2001 RAM 2500 Heat Exchanger

[BDK]

Hey guys,

 

My son has a 2001 Ram 2500 and the two lines (trans. lines) that come off the bottom seep/leak consistently.  I had the idea of just removing it altogether but wanted to see what everyone's opinion is.  He does not haul anything and just drives it to and from work.  

 

My idea was to just plug the two bottom ports (trans. ports) with NPT fittings and take the line from the front of the transmission to the transmission cooler.  The output of the transmission cooler to the rear port on the transmission.  Seems to be the easiest route and not having to mess with the coolant lines from the Heat Exchanger.  He has new flexible AN lines, but just can't seem to get them to stop leaking (leaks at AN fitting).  Would it be a good idea to upgrade to a better transmission cooler other than the stock one (mishimoto or something similar)?

 

What is everyone's thought on bypassing and also the method I would like to use to bypass?

 

Thanks,

Bruce

[Doubletrouble]

 Hi neighbor! I was just in Delaware yesterday. 

I believe there is a check valve of some sort in the heat exchanger that needs to be in the fluid circuit. 

For some reason I can't link the the thread.

 

 Check valve is in the fittings for the steel lines you access it from the bottom with lots of cussing. OEM hoses lasted 20 years so replace with top quality or silicone hose

 

The above is a quate from the post.

[Mopar1973Man]

I'm more of a manual guy. But... I'd say upgrade the cooler only if your trans temp was up to 200°F too often. Then I would up grade. Seriously my Dynamic 46RE built 1/2 ton Dodge ran seriously cool most times even hauling trailer. Proper built trans will run cooler. Also proper final ratio. Even that truck was running 215/85 R16. So that made it 3.6x:1 or so.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Mopar1973Man

[pepsi71ocean]

Don't delete it if he drives in cold weather, or in super hot weather. The heat exchanger works both ways. 

 

Not only does it warm up the fluid, but it will also cool it off if it runs over the temperature of the engine coolant.

[BDK]

Mopar1973Man testing as BDK for posting... Testing 1 2 3

[Doubletrouble]

44 minutes ago, BDK said:

Mopar1973Man testing as BDK for posting... Testing 1 2 3

 It worked. Was working before.......

[Silverwolf2691]

Just so I'm clear we are talking about the canister that sits under the exhaust manifold?

 

If you have AN lines already, need some info there.. Did you guys make them or were they premade? If you made them yourself, did the brands match hose to fitting? (meaning you didn't put Earls hose onto Fragola fittings). AN fittings are supposed to seal on the cone faces of male and female fittings. No o-rings should be needed unless using an ORB boss/fitting. If its leaking, tighten it more, then clean the fitting to check for leaks. If it still leaks you can get copper "shims" that get put on the cone face to help the fitting seal again. copper is supposed to be softer than aluminum and seal against imperfections better.

 

Upgrades depend on use. But @pepsi71ocean's statement also has merit. If its a daily driver no heavy towing you can keep it. The only thing I would warn about is that its a coolant to oil cooler. It may fail and put coolant into the tranny.. Towing heavy might be worth the trade off. 

 

They do make oil thermostats that just loop oil back into the trans until a certain temp and then open to start flowing into a cooler. Not cheap though.. 

https://www.improvedracing.com/oil-cooling/oil-thermostats.html 

[BDK]

Thanks guys, reapply appreciate all the help.  The lines are Full Send Diesel lines and the ends come from them as well.  So I may just remove the HE altogether and then upgrade to a Mishimoto Trans. cooler.  I would hope this would suffice....

 

Bruce

[Mopar1973Man]

I would say leave the cooler in place just me personally. 

[BDK]

Thanks MM....

 

Bruce

[Mopar1973Man]

It would be a different story if you installing a fairly large Derale Trans Cooler with Fan. Now I would opt to pull the stock heat exchanger. 

 

https://derale.com/product-footer/fluid-coolers/transmission/remote-mount2013-10-28-09-53-271226240719/13870-detail

 

But I wanna make you think a second. Remember anything that is creating heat is a problem for efficiency. So if your transmission is making lots of temperature while daily driving then you have to consider what mods did you do to the truck that is making it inefficient. Most transmission heat issues come from oversized tires on 3.55 axle gears. Even my 1996 Dodge I had when I opted to go down in tire size it did make the running trans temperature cooler. 

 

What I'm say is look for the source of the temperature before adding a bunch of coolers to fix a temperature problem. At the same time if your planning on removing the heat exchanger you better have something to replace that amount of BTU exchange because the little cooler in the radiator tank might not be able to keep up. Hence like what I posted above in this post that would be a really good trans cooler for remote mount but places to hide such a unit is a challenge. Do consider if you offroad if any mud is splashed on the the cooler it could cake up in a short time which I've seen before. 

[BDK]

Thanks again MM,

 

We never had an issue with trans. overheating.  Actually normally never gets over 150/180 degrees.  It was the thought of removing the HE and since it could cause an issue if it leaks and that the lines are presently leaking as well.  The idea was just to bypass and replace the front mounted trans. cooler with a Mishimoto cooler only.  This way the trans would just route to the Mishimoto cooler and then back to the trans.  No HE at all in the loop.  

 

The primary reason for upgrading the stock trans. cooler was due to the desire to eliminate the HE.  Make sense?

 

Bruce

[Mopar1973Man]

Sure does! Just remember to have a cooler that is rated for more heat than what is normally there so you have cooling capacity to handle towing or heavy loads or just slow climbs where the torque converter is unlocked. 

