First, giving a shout out to @JohnnieMo (not active since 2019) for this placement idea for a larger trans oil cooler.
I've been working on and off this winter selecting a cooler and the other parts required then fabricating what was needed to mount the new cooler. Got a few days of decent temps this week to get it installed.
Cooler is a 50K BTU, 30 row plate unit. Core is roughly 12 X 8.5 X 2 inches.
I went with 6-AN fittings for the hoses.
I used some Uni-Strut I had for the mounting support since it fit the cooler so well and to me looked a little better than flat stock.
Never worked with AN fittings and I liked it!
I cut out the flat area where the license plate mounts. Went to the U-Pick-It and looked at 200 cars and trucks for a suitable grill to use. Not many front ends of vehicles still intact. Did find something off a Mazda that I liked. I cut the center portion of that grill to fit and mount in the new opening in the bumper. Painted it with the matching paint code spray paint I had left over.
3/8" hard line compression fitting to 6-AN. Cut keeping as much metal line yet still keeping good access to the fittings. With an extra 45 deg fitting I also made a hose to connect to the supply hard line AN fitting (lower one in the picture). I'll open it for when I replace the trans fluid and filter this summer for pumping out the old fluid.
Mounted between and held in place with one of the tow hook bolts on each side.
The bottom of the cooler will be held in place with a small nut/bolt to the bottom edge of the bumper (not done yet in this picture). I think I will grease the top bracket at the tow hook bolts and just snug it up a little instead of full tight. I'm thinking if I rub the bottom edge or hit something in the road the cooler will pivot back as much as the bottom edge of the bumper does and hopefully preventing cooler damage.
I'll probably block off much of the cooler in the winter. No leaks so far!
I've been working on and off this winter selecting a cooler and the other parts required then fabricating what was needed to mount the new cooler. Got a few days of decent temps this week to get it installed.
Cooler is a 50K BTU, 30 row plate unit. Core is roughly 12 X 8.5 X 2 inches.
I went with 6-AN fittings for the hoses.
I used some Uni-Strut I had for the mounting support since it fit the cooler so well and to me looked a little better than flat stock.
Never worked with AN fittings and I liked it!
I cut out the flat area where the license plate mounts. Went to the U-Pick-It and looked at 200 cars and trucks for a suitable grill to use. Not many front ends of vehicles still intact. Did find something off a Mazda that I liked. I cut the center portion of that grill to fit and mount in the new opening in the bumper. Painted it with the matching paint code spray paint I had left over.
3/8" hard line compression fitting to 6-AN. Cut keeping as much metal line yet still keeping good access to the fittings. With an extra 45 deg fitting I also made a hose to connect to the supply hard line AN fitting (lower one in the picture). I'll open it for when I replace the trans fluid and filter this summer for pumping out the old fluid.
Mounted between and held in place with one of the tow hook bolts on each side.
The bottom of the cooler will be held in place with a small nut/bolt to the bottom edge of the bumper (not done yet in this picture). I think I will grease the top bracket at the tow hook bolts and just snug it up a little instead of full tight. I'm thinking if I rub the bottom edge or hit something in the road the cooler will pivot back as much as the bottom edge of the bumper does and hopefully preventing cooler damage.
I'll probably block off much of the cooler in the winter. No leaks so far!
At least that's what I'm telling myself so I can sleep at night.
