean I was racing a s-13 on the down hill.

you should do the power mod. it changes the shift maps of the transmission to do what you were attempting, without the strain on the trans.

 

then you more than likely wont need a trans cooler

I have been looking into the power mode, I might do it just to see how it is. But in all reality I do need to do a manual swap for what I do with it sometimes. I plan on getting a crashed bug eye "one day" so I can do the whole drive train swap. I really need more power its to slow up the steep parts.

i don't think the trans had anything to do with the engine overheating.

i think the the trans fluid could be on fire and not cause an overheating issue on an engine with a good working cooling system.

 

it is much more likely that the head gaskets are to blame for the over heating.

this would not be unusual for a 98 outback ej25.

i hope not, but keep an eye on it.

or maybe a cooling system not quite full.

 

and i too have gotten an AT Temp light after a spirited drive in my 97 GT. i punched it from a stop and kept the pedal on the floor until i was going way too fast. i read the code and don't remember what the code was. but i remember it was something weird. i thought i had broken something in the trans.

 

the code cleared itself after several drive cycles.

i was very glad.

well the factory trans cooler is in the radiator so when the trans fluid witch can get up to 500f heats your hole radiator up so it stops cooling your coolant and starts to head it up. The same thing happened to my dads car when trying to to drive to Tahoe CA he took it to the dealer and that is what they said, he was pissed cus he had just bought it brand new like a week before. The way they fixed it was put on a aftermarket trans cooler.

ok, trans fluid can be 500 degrees.

combustion temps can be 1500 degrees.

 

but, i could be wrong.

read the trouble code and see.

yes thee combustion temp can be that high, but the coolant is suppose to go back into a radiator that is below 200 degrees. I really don't think its the head gaskets the motor was rebuilt with paper work before I bought it. I also did a compression test and it all looked good.

I run a cheap trans cooler since I finished my headgaskets. It's a Hayden I think, it was like $20 from amazon. I have it mounted in front of the radiator and AC, at the bottom where the holes are in my stock bumper. I don't have a reading of my temperatures before, but currently it runs at about 120-130 under normal conditions and 160-170 during mail. I have it set up with the cooler AFTER the radiator cooler, not bypassing it. I considered running the cooler first to bring the ATF up to temp when cold, but after getting my readings on the route I'm happy with the setup. I might experiment a bit, and I would def. like to install a cooler bypass line.

 

Pre-cooler, even while delivering the hardest of routes hill-wise I have never had the AT Temp light come on while driving (it does come on when I turn the key on before cranking it, always has, no code or anything, idk).

 

Anyway in your case it could be something else, but honestly a cooler and gauge are cheap and useful upgrades. I overpaid for the gauge (B&M), had to buy new fittings at the plumbing store since the ones that came with it were useless, and I still came out at less than $100. It is by far the best thing I've done to my car.

not on my subarus, but on my civic i have a double thick aluminium radiator without the AT cooler built in. i ran a custom one in front of it, 12"X6" and it barely covers the lower 1/3rd of the radiator. so far it is working much better than the stock radiator/ cooler combo. cant remember the actual temps now, its been a while since i did that install and testing but i remember i was getting a 30 deg lower temp on average. i ran stock for weeks taking temp readings after drives to get the stock baselines. funny how that stuff gets put out of mind when you solve your issues.

So 500deg F trans temps you say? LOL I don't care how hard you drive if your temps run that hot you wouldn't have a trans anymore. I drive my LGT pretty hard and I've never had the "temp" light come on. On my old 99 4Runner towing 5000lbs over steep hills and a distance of 400 miles my trans temp never went over 200 deg F on a 85 deg day. I highly doubt your Subaru trans fluid ever got near 500 deg F like I said your trans would be shot if it did. Usually the rule of thumb is your trans fluid temp should be 40 degrees over whatever the air temp is, so if it's 60 deg outside your temps should be around 100 deg. Now this will go up Yeh harder one drives.

yaeh, i would read the trans code.

the AT Temp light does not always mean a trans temp issue.

as a matter of fact it rarely means that.

the most common cause for the AT Temp light is a bad duty C solenoid, clearly not the issue.

 

read the trans code.