Nor Cal tranny cooler...B&M 70264 or 70268?

[Zachpins34]

Plan on buying a tranny cooler within the next couple days. Searched for a good 2-3 weeks and have been getting mixed reviews and havent seen anyones opinion in california for what size they recommend. Im in the bay area and during summer it can get up around 100, and winters lows are around 30-40 ish?

Should I go with the B&M 70268? or B&M 70264? Would like to have the bigger 70264, but heard it could be too cold. but then again i also saw that it has a bypass feature. What do u guys recommend?

 

[SCRunner12]

I went with the 70268, but Santa Cruz doesn't get as hot as the Bay. Unless you are going to be in the cold weather (Tahoe ect.) for extended periods then the 70264 would work good with the summers. You would most likely be 100% fine with the 70268 if you don't tow much. It isn't extremely hot (100) all that much in the Bay besides the few months in the summer, so it's wouldn't be necessary to go with the bigger one. Really the only reason I got the tranny cooler is because of the pink milkshake.

 

[Smog-guy707]

ima be gettin the 70268 as well,
































by the way zachpins, go wheelin today?

 

[ChildrenOfBodom]

Is there any disadvantage to having a 70264 on DD?

I mean, I can't imagine it's a cool situation down there with a 2.7 pushing 33"s everywhere. I also do a lot of shifting around when I'm bored.

Figured with a supercharger I'm gonna want the 70264. The southern california summers certainly seem like a good reason. I can feel the trans tunnel scorching hot when I really romp on it, on my 2nd auto trans. Wanna start towing, too.

New rad about 30k-40k ago, so not really worried about milkshake.

 

[Zachpins34]

Thanks guys, so im now leaning a little more towards the 70268, but then again id be ok with spending a few extra bucks to be safe if i get the 70264. Any more opnions? I dont tow anything, but would just like to have the peace of mind and not having to worry about overheating. What you guys think?

by the way zachpins, go wheelin today?

yea dude it was hella fun, thanks for tellin me about that spot. First time goin off road (besides little puddles of mud on the sides of roads haha). i posted a video too. The bada$$ music makes it intense


<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nbeuo97oTp4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[t4r4life]

Thanks guys, so im now leaning a little more towards the 70268, but then again id be ok with spending a few extra bucks to be safe if i get the 70264. Any more opnions? I dont tow anything, but would just like to have the peace of mind and not having to worry about overheating. What you guys think?




yea dude it was hella fun, thanks for tellin me about that spot. First time goin off road (besides little puddles of mud on the sides of roads haha). i posted a video too. The bada$$ music makes it intense


<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nbeuo97oTp4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

dude ur girl is awesome, but next mod go look for a used e locker

 

[Nelsonmd]

Honestly, in Nor CA, it doesn't really matter. I won't get super cold for long periods, and it won't get so blistering hot either. Pick which ever one you prefer. If you are going to tow or otherwise push it, go for the bigger one. I think the risk of overheating is worse than overcooling out there.

 

[the great him]

Honestly, in Nor CA, it doesn't really matter. I won't get super cold for long periods, and it won't get so blistering hot either. Pick which ever one you prefer. If you are going to tow or otherwise push it, go for the bigger one. I think the risk of overheating is worse than overcooling out there.

it wont be blistering hot...!?! i dont think you have spent much time in nor cal... i used to live there, in the napa valley and it would get well over 100 for a week or so at a time in the summer, and if you are in the sac area or heaven for bid chico or redding where its not uncommon for it to see 115+ for a week or so during the summer... yeah it get blistering hot in the summer. but i do agree that the risk of over heating is by far worse than too cool...

and to the OP i have the 70264 on my rig and i am finding that i need something bigger/more, its not even enough. in stop and go traffic, long hills, or even in 4wd at low speeds my temp gauge just climbs like a Sherpa. now granted i am running 285s on stock 4:10 gears but still. and here in Vancouver we can still see 100+ during the summer, although this summer its been struggling to get over 90 so far, but yeah i've heated mine up pretty good a few times already. so most def get the 70264, i wouldn't even waste my time with the 70268, i personally think its too small and inadequate. just my .02

 

[Zachpins34]

dude ur girl is awesome, but next mod go look for a used e locker

Thanks bro she was hella excited haha it was fun. Yes! hopefully i can find one for cheap somehow! haha

it wont be blistering hot...!?! i dont think you have spent much time in nor cal... i used to live there, in the napa valley and it would get well over 100 for a week or so at a time in the summer, and if you are in the sac area or heaven for bid chico or redding where its not uncommon for it to see 115+ for a week or so during the summer... yeah it get blistering hot in the summer. but i do agree that the risk of over heating is by far worse than too cool...

and to the OP i have the 70264 on my rig and i am finding that i need something bigger/more, its not even enough. in stop and go traffic, long hills, or even in 4wd at low speeds my temp gauge just climbs like a Sherpa. now granted i am running 285s on stock 4:10 gears but still. and here in Vancouver we can still see 100+ during the summer, although this summer its been struggling to get over 90 so far, but yeah i've heated mine up pretty good a few times already. so most def get the 70264, i wouldn't even waste my time with the 70268, i personally think its too small and inadequate. just my .02

Im thinking ill go with the 70264. just so i dont have to worry or rethink it. sometimes i go out towards sac, or up by clear lake and it does get hellla hot, so yea i think ill get the 70264. Thanks man, appreciate the help.

