MT -82 transmission cooler setup

Finally got my transmission cooler setup completed. took most of the day making hoses, mounting the pump and wiring up a relay. Used the same toggle switch that the diff cooler is on. Maybe will add separate swiches if I do a radio blank off switch panel down the line.

Used the FR 500 power steering cooler as the matrix, -8 AN lines and fittings for fluid transfer and Tilton lube pump.







Also added my Speedway Motorsports Nomex radiator protector. That stuff is awesome, definitely bulletproof protection.


I am on track Friday and Saturday at Lime Rock so I will see how temperatures at the trans are.

Steve

 

[JDee]

Found a good spot inside the right front fender, there's a nice big hole there where the old windshield washer bottle used to be, pump and 90 degree fittings look like they'll fit in there. Will have to put some rivnuts in there to mount it, that's a new thing for me. Should be healthier for it out there I expect it's not going to get a lot of heat from the engine being up front and out of the main part of the engine room.

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

Found a good spot inside the right front fender, there's a nice big hole there where the old windshield washer bottle used to be, pump and 90 degree fittings look like they'll fit in there. Will have to put some rivnuts in there to mount it, that's a new thing for me.

Nice. Once you start with Ruvnuts it’s hard to stop. Open up so many possibilities.

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

looking to add a cooler to my mt82, had a couple dumb questions...
With this setup, how do you know the fluid level & won't fluid start leaking out of the vent tube since extra fluid will be added for the exchanger & lines? And does this also mean the pump needs to always be running?

 

[TMSBOSS]

Just finishing my install. Similar to Steve’s set up, different pump and pump location.
Fluid levels should remain constant as long as the system stays tight. If you are concerned about the oil draining down when off, run the pump at start up and shut it down as needed. I plan to run mine whenever the car moves.
I filled mine as usual, then ran the pump to fill the lines, cooler and pump. Then I topped off the trans again. Will the fluid remain in the system and not drain back when the cars sets? I think so. My oil cooler retain its oil when shut down for months. If you are concerned you could put in check valves to keep fluid in place.
if you are considering using the Ford FR500 steering cooler. Kohr still had them is stock a few month ago.

 

[JDee]

You can figure out the extra volume of fluid required by the lines and cooler/pump, there's calculators around on the web to get the volume per foot of AN lines and the cooler should have a capacity stated in its specs. Just add that to the capacity needed for stock fill. You can add a half litre extra for peace of mind, when the pump is running it's moving a pile of fluid and I doubt there's any excess build up in the trans. As TMS said, just start the engine and the turn the pump on, it primes almost instantly, you can clearly hear it settle down as it picks up full flow. I didn't use check valves, the pump primes so fast that I don't think they're really needed.

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

Thanks, I'm finalizing the setup for adding this and will detail more as the parts come together! Just trying to figure out the wiring with my limited electrical knowledge. My plan would be to have a SPDT Switch to manually turn on the pump, manually turn off the pump, or have it auto run off of a thermostat switch probed by the drain.
I'm not sure if this needs a relay since the pumps generally draw max of 10A, but would this diagram work? Any feedback appreciated!

 

[JDee]

I just used an on/off switch in the interest of simplicity and reliability, the wiring for it is bog simple. I just switch it on when I go out on track and switch it off when the car is done cooling down afterwards. The thermostat switch is a nice idea, but I'd be afraid of it not working, I don't trust stuff like that, have seen it fail too often. You'll never know if it didn't cycle on, no way you can hear the pump on track. Or you could hard wire it to a hot ignition feed, but I don't like that idea either. But then again with a manual switch the risk is forgetting to turn it on.

I used a Tilton pump and it needs a relay, not sure about the Susa pump though I expect it likely does as well.
I also put a heat gauge on it, the sender is on the hot side of the cooler matrix. I could see no way to mount the sender down at the trans outlet, so the matrix inlet was the next best thing. I don't trust the temp gauge at all, I generally use a heat gun and shoot temperatures off the lines at several places on both sides of the matrix. That I trust. I usually see about 175 coming out of the trans, and 140 or so after the matrix, filter and pump. The heat gauge reads 145 all the time, which I know for sure is wrong.

 

[Beermoney]

Thanks, I'm finalizing the setup for adding this and will detail more as the parts come together! Just trying to figure out the wiring with my limited electrical knowledge. My plan would be to have a SPDT Switch to manually turn on the pump, manually turn off the pump, or have it auto run off of a thermostat switch probed by the drain.
I'm not sure if this needs a relay since the pumps generally draw max of 10A, but would this diagram work? Any feedback appreciated!

View attachment 82484

Only issue I see is you need to take the signal wire from the thermostat to the A1 (+12) on the relay coil.

The relay needs to be rated for the right amperage for the pump. The coil in the relay requires much less current. If you take the thermostat signal wire to the pump you will just burn the thermostat and wire up.

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

I just used an on/off switch in the interest of simplicity and reliability, the wiring for it is bog simple. I just switch it on when I go out on track and switch it off when the car is done cooling down afterwards. The thermostat switch is a nice idea, but I'd be afraid of it not working, I don't trust stuff like that, have seen it fail too often. You'll never know if it didn't cycle on, no way you can hear the pump on track. Or you could hard wire it to a hot ignition feed, but I don't like that idea either. But then again with a manual switch the risk is forgetting to turn it on.

I used a Tilton pump and it needs a relay, not sure about the Susa pump though I expect it likely does as well.
I also put a heat gauge on it, the sender is on the hot side of the cooler matrix. I could see no way to mount the sender down at the trans outlet, so the matrix inlet was the next best thing. I don't trust the temp gauge at all, I generally use a heat gun and shoot temperatures off the lines at several places on both sides of the matrix. That I trust. I usually see about 175 coming out of the trans, and 140 or so after the matrix, filter and pump. The heat gauge reads 145 all the time, which I know for sure is wrong.

I also plan on using Tilton pump, the Susa was just for diagram visuals. I do plan on putting the temperature probe right on the drain to monitor it by gauge. If the thermostat isn't kicking the pump on for whatever reason, could always turn the switch on manually.


I'm thinking it needs two relays? One for the manual switch position and another for the thermostat switch

 

[Beermoney]

I also plan on using Tilton pump, the Susa was just for diagram visuals. I do plan on putting the temperature probe right on the drain to monitor it by gauge. If the thermostat isn't kicking the pump on for whatever reason, could always turn the switch on manually.


I'm thinking it needs two relays? One for the manual switch position and another for the thermostat switch

You can use 1 relay, just dual feed the one relay. With the 3 position switch you will only be feeding one path at a time, there is no issue with that.

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

I also plan on using Tilton pump, the Susa was just for diagram visuals. I do plan on putting the temperature probe right on the drain to monitor it by gauge. If the thermostat isn't kicking the pump on for whatever reason, could always turn the switch on manually.


I'm thinking it needs two relays? One for the manual switch position and another for the thermostat switch

i would recommend the Marco pump over the tilton. Much smaller, spur gears vs diaphragm, actually rated for the temps it will see, and 1/4 the noise. And for about the same price.

 

[JDee]

I had never heard of Marco pumps, just checked on them and they are pretty expensive in Canada from what I can see ($770 USD), way over double the price of a Tilton ($287 CAD) and not easily available. Pretty slick piece though.
So far the Tilton seems to be doing the job. I went with the Tilton because it was easy to get, but also because I used to hang around with a bunch of guys who built race cars and that was the pump of choice for them.

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

Thanks for recommendation @Scootsmcgreggor Just spoke with Improved Racing, for sure will go with a Marco pump! - I ship everything to USA anyways because shipping to Canada is a big ripoff resulting in usually around 100% or so in fees - not exaggerating.

