So I was bored and got thinking. . .

[LK44E]

So not too long ago I was looking at my collection of car part catalogs. Looking at the various oil coolers and ****** coolers. Well not to long after that I was on the road in the wife's car behind a Titan and staring me in the face for the longest of time was the differential cover they have.

Scratching my head I think I hit the light bulb switch.

My idea is how well would it work adding copper cooling fins to the ****** pan of my Tundra.

I would braze or silver solder the copper strips on the pan when I drop the pan to change the ****** filter.

So I am looking for opinions on the idea. I do not care about simplicity so much, I make things difficult a lot so just go with it. thanks

 

[nate379]

Like this?
http://www.yourcovers.com/transpan_11037.php

 

[89GLH]

That was easy. Thanks, Nate.

 

[SouthCoastMudder]

I think he was asking for one about his Tundra Nate... He was following a Titan when he got the idea.

 

[rob05]

I think your best bet is going to be just to buy an aftermarket cover like the PML.

 

[nate379]

Not sure if they make a deep pan for the Tundra. A340F trans?

 

[LK44E]

Nate, thats what i was thinking of doing to my pan. I searched online for deep pans or ribbed pans and didn't find what I was looking for. And I am not sure what series the transmission is.

Rob, I agree something getting an aftermarket would be a best bet, however; I like using what I have and I am in college right, my financial manager is limiting my purchases.

 

[csmitty]

I'm sure it would help, just have to take into the original pans thickness and material. There is a critcal fin length where as your only just wasting money for little performance. So I'd just mimic an aftermarket one if you just want to do it yourself. Copper does have a better thermal conductivity than the usual Aluminum found in aftermarkets but at multiple times the cost. So for a one off/prototype not a big deal. But if making thousands, the 35cents saved adds up. I'd find a used stock pan and work on that, that way if something goes wrong you'd have a back up.

 

[nate379]

If the pan on your trans is thin sheetmetal I just see it being a bad thing to start brazing stuff all over it. I think you will find that it's going to end up warping in all directions but straight. I would not do it on the only pan you have and get another to work on like smitty is saying.

I am not sure on your trans cause you didn't say year and if it's 2wd or 4wd. I assumed early 2000s 2wd truck.

The 4 speed trans..
A340F for 2wd and A340E 4wd

AB60F would be the 6 speed 2wd and "E" is 4wd.

There's a couple others but I can't remember them.

 

[JamieK]

I always thought about making a pan like this. Drill holes in the pan, insert the metal tubes, and solder it up. Looks likw it would work better than fins.

 

[LK44E]

Sorry for taking so long. Nate I have a 2004 4wd Tundra. So the A340E would be the one.

Jamie, I did think of the one you showed but purposefully putting holes in a pan would increase the chances of leaks. I have not hit my pan with rocks yet but Murphy will be there if I did that mod.

 

[ClickClickBoom]

Just go to your local Pic a Part, and pull a ******/ power steering cooler. Flush it out with brake cleaner and then tie it into your existing cooler lines running to your radiator.

Should cost you about $10 for the cooler, and as an added bonus most of these OEM coolers are beefier than the aftermarket coolers.

 

[theoldwizard1]

First, I am no heat transfer engineer, but I have learned a few things over time ...

When trying to transfer heat (from the trans oil, which is getting it from the rest of the transmission but mostly the pump) there are multiple "interfaces" between dis-similar materials. Oil to pan. Pan to brazing material. Braze to copper. Each "interface" adds resistance to the heat transfer.

You will notice that all of the aftermarket pans are one piece cast aluminum. Copper is a better metal for heat transfer, but is more expensive and not as durable.

ClickClickBoom has the best answer !

 

[Stuart in MN]

Is there any evidence that the fluid is getting too hot in your truck? Cooling fins may or may not be necessary.

 

[Alchymist]

You can cool the ****** fluid too much. There is a range it likes to work at, and too cool is not cool! Fluid temp is a minimum of 150 deg for best performance. With a large external cooler on a cold day, the fluid can be too cold, leading to shift and lube problems.

 

[grego]

Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think you change the filter in the trans of a Toyota. Last time I had a pan off, it was only a strainer with wire mesh. And most if not all have drain plugs.
Are you doing this for towing? If not, leave it the way it is, engineered to work, not broke, don't fix.
Sounds like you are bored but this would be a waste of money and could lead to problems.
My $0.02

 

[LK44E]

Partially for towing grego, it does get hot here in phoenix. There is a filter in mine. The title does say I got was bored and got thinking.

 

[nate379]

Yes possible for it to be too cold but how many of us life where it gets -50*?

You can cool the ****** fluid too much. There is a range it likes to work at, and too cool is not cool! Fluid temp is a minimum of 150 deg for best performance. With a large external cooler on a cold day, the fluid can be too cold, leading to shift and lube problems.

 

[Frank The Plumber]

You don't really have to do each rib. You can make a plate from aluminum and attach it to make contact and it will heat synch the heat into the aluminum from the pan and cool on the ribs of the attached plate.
This will not work better than a transcooler, I have both on my truck and need both.

 

[ibedayank]

You don't really have to do each rib. You can make a plate from aluminum and attach it to make contact and it will heat synch the heat into the aluminum from the pan and cool on the ribs of the attached plate.
This will not work better than a transcooler, I have both on my truck and need both.

problem with this way is if the pan and the plate you add do not match perfectly you loose the thermal transfer
why do you think people LAP CPU coolers for their computers and use a thermal transfer paste

 

[Alchymist]

Yes possible for it to be too cold but how many of us life where it gets -50*?

Northern Maine, Minnesota, Alaska. He[[ I've seen -39 in central PA.

 

[AustinMiniMan]

I always thought about making a pan like this. Drill holes in the pan, insert the metal tubes, and solder it up. Looks likw it would work better than fins.

For what it's worth, that's how early Bugatti's oil-pans worked. They didn't even have cooling fans, the combination of the fan-less radiator and the oil-coiling effect it got from the pan tubes was enough. Wouldn't want to get stuck in traffic in a vintage Bugatti because of this, but that's beside the point as for these purposes it seems like the logic would transfer.

 

[Drew_flux]

lexus has a deep pan for the A340E trans. most of the supra guys are swaping in this pan when rebuilding. i think it comes from the is range

 

[LK44E]

Drew, thanks for the info.

 

[diesel research]

A lot of people are thinking along the wrong track here.

To do this experiment, you need 2 temp sensors. Test the pan and test the converter outlet line leading to the radiator. You will find the converter outlet is where the heat is coming from. The rest of the trans is not the big contributor of a majority of the heat.

The fluid in the pan is already significantly cooler than the converter line. This is why most OEs measure line temperature, which can easily go over 220 while the pan could stay much less.

I could watch converter temps rise 40* in a matter of seconds.

In a lot of transmissions, fluid goes from pump to converter to cooler then lubes ****** and on to the pan. The case itself can sink off and dissipate a decent amount of heat, it has a large thermal mass.

The best gains are going to be found where the temperature is the highest. In the lines.

___________________________

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