 

[ryankmasuda]

Thanks bro she was hella excited haha it was fun. Yes! hopefully i can find one for cheap somehow! haha



Im thinking ill go with the 70264. just so i dont have to worry or rethink it. sometimes i go out towards sac, or up by clear lake and it does get hellla hot, so yea i think ill get the 70264. Thanks man, appreciate the help.

I haven't heard or seen anyone write "hella" in a long time. I grew up in San Jose and I live in Vancouver, WA now. People look at me funny when i say "hella" in a sentence and I'm not talking about aux automotive lights

 

[Zachpins34]

I haven't heard or seen anyone write "hella" in a long time. I grew up in San Jose and I live in Vancouver, WA now. People look at me funny when i say "hella" in a sentence and I'm not talking about aux automotive lights

haha yea i guess its just a northern cali thing? A friend of mine went down to LA for a trip and got the same funny looks when he would say it. i think ive seen a shirt that says, "i say hella" haha

 

[the great him]

weird, i say it too... lol it must be a nor cal thing

 

[SCRunner12]

weird, i say it too... lol it must be a nor cal thing

Not in Santa Cruz. We hate that word. :sniper: It's funny though because Highway 17 is the dividing line for that word. It does make it pretty easy to figure out who is from Santa Cruz and who isn't during the busy summer months though.

 

[rideexileex]

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nbeuo97oTp4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is now one of my top favorite videos... for the soundtrack alone :girl:

 

[RIDEALL]

I went with the 70264.
I was in same boat, NORCAL = teens and low 20's in Tahoe & Susanville 110+ in valley.
I'm in the heat more then cold.
It's job is too cool so I wanted to cool as much as possible.
I don't buy into this too cold talk. If the tranny can jump up too 190 in a heart beat around town in the winter I don't think it's going to get too cold.
Plus the 70264 has an internal bypass that opens up when it reaches a certain temperature. Can't remember if the 70268 has this feature??
It does 'feel' like it takes a touch longer to warm up for smooth shifts on cold mornings, but I always have at least some surface streets to get through before blasting at full speed on the highways any way, and it feels completely normal by then.
Can't wait to get a scan gauge to actually watch the temps, & put some real #'s with what I feel.
That & riding around with my buddy's Auto and 33 's (stock cooling) in the desert getting abused in the sand you can definitely smell it cooking!!!!!!
Zero complaints or regrets here.

 

[GhostRing]

I picked the 70264 hoping that I wouldn't "run out" of cooler.
I am a little concerned about it not getting into the correct temp zone -
and I really need to get a temp gauge ('98)

In the winter (Central OR can get pretty icy, but nothing viscous) do the
ext. coolers benefit from being covered with cardboard or anything?

Trying really hard not to second-guess my decision to drive an auto...!

 

[snivilous]

I picked the 70264 hoping that I wouldn't "run out" of cooler.
I am a little concerned about it not getting into the correct temp zone -
and I really need to get a temp gauge ('98)

In the winter (Central OR can get pretty icy, but nothing viscous) do the
ext. coolers benefit from being covered with cardboard or anything?

Trying really hard not to second-guess my decision to drive an auto...!

Do you normally run hot, and wouldn't be in the correct temperature zone to begin with? And are you really pushing the truck and towing a lot, otherwise the automatic should hold up to its design parameters. That's not to say it can't fail, and an external cooler can only help, but unless you have reason to doubt it then I think you should be pretty safe.

And I don't think you would need to cover the cooler. That would just restrict airflow, and if it's covered with ice or water that's better cooling than from air (2x-4x better heat capacity). Though if ice somehow adversely affects it someone please point that out; the regular radiator doesn't get covered so I don't see why the mechanical design would react differently on the tranny cooler.

 

[the great him]

I picked the 70264 hoping that I wouldn't "run out" of cooler.
I am a little concerned about it not getting into the correct temp zone -
and I really need to get a temp gauge ('98)

In the winter (Central OR can get pretty icy, but nothing viscous) do the
ext. coolers benefit from being covered with cardboard or anything?

Trying really hard not to second-guess my decision to drive an auto...!

do not cover it, it will not cool at all at that point and you could cook your trany even in sub zero temps. the snow you guys get down there can keep your trans working a fair amount to keep temps up especially if you drive in unplowed snow at all. -i am running dual coolers, and in the inter time i can see temps around 125 or so for normal hwy driving -heat some water up to 125* and put your hand in it and tell me thats not warm enough -now think of oil. and if im out wheeling in the winter i can easily see temps over 180*, again i am running dual coolers. the B&M coolers have a built in by-pass system, think of it as a type of thermostat... if the temp is too low it directs the fluid the just flow strait through, and not go through the entire cooler and thus not utilising the coolers cooling abilities. but once the fluid warms up to temp(i think this is around 100* -but dont quote me on that) then it opens and allows fluid to flow through the entire cooler... im no engineer but i think thats the general idea of it anyhow. -also remember that these coolers are only airflow effective, meaning that if you do a lot of slow or stop and go driving in down ant low speeds they will not be as affective as say if you where on the hwy all the time. the faster you go the more cooling they do(theoretically. -there is a point of diminishing return).

i will do one of two trips a winter down to sisters area, over santiam pass and most of the time its at night, and i will see temps around 130-150 just cause of the hills and the camping gear i have with me.


also one more thing to think of is if you plan on doing a lift and bigger tires and or armor(bumpers, sliders, skids ