Home › Forums › Stay Dirty Lounge › The EricTheCarGuy Video Forum › How to Flush a Transmission Cooler
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September 20, 2013 at 3:03 pm #545436
If you’re installing a new or rebuilt transmission this is a very good practice to help protect the longevity of your new transmission.
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September 20, 2013 at 3:32 pm #545444
Hey Eric, I do a lot of Honda/Acura tranny’s and belong to the TRNW group (buncha pro tranny shops guys). The inline filter is a good idea, but many of the pro’s suggest either replacing the radiator or putting in an external cooler.
the idea being that they have cut a number of the back flushed coolers apart to realize that the particulate material you alluded to, won’t come out at all and really plugs the veins in the cooler itself – especially true on the Acura’s with the external on the top the tranny.
Who cares if the veins are plugged you ask? Well the thing that eats up these tranny’s is heat. So with a plugged cooler, you get limited flow (GPM), and thus poor cooling, and tranny burns up.
I usually do the external cooler and many pros insist on a new radiator – period. They are offering 50K+ warranties (one guy offers 100K/10yr) so they NEVER want to see these units again.
just thought i’d mention it.
September 20, 2013 at 9:22 pm #545470Excellent video Eric. I do have a few questions.
1. How often should the filter you installed be changed?
2. It will be more work, but wouldn’t a remote spin-on filter work as well if not better? (Assuming there is room in the engine compartment.) Especially as part of an external cooler system as rmiller suggests.
3. I see coolant filters in a lot of farm and heavy equipment as well as diesel trucks. What do you think about something like that in smaller auto engines?September 21, 2013 at 12:48 am #545507[quote=”rmiller” post=73203]Hey Eric, I do a lot of Honda/Acura tranny’s and belong to the TRNW group (buncha pro tranny shops guys). The inline filter is a good idea, but many of the pro’s suggest either replacing the radiator or putting in an external cooler.
the idea being that they have cut a number of the back flushed coolers apart to realize that the particulate material you alluded to, won’t come out at all and really plugs the veins in the cooler itself – especially true on the Acura’s with the external on the top the tranny.
Who cares if the veins are plugged you ask? Well the thing that eats up these tranny’s is heat. So with a plugged cooler, you get limited flow (GPM), and thus poor cooling, and tranny burns up.
I usually do the external cooler and many pros insist on a new radiator – period. They are offering 50K+ warranties (one guy offers 100K/10yr) so they NEVER want to see these units again.
just thought i’d mention it.[/quote]
Thanks for the tip. This was actually the second time I flushed the cooler and after running the compressed air through it, I don’t feel I will have a problem with flow through the cooler. My point in making the video was to show that flushing the transmission cooler when installing a new or reman transmission is a good idea to ensure that the new transmission has a long life. It really wasn’t meant to be specific only to Honda transmissions. For as long as I’ve worked as a technician I’ve only seen a hand full of people actually flush a transmission cooler during a transmission swap. THIS was what I was trying to address in the video. Replacing a radiator would be a hard sell in my opinion. I can see installing an external cooler if you can sell it but I think you’d have a hard time convincing a customer to spend even more money beyond just replacing the transmission. There is the world of the ideal where everything is done as it should, and then there is the real world where people have budgets and other bills to pay. Thanks for your input.
September 21, 2013 at 12:54 am #545509[quote=”moparfan7008″ post=73216]Excellent video Eric. I do have a few questions.
1. How often should the filter you installed be changed?
2. It will be more work, but wouldn’t a remote spin-on filter work as well if not better? (Assuming there is room in the engine compartment.) Especially as part of an external cooler system as rmiller suggests.
3. I see coolant filters in a lot of farm and heavy equipment as well as diesel trucks. What do you think about something like that in smaller auto engines?[/quote]I’m probably never going to change that filter. Remember there’s still one inside the transmission as well as the external one. I will change the fluid with Honda fluid every 30K however.
I think you’re going a bit far with the spin on filter thing. Besides, as you pointed out, there really isn’t room for one. Lastly, this is a poor transmission design, THAT is the reason for it’s failure, NOT dirty transmission fluid.
It all boils down to cost. With farm equipment you have a different mindset that is more concerned with ROI (Return On Investment). I don’t think most people have ROI in mind when they purchase a vehicle. From what I’ve seen, they’re more concerned with the color than anything else. That said, vehicle manufactures try to produce reliable AFFORDABLE vehicles that the public will buy. The more maintenance items you add, the higher the service cost. A higher service cost to a vehicle can kill a sale. I believe this is the reason that the ‘serviceability’ of modern automobiles is not the same as what it used to be. Manufacturers have calculated that into the cost of ownership as a sales angle. Remember the game is to sell cars, not keep them around forever.