 

[JDee]

Thanks for recommendation @Scootsmcgreggor Just spoke with Improved Racing, for sure will go with a Marco pump! - I ship everything to USA anyways because shipping to Canada is a big ripoff resulting in usually around 100% or so in fees - not exaggerating.

So how do you get your stuff in? I used to use Cross Border Pickups for that, they made it pretty user friendly but it adds a fair bit of cost. But Summit Racing is really good with Canadian orders, cheap and fast so I buy from them now when I can.

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

Yep, Summit & Pegasus are fine for Canada shipping. Everything else goes to WA State to a shipping depot that operates 24/7 with parcel lockers. Its still a bit of effort ( hr drive to pickup & hr back home, CBSA taxes sometimes ) But this is the way track modding goes in Canada...

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

A v 2 diagram of the wiring :

 

[Scootsmcgreggor]

Also for anyone interested in a turn key MT82 trans cooler for s550 I’m selling mine. Setrab fanpack, Marco pump, 8an lines with fire sleeve, trans temp gauge, and brackets to mount cooler in RF fender well. PM me if interested.

 

[Dave_W]

A v 2 diagram of the wiring

That will work the way you want. If I were doing it, I'd use a fused, switched (key-on hot) circuit to power the switch instead of straight from the battery.

With only one fuse like in the diagram, the fuse needs to be big enough to not get blown from the pump's max amp draw. Tilton trans/diff pumps are rated 8A draw, which you probably should wire with 14 or 12 AWG wire and use a 10A fuse. You want to size the wiring to support the max draw or fuse rating amperage over the length of the wire with only about 2-3% voltage drop.

12 Volt - Maximum Wire Length vs. Current

Maximum length of copper wire with 2% voltage drop.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

Size the fuse so that 1) it won't get blown by the normal pump load, and 2) it will get blown if the pump or wiring shorts, before the wiring overheats (due to the unplanned higher amperage traveling through a now-too-small wire) and sets your car on fire.

A relay like the Panasonic CM1a-12V is good for continuous 20A load at 14v, and the coil side draws less than 150mA (0.15A). So you can use a smaller wire and fuse to feed the switch, thermostat, and coil side of the relay.

 

[DipstickMotorsports]

That will work the way you want. If I were doing it, I'd use a fused, switched (key-on hot) circuit to power the switch instead of straight from the battery.

With only one fuse like in the diagram, the fuse needs to be big enough to not get blown from the pump's max amp draw. Tilton trans/diff pumps are rated 8A draw, which you probably should wire with 14 or 12 AWG wire and use a 10A fuse. You want to size the wiring to support the max draw or fuse rating amperage over the length of the wire with only about 2-3% voltage drop.

12 Volt - Maximum Wire Length vs. Current

Maximum length of copper wire with 2% voltage drop.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

Size the fuse so that 1) it won't get blown by the normal pump load, and 2) it will get blown if the pump or wiring shorts, before the wiring overheats (due to the unplanned higher amperage traveling through a now-too-small wire) and sets your car on fire.

A relay like the Panasonic CM1a-12V is good for continuous 20A load at 14v, and the coil side draws less than 150mA (0.15A). So you can use a smaller wire and fuse to feed the switch, thermostat, and coil side of the relay.

Great, yes I was thinking of taping to a key on +12 and not directly to battery.
The Marco UP3 I plan on using has these specs:
Current Pull: 5.5-6.5A
Recommended Fuse: 7.5A

I like these MGI SpeedWare Fused Relays for simplicity especially with its LED indicator on the fuse:

 

[JDee]

Also for anyone interested in a turn key MT82 trans cooler for s550 I’m selling mine. Setrab fanpack, Marco pump, 8an lines with fire sleeve, trans temp gauge, and brackets to mount cooler in RF fender well. PM me if interested.

So, curious minds want to know what you're replacing the cooler with?
Maybe you're doing a trans swap to a DCT?
Do tell!!