Trans cooler for base manual

[JSATX]

Don't the turbo cars have a trans cooler? My last track day the trans fluid over heated and was burping up through the fill cap. It wasn't enough to get much on the track but it was enough to fill some of the molded/webbing areas on the back and top of the trans. Anyone have an idea of how to route the lines though a small universal trans cooler?

 

[Briann1177]

The TCs don't have a trans cooler. I've only dealt with a couple of manual transmissions, but they only had fill plugs and not caps. Not sure how gear oil could leak unless it wasn't tightened correctly.

They do, however, have an engine oil cooler.

 

[JSATX]

Mine has a screw on cap on the top, just like an engine oil fill cap.

It's looking like this is only possible with an automatic transmission. It would require tapping in nipples and probably an electric pump to keep things circulating.

 

[ctuinstra]

Seems very odd that the manual transmission would get that hot, especially since the car is lighter than the original vehicle. Could this simply be a venting issue pressure build up?

 

[Briann1177]

Kind of sounds like the transmission in the base model doesn't like to be run that hard.

Yeah, a cooler for a manual would be quite a bit of work. Everything just sits in an oil bath, and there isn't anything to circulate it around inside. On top of that, gear oil is super thick so you'd need a heavy duty pump to move it around.

 

[JSATX]

Seems very odd that the manual transmission would get that hot, especially since the car is lighter than the original vehicle. Could this simply be a venting issue pressure build up?

It could be, but it was specifically related to tracking it. I've run for 3-4 hours straight before with no issues at all. But 20 mins on track and it burped up everywhere. So that sounds like temperature related to me.

 

[Lonny]

Is it possibly a little too full?

 

[ctuinstra]

Or possibly sloshing (bad term for it). On other words, on the track if you are pulling high G's in the turns, maybe you are pushing the fluid up and around on the sides or something.

One, take a temp reading with and IR thermometer of it. Oils don't bubble and boil over unless they are very, very hot. Refined motor oil will boil at around 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit).

 

[JSATX]

Is it possibly a little too full?

If it was it's not now! I'm going to run it again without adding any, and see how that goes.

 

[Brian74]

I read the transmission overhaul section today in the service manual out of boredom. I did notice a few spots where it warned about certain passages being clear or fluid could vent out. Did you notice a vent tube/orifice anywhere on top of the transmission or is it coming out of the cap?

 

[JSATX]

I read the transmission overhaul section today in the service manual out of boredom. I did notice a few spots where it warned about certain passages being clear or fluid could vent out. Did you notice a vent tube/orifice anywhere on top of the transmission or is it coming out of the cap?

That's interesting. I can't say if it was specifically coming out of the cap, that's just where it seemed to be running from

 

[Adam]

My base model manual didn't have any transmission fluid come out at Thunderhill West and that was with the supercharger and brand new R1Rs (wish I had remembered to record it ). Most of the time I was in 3rd but I got down to about 3,200 RPM in 2nd gear on the tightest turn. I was nearly topping out in 3rd on both straights. Between the power my car is putting down and the mix of tight turns and long, higher speed turns at that track, I feel like the transmission would have been up to temp and had plenty of sloshing but I didn't have any leaks.

We towed two Goblins behind our base manual Cobalts to Tail of the Dragon last year. The Cobalts did a pretty good job most of the time but on long climbs we would have to drop down to 4th and sometimes 3rd to maintain highway speeds. There were times where would flat foot the poor Cobalts up mountains/tall hills for 3 to 5 minutes straight. They would turn 5,000 RPM for minutes. I'm thinking the weight of a Cobalt + the weight and drag of a Goblin behind it at 70mph going uphill for minutes is way more work for the transmission than you could ever do in a Goblin at the track with the stock motor.

All this makes me think your transmission might have been too full. If that is what caused it, at least it's good to know that the Cobalt has a self-leveling feature built into the transmission. Keep us updated.

 

[Briann1177]

I had no idea some manuals are spec'd to use ATF. That explains why I was confused about the fill cap.