oil, transmission, power steering coolers

spetz · Post by **spetz** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:48 pm

I have some questions about coolers

So far I am gonna get a 19 row oil cooler

Also, I had a power steering cooler but it rubbed on the mesh of the bodykit and made a hole in it. Now it has no cooler. The question for this is can I add a cooler and have the power steering fluid running through it continuously? Will it because problems with fluid being too cold (like for example oil can't be too cold)

And for manual transmission, can I add a transmission cooler?

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:41 am

A cheaper option would be to get a custom bonnet with vents to release excess engine bay temperature.

Where are you going to mount the transmission oil cooler? Your radiator would already do some of the cooling for you so you may not need a tranny oil cooler unless you running some serious torque.

scarecrow · Post by **scarecrow** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 10:40 am

If you have noisy tappets i'd take care when driving first thing in the morning with an oil cooler. May want to warm your car up while not moving until the noise disappears and the oil is flowing normally.

They're great for track days, and turbos. But for street use they're a stupid thing to purchase.

Post by **smorison** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 11:41 am

if you disable the bottom row of the radiator for tranmission cooler (tip only) you could reuse this for power steering ...

i've never had a problem with power steering overheating on the track so i'm not sure why you are ....

spetz · Post by **spetz** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:22 pm

With the oil cooler, it wont be flowing oil through it all the time, only once the oil reaches a certain temperature (say about 95 deg C) and then it will start flowing through it until it goes down to say 85 deg C and stop flowing through it.

All coolers would be installed in the front somehow.

And it's not that I know I need them or anything, but just to minimise wear and tear and to have peace of mind. I mean I had a power steering cooler so at the least I am guessing I need to replace it. My question is though can the power steering fluid be too cold? Same like engine oil can be too cold for optimum protection?

As far as bonnet vents go, I don't want one but I have HPC coated extractors to help under bonnet temps

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:55 pm

Heat does cause a bit of wear and tear but it's more important to change the lubricants quite regularly to stop dust/particle contamination.

spetz · Post by **spetz** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:11 pm

Yeah,
Excess heat causes wear and tear but so does too cold of oil.

Anyone know if power steering fluid could be too cold???

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 8:52 pm

That's a really good question actually. I wonder if power steering fluid has a specific operating temperature. I wonder if you could feel it in the actualy steering if it does?

Post by **Bennoz** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:32 pm

Most power steering fluid will operate porperly anywhere in the range of -5 degrees C to +150 degrees C. It is a very hardy fluid.

Nacho · Post by **Nacho** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:16 am

And it's bloody annoying to clean up if you accidentally overfill when you're not paying attention!

Post by **Bennoz** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:40 am

Nacho wrote:And it's bloody annoying to clean up if you accidentally overfill when you're not paying attention!

LOL Not as a nasty as brake fluid thou!

Post by **smorison** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:27 am

Bennoz wrote:Most power steering fluid will operate porperly anywhere in the range of -5 degrees C to +150 degrees C. It is a very hardy fluid.

power steering fluid is very similar to transmission fluid (when using fully synthetic) ... you can actually use transmission fluid in your power steering if you really really want to....

just a bit of trivia

spetz · Post by **spetz** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:50 pm

Yeah I had to use ATF when I was driving an found out I had no power steering fluid

Although power steering fluid might work from -5 to 150 degrees, what about wear and tear?
I mean, an engine can run on oil which is cold and which is hot, but ideally for minimum wear and tear in the 80 to 90 degree range.
So what is the ideal range of power steering fluid?

I am guessing no one really has a clue?