Hi, Well, i saved up and i have enough for a torque converter. I bought a TCI Break-a-way converter (approx. 2400 stall, i realize it depends on the engine however). I have the cam, heads, intake, exhaust, etc. to support and even require the higher stall. However, my question is with the rear-end gearing (2.79:1) i don't really go above 2000rpms on my daily commutes. Now i know that higher stall converters cause more heat in the tranny...my question is, since i won't be going much over 2400 in most of my commutes, is this going to cause excessive transmission heat and therefore wear? I have an external cooler on the tranny as is, but i was thinking of getting a junkyard condenser and making it a tranny cooler (heh heh heh). I've already put a lot of money into this tranny and i dont' like the thought of overheating it... Thanks!
Don't know if I would do that. The flow volume may not be enough. Use a larger cooler designed for the use.
trans cooling If you have a aftermarket cooler and not using the radiator cooler, they're a piece of junk, you'll be fine. Your appl. you won't see that much heat. I would go to a deeper sump tran pan, the factory one is a bit shallow for me. Plus it's gives it more cooling. I wouldn't use a AC condenser for cooling. It's to big in front of the radiator. It'll put hot air into the radiator and make your engine run hot.
Rick brings up a good point about the deep pan. Considering where you live, there are two ways to hook a cooler up. The stock hookup with the extra cooling in line and the new cooler alone, not running thru the radiator. Hookup without going thru the rad should be a high quality unit with low pressure drop and placed where air flow is assured. In winter climates, a car might be driven, a cooler hookup needs to be thru the rad or the trans takes an extended amount of time to heat causing very stiff shifting due to not having sort of reverse heating from the engine coolant to bring it up to a reasonable temp quick enough. Convertor slip vs. engine/road speed is an unknown in you setup (2400,2.79 gear) so your living on an edge. I would recomend you go to a 3.00 rear gear and live with the extra RPM because it just cannot be done any other way except a standard transmission or an AOD with it's lockup convertor.
Actually, i would love to go to a 3:1 axle. It's just been on my to-do list. Actually what i would like to do is put a set of 3.55:1 with posi in, but that gets pricey.... My engine is primarily for higher rpms. But other than that, you guys think i'll be okay? I have a relatively small external cooler mounted in front of the radiator and use the stock "cooler" in the radiator at the same time. I do live in the desert, however, so things tend to heat up here. Thanks for the responses!
I use the exact same combo in the turbomav, 3000 stall converter, medium size cooler mounted in front of the rad, and running the trans fluid through the rad, then cooler, then back to the trans. Works great. I'm also using 3.00 gears. Could use 3.55's but I like the highway cruising at 2600 rpm (at 60 mph). Besides that, at 10 psi boost, theyre's more than enough torque on hand to break the tires loose at most any speed, even with 3.00 gears.
