Thread: Underbody transmission cooler

I'd be worries about that getting smashed from rocks off the tracks, landing and grazing on it and flooding it with mud.

I run one against the back of the grill without a fan.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

I'd be worries about that getting smashed from rocks off the tracks, landing and grazing on it and flooding it with mud.

….thanks for those thoughts and yes you would ‘expect’ damage as you describe. I have thought of a mud flap or solid deflector or shield forward of the heat exchanger assembly. The installation in the pic is rather bulky and it looks like the fan is mounted on a swing down cover / air scoop. Interestingly my brother has left and right 55litre sill tanks in the same position that have survived 15 years in the Vic High Country unscathed and he is definitely not not a timid offroader . His D2 is like mine with tall tyres and is lifted.

I’m not totally “sold” on the idea of the underbody installation but do want to workshop the idea further and a test installation might be part of that

I think the setup in the OP pics wouldn't survive very long.
Plastic fan, easy to damage,
Lots of fine fins, easy to block up.

I have thought about using an ali heat sink style cooler, like on electronic parts, basically large 'chunky' fin style, no fans, I think it would be pretty tough and simply pressure wash it clean, might not be the most efficient but I also think the extra capacity would help. It would also depend if this is the only method of cooling or it was supplementary, again as a sup cooling, just the extra capacity would help.

just some thoughts

Cheers

Reddirt204

I have one about 300 x 200 in front of the radiator (no a/c) to cool a C9.

I put it there so the genuine fake EL thermos would drag plenty of air through at low speed slogging conditions.

Works fine.

The arrangement in the pic is, well.................??

DL

Do you actually need additional cooling?

How hot is your transmission getting?

This ^^^ .... my early d1 with factory cooler, not plumbed into radiator like later ones, very rarely sees above 70/80 deg with normal driving. Have go really flog it hard off-road to get it too 100. Only mod it cooler mounted a bit higher, as my winch is mounted in very close ( grill is cut around it) and needed a tad of extra room to make it fit.

With a setup like in the pic, I would expect it to bail me up at some point in time off-road.

Originally Posted by Reddirt204

........I have thought about using an ali heat sink style cooler, like on electronic parts, basically large 'chunky' fin style, no fans, I think it would be pretty tough and simply pressure wash it clean, might not be the most efficient but I also think the extra capacity would help. It would also depend if this is the only method of cooling or it was supplementary, again as a sup cooling, just the extra capacity would help........Reddirt204

I too thought about the heatsink oil coolers but with a spec of only 1600BTU/Hr for the DERALE 13inch single pass cooler means that you would need up to 10 of them if you were looking to just replace the stock cooler.

Originally Posted by simonmelb

Do you actually need additional cooling?

How hot is your transmission getting?

No - I don't need additional cooling it's just that I have my 440,000km 1999 build Discovery 2 'parked up' at the moment, it being part way through an extensive overhaul triggered 1 year ago by a leaking coolant radiator which required the front D2 to be disassembled to get the radiator out and I thought, what else could I do whilst I have all this access. There was the stuff I 'knew' needed doing and then there were known failure points that I decided that I would address before they failed and all up I ended up with a list of 45 items. So firstly the easy stuff, the intercooler got a clean and the inlet manifold came off and was cleaned to rid it of 22 years of black tar like goop. The fuel cooler got new O rings, on the other side of the engine the accessory bracket came off and a new water pump installed. Engine sump off, oil pump bolt done and then onto the Transfer Box rebuild and new flex plate while we had access... then my attention was drawn to the stock transmission cooler and it's known issues of developing cracks, and more commonly connector and hose failures - none of which I had experienced but given the age of the components it was inevitable at some point - and that's what has lead me down this rabbit hole of researching options for transmission oil coolers and to question do i replace with stock parts or upgrade and enjoy all the benefits and efficiencies of modern oil cooler types and fittings.

cheers ... Robert