 

I had a 1951 Willys Jeep that had a Turbo 350 transmission I had the cooler removed from the radiator and then a external cooler added but I under guessed the size and always had trans temp issues with the Jeep in the heat of the summer just running the forestry roads at 25 to 30 MPH. 

[Silverwolf2691]

4 hours ago, BDK said:

We never had an issue with trans. overheating.  Actually normally never gets over 150/180 degrees.  It was the thought of removing the HE and since it could cause an issue if it leaks and that the lines are presently leaking as well.  The idea was just to bypass and replace the front mounted trans. cooler with a Mishimoto cooler only.  This way the trans would just route to the Mishimoto cooler and then back to the trans.  No HE at all in the loop.  

 

Jus so I'm clear, especially since the last automatic second gen I had was a 1500, you have the canister that sits under the exhaust/turbo/manifold. Then there should be another one, I think, that is sitting next to the condenser in front of the intercooler. Or was that part of a special tow package?

 

5 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

At the same time if your planning on removing the heat exchanger you better have something to replace that amount of BTU exchange because the little cooler in the radiator tank might not be able to keep up.

 

I thought that the in-radiator one was gas engine only?

 

@BDK, from the sounds of it you have the finned cooler next to the condenser and the oil to coolant exchanger under the exhaust. And your plan is to upgrade the one in front to the mishimoto and remove the oil to coolant one to reduce the chance of getting forbidden strawberry milkshake in the coolant system and transmission. 

 

If that tracks, I'd say maybe upsize the cooler to help dissipate the BTUs like @Mopar1973Man said. Maybe add a thermostatic fan if you need it. Just keep an eye on it if you tow.

[Mopar1973Man]

9 minutes ago, Silverwolf2691 said:

Maybe add a thermostatic fan if you need it. Just keep an eye on it if you tow.

Really simple get a Trans Temp gauge ISSPro EV2 and the pick up the relay adon then adjust the trigger point for the relay in temperature say 160-180*F and then set the warning light for 200*F maybe. But that one gauge will do the task of controlling the fan. 

[Silverwolf2691]

I did actually forget about that function.. 

[Mopar1973Man]

4 minutes ago, Silverwolf2691 said:

I did actually forget about that function.. 

Got ya covered...  

 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Mopar1973Man

[01cummins4ever]

10 hours ago, BDK said:

Thanks again MM,

 

We never had an issue with trans. overheating.  Actually normally never gets over 150/180 degrees.  It was the thought of removing the HE and since it could cause an issue if it leaks and that the lines are presently leaking as well.  The idea was just to bypass and replace the front mounted trans. cooler with a Mishimoto cooler only.  This way the trans would just route to the Mishimoto cooler and then back to the trans.  No HE at all in the loop.  

 

The primary reason for upgrading the stock trans. cooler was due to the desire to eliminate the HE.  Make sense?

 

Bruce

Optimal trans. Temps, 140 - 190 like you have, The primary purpose of the HE is to bring the   Temps up to optimal 140-190 degree right off the get go. Depending on your winter temps and driving conditions you may as well be throwing ice cubes on your cooler, for  the trans temps might creep just over the 100 degree mark, it really does rely on engine coolant for heating and cooling. 

[LorenS]

As I understand it, and as I've witnessed, the truck won't give you overdrive until the transmission temp reaches 100F. Depending on climate, I would not replace the HEX with a cooling-only aftermarket unit if I had any other reasonable choice.

Edited January 7, 2022 by LorenS

[pepsi71ocean]

On 1/6/2022 at 10:32 AM, BDK said:

Thanks again MM,

 

We never had an issue with trans. overheating.  Actually normally never gets over 150/180 degrees.  It was the thought of removing the HE and since it could cause an issue if it leaks and that the lines are presently leaking as well.  The idea was just to bypass and replace the front mounted trans. cooler with a Mishimoto cooler only.  This way the trans would just route to the Mishimoto cooler and then back to the trans.  No HE at all in the loop.  

 

The primary reason for upgrading the stock trans. cooler was due to the desire to eliminate the HE.  Make sense?

 

Bruce

 

Where are you measuring your transmission temperatures, is a good question. I see it says Ohio is where you live. In which case you would be better the keep the exchanger to raise temperatures up to aid in transmission performance, I don't know if you know what its like to not have overdrive, but these transmissions suck when they are ice cold. Nothing wants to work hahah.

On mine I'm measuring the output line from the transmission, I have shot it with a heat gun, and Ive seen a 30 degree change in temperatures through the heat ex changer.

 

When stuck in traffic Ive seen the heat exchanger produce cooler temperatures then when it goes through the cooler out front. Especially in the summer in jersey. I elected to keep mine in place as I've seen in heavy traffic  (transmission temp sensor 225), heat exchanger output is 200, cooler is 180, back into the transmission.  I don't think that the cooler would drop it as much out front. I also run a 200F thermostat so that explains why the heat exchanger doesn't go much below that.

 

In the winter when i first start driving i can see the heart exchanger bring the transmission temperature up 30-50 degrees fairly quickly, even if the cooler out front when its 10F out sucks the heat back out, its still better then sucking out the little heat it makes.

 

13 hours ago, LorenS said:

As I understand it, and as I've witnessed, the truck won't give you overdrive until the transmission temp reaches 100F. Depending on climate, I would not replace the HEX with a cooling-only aftermarket unit if I had any other reasonable choice.

 

I believe its 75F of transmission temp in the pan. Which can take a while. The other day it was 15F out here and i didn't have drive for the first 15 mins of driving because it was so cold out. I totally forgot to plug in the truck!