Should the aftermarket ATF cooler be the only connection, disengaging the stock radiator cooler? Or should the ATF pipe still go through the stock radiator cooler before the aftermarket cooler?

 

If you have a good size external cooler, just bypass the radiator one.

 

bypass like mentioned^^^^

as far i remember trans line was the only fluid other than coolant running to the radiator. get you some zip ties, hoses, small hose clamps and kitty litter...helps with oil stains on driveway.

when you upgrade ur radiator as well you wont need to drain the trans fluid
gimme n hour n ill post a pic on how i, (urs truely) did it

 

if ur installing an atf cooler u install it on the transmission. there are two brass bolts on the right side 1 in & 1 out.........

 

So let me get this straight.....I should tell my mechanic to mount the ATF cooler on the transmission using those brass bolts you mentioned?? He currently intends to mount it at the radiator which I understand is the standard location for an ATF cooler.

 

So bypass the radiator cooling mechanism completely correct?
Looking forward to those pics.

 

Put the cooler up front. Run two lines to the trans 1in 1out. Add bout a 1qt of nissan j fliud!

 

I did not bypass the radiator, but rather ran it from the "out" or "return" side of the radiator to my B&M tranny cooler THEN back to the tranny.....seems to work fine for me!

 

That what i have done on others cars , unless you replace the radiator with an aftermarket version that has no trans cooler in it.

 

I was reading instructions about installing the ATF cooler and it mentioned needing to relocate the power steering cooler in some cases. I was wonder if it is possible to just remover the oem PS cooler completely, put upgraded ATF cooler in that area, then just route the PS lines to the OEM ATF cooler(radiator)?

 

Thats a good idea, just don't know if it would work for tracking a car.

 

^^^thats sounds like it would work, but if you do that then what is the point of having a atf cooler?

most after market radiators dont come with openings for the transmission fluid because they are designed for MT.

dude im so sorry, i am back in the hospital in dc and my car is in arkansas. when i get home ill take pics if you still need them. its easy to do. checking trans fluid levels afterwards is vital!!!

 

one bad thing about running the AT fluid thru the rad is when the rad decides to give up, it mixes up the coolant and AT fluid together. This will nicely **** up the tranny - TC, VB(sludge build up gets the valves stuck), Clutchpacks get toasted, seals etc etc...

I've learned from this mistake the hard way and now Im currently rebuilding the AT.

the AT specialists always recommend running the ATF only on a separate cooler.

IMO the stock PS cooler does a great job. I live in a hot country, and have tracked the Z several times already. The PS stock cooler never caused any issues. So there's no need to touch that.

 

different tracks have different affects, the stock cooler sucks for tracking

 

I have never run into PS problems with the 350z's cooler either. I am more on the lines thinking of cutting back on the clutter of metal in the front area of the car.

Edit: I had to go eat so I cut my post short.

Did you have the radiator fail on the 350z? If so could you be more detailed about what caused the failure? I would like to know if you had any mods to either the cooling system or AT. Some people go do stupid s#it to their cars(not fixing a coolant leak that lead to overheating) then blame the cheap parts. I just want to weed through these type a failures, but if all was OEM and fine, I wonder why the failure happened. Was it a certain mileage, climate (road salt), running tap water only in rad. Could the failure be tracked like a e36 m3's water pump fails at 100k religously.

 

hi beddow.

Actualy the failure just suddenly happened.

I replaced the coolant fluid and after covering 100 miles, the AT started acting weird like clutch slipping and such. Later on it just overheated and it made the grinding noise. The Z couldnt more an inch no matter how much it revved and i was in the middle of an intersection.

It turned out that there was already a tiny hole or crack inside the rad and that it's somehow gotten bigger or opened up more after I drained and refilled the coolant.

THe mixture looked something like one of those starbucks vanila-caramel frappuccino's. tastey.

so i learned a lesson that nomatter how confident i am with the Z, the fluids still need to be checked every otherday.

 

Yes....Disengage the stock radiator ATF cooler. plug those ports if you like and don't use them.

I would keep the PS separate.....what temps does the original oem core reach and the heat transfer to it will spike the power steering temps.....doing an external PS cooler is always best. issues down the line, trouble shooting is also made easier when the mechanical systems are separate..

READING POST 13 and POST 16 are clear "tale tale" signs........

having had a tranny temp gauge would have saved that tranny......and having separate cooling cores would have kept the tranny from die'n as well.

All that would have had happened with a oem radiator leak is your car would over heat and you could have found the problem and fixed it.....

at the point 350Zdj learned what was wrong, it was too late........His post is the most informative here and post like that let us learn.

OP,

route it separate.........

Do not plumb PS into oem radiator......for what to save a buck from buying a core??

as for tracking the oem PS core was not sufficent. with texas heat and DRIFTING, i found my ps fluid boiling and my steering got really soft and was not confidence inspiring at all.....

i did this: https://my350z.com/forum/engine-driv...teering+cooler

-J

 

Thanks for the details 350zdj,that is really upsetting. How many miles/years were on the rad.? Do you have any reason to suspect anything might have caused the hole?

 

what kind of tracking are you guys doing? autox, road, drifting.......

are you hitting the course, then sitting before you get to go back out again, which then in turn lets the PS system cool down???

When i drift, i hit the course 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, times straight.......no breaks no waiting in lines at my local events......i found the PS cooler to crap out and PS fluid to boil quick....

what are your track conditions and routines??? that can play a part in WHY you never noticed it before.....
-J

 

That just happens..I have seen it big time in trucks.... and personal off road only vehicles.....

that reason alone is why that mod is used on trucks that tow a lot or off road only vehicles..

-J