September 28, 2013 at 9:50 pm #547027Eric,
I have a 2001 Honda CR-V and i am considering puttting on a in-line filter like in your video.
The question i have for you is, what brand of Filter did you use?
Is there “The best kind of in-line Filter” or does it even matter?
Also i was considering adding a external cooler cause i haul 600-800 lbs of mail with it, would you say i would need one?thanks
October 1, 2013 at 1:48 am #547398To be honest I don’t know of a particular brand. The one I used came with my new transmission. If you’re installing an external cooler, excellent idea, you have the opportunity to install the filter while doing that process. To be honest the CRV transmission doesn’t normally have issues if you regularly change the fluid with Honda fluid. The fact that you’re using it for towing makes it a good idea to install that cooler though.
October 7, 2013 at 3:01 am #548691Great video! Hopefully I don’t replace an auto transmission ever. Where would you suggest to put an external transmission fluid cooler? My GFs accord has one zip tied to the lower grill on the bumper. This seems dangerous to me as it’s easy to puncture and pointless because even with the fans running it doesn’t receive much airflow when stopped as its not in front of the radiator/condenser.
October 7, 2013 at 5:16 am #548744If you go to any Ford parts department they should have that filter. I think Ford was the first one to supply that filter with a rebuilt trans.
October 7, 2013 at 11:44 pm #548939[quote=”kowkow” post=74819]Great video! Hopefully I don’t replace an auto transmission ever. Where would you suggest to put an external transmission fluid cooler? My GFs accord has one zip tied to the lower grill on the bumper. This seems dangerous to me as it’s easy to puncture and pointless because even with the fans running it doesn’t receive much airflow when stopped as its not in front of the radiator/condenser.[/quote]
The topic of an external cooler has come up quite a bit. I’m going to look into making a video about installing one at some point. As for placement, in front of the condenser or radiator is fine. The increased surface area that an external cooler provides is a marked improvement over what you get from a radiator cooler.
October 20, 2013 at 8:49 am #551229[quote=”jjager85″ post=74025]Eric,
I have a 2001 Honda CR-V and i am considering puttting on a in-line filter like in your video.
The question i have for you is, what brand of Filter did you use?
Is there “The best kind of in-line Filter” or does it even matter?
Also i was considering adding a external cooler cause i haul 600-800 lbs of mail with it, would you say i would need one?thanks[/quote]
I’ve got a 2000 Prelude Auto and installed a Magnefine filter, as for a cooler, B&M Racing make a few. If your thinking about installing a Magnefine make sure to get an authentic one from BOSS Products.
October 20, 2013 at 9:00 am #551230[quote=”rmiller” post=73203]Hey Eric, I do a lot of Honda/Acura tranny’s and belong to the TRNW group (buncha pro tranny shops guys). The inline filter is a good idea, but many of the pro’s suggest either replacing the radiator or putting in an external cooler.
the idea being that they have cut a number of the back flushed coolers apart to realize that the particulate material you alluded to, won’t come out at all and really plugs the veins in the cooler itself – especially true on the Acura’s with the external on the top the tranny.
Who cares if the veins are plugged you ask? Well the thing that eats up these tranny’s is heat. So with a plugged cooler, you get limited flow (GPM), and thus poor cooling, and tranny burns up.
I usually do the external cooler and many pros insist on a new radiator – period. They are offering 50K+ warranties (one guy offers 100K/10yr) so they NEVER want to see these units again.
just thought i’d mention it.[/quote]
If installing an external cooler why not just bypass the rad cooler, no need to change the rad. Inline filter is a must.
November 1, 2013 at 7:31 pm #553629I think the external cooler is an excellent idea. Replacing the radiator would be expensive and time consuming. Plus the aftermarket cooler is bigger and better anyway.
November 1, 2013 at 7:47 pm #553630I have replaced a few Vauxhall Astra auto transmissions where the seal between the rad and transmission fluid have failed (fairly common problem over here).I always blank off the original routing and add an oil cooler which is the way it should have been designed.
Doing this is a cheaper option for the customer and also negates the same problem arising again.November 2, 2013 at 1:56 am #553730Yes an external cooler is a good idea. No need to replace the radiator though, you can just mount it in front and not use the radiator cooler. But that’s for another video…..
November 2, 2013 at 2:04 am #553739That’s exactly how we do it. 🙂
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