Yet another aftermarket trans cooler install.

[dgipalo]

Well, in preparation to do some towing and general tranny overheat paranoia, I decided to add a cooler to my 03 EX. Process was something of a PIA, mainly due to close quarters and the 'plastic rivets' that broke. The cooler is a Hayden 12x12 (approximate) rated by them 'up to 10000 towing pounds'. IAC, it's somewhat larger than the stock Honda cooler, and cost ~$70 with the extra hose. Here are the installed pics.

This is the box.

[dgipalo]

And here is the picture of the top mount. Drilled a couple of holes in the brace, the cooler fit in the channel, not interfering with anything. Brace is held by 4 bolts; I removed it and my drill press did the job quite easily.

[dgipalo]

Here's the bottom of the cooler; I ZIP-strapped it to the PS cooler. At the point I get the hitch, I'll add a small aux cooler for PS; for the monment, this should not intefere. I used the included foam isolators to ensure a rattle-free life.

[dgipalo]

And a shot of the hoses. Overall fluid to fill the car back up was 5 qt, as I drained the OEM radiator cooler.

The actual install took between 2-3 hours, mainly in R&R of the belly pan and the trip to the parts house to get additional hose. Had I decided to put the cooler on the far left side of the car, the include hose would have been enough. I decided to center it, and needed another 2 1/2 feet to run to the pipe of the stock return hose (removed the rubber hose that the OEM cooler instructions say to reuse).

Now I have to go and replace a few of those plastic rivets that hold the belly pan on; tabs broke off on the small ones.

Cooler sits ~2" ahead of A/C condenser, so air flow should not be impacted; this is the same approximate distance for the OEM cooler. Since the cooler isn't sealed with the A/C condenser, it won't get the full benefit of fans; I figured it should get enough, as it's approximately double the capacity of the OEM. It sits in front of the upper grille opening, which should provide all the air needed when moving.

Anyways, an easy and pretty cheap way to add cooling capacity to the tranny...

[N_Jay]

Nice install.

My only concern is the reduction and preheating of the air going top the radiator.

Sometimes more is not better, but it would take a lot of study to find where your installation falls relative the requirements.

My assumption, is such study is done when the factory kit is developed.

[dgipalo]

Originally posted by N_Jay
Nice install.

My only concern is the reduction and preheating of the air going top the radiator.

Sometimes more is not better, but it would take a lot of study to find where your installation falls relative the requirements.

My assumption, is such study is done when the factory kit is developed.

Based on the spacing and coverage, the condenser masking from this unit is less than that of the 'billet' grilles folks rave about.

I made a conscious decision not to 'seal' the back of the unit to the A/C condenser, specifically to avoid the issue you raised. The A/C condenser has foam 'seals' between it and the radiator to maximize the fan-driven airflow at idle. As it is, the unit is in the 'airstream' at speed, and will get enough flow to be effective around town..

As to the 'preheat' factor - I expect this would be an issue only under the most extreme conditions, where the rad would be having issues of heat rejection anyways.

[chuck_tempe]

nice install, i am going to put an aftermarket tranny cooler on mine before my next camping trip. why honda recommends a power steering cooler is questionable to me. it's not like i'm going to steer left and right radically while i'm going down the road. i will eventually put one one also. the travel trailer i have is a 'tab' teardrop. lightweight and easy to tow.

http://www.tabrv.com fyi

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by chuck_tempe
nice install, i am going to put an aftermarket tranny cooler on mine before my next camping trip. why honda recommends a power steering cooler is questionable to me. it's not like i'm going to steer left and right radically while i'm going down the road. i will eventually put one one also. the travel trailer i have is a 'tab' teardrop. lightweight and easy to tow.

http://www.tabrv.com fyi

Honda's stated reason is "Higher under-hood temperatures".

[dgipalo]

Originally posted by chuck_tempe
nice install, i am going to put an after-market tranny cooler on mine before my next camping trip. why Honda recommends a power steering cooler is questionable to me. it's not like i'm going to steer left and right radically while i'm going down the road. i will eventually put one one also. the travel trailer i have is a 'tab' teardrop. lightweight and easy to tow.

http://www.tabrv.com fyi

Cool trailer.

PS temps also tend to spike when backing and maneuvering. IAC, for $<30, it's not worth quibbling about. I didn't do it with this install 'cause the specific model cooler I wanted was out of stock, and installing that unit is easy enough ( read minimal removal of body parts ) I plan to put in the small Hayden tube type unit in parallel with the OEM unit; this will provide more than adequate surface area.

My bottom line was $85, inclusive of the stealer prices for the under-body pan clips (@ $2.25 EACH ) Still much better than the $250 + the OEM costs on-line.

[tangotango99]

Did add more fluid to your transmission after the install ?

[dgipalo]

Originally posted by tangotango99
Did add more fluid to your transmission after the install ?

I did a drain/fill at the same time. Total was ~ 5 qt, which took the dipstick to the top dot.

I ended up draining the OEM cooler to lessen the mess with the lines.

[chuck_tempe]

thanks guys! i'll being looking at a PS cooler afterall. a little bit of 'insurance' wouldn't hurt.

btw, i put in underbody neon (green) under my little teardrop trailer and it turns on/off via remote control. looks like a ufo at night. can't find my pictures of it in the dark since my hard drive crashed on my computer. it's also nice when camping and it's dark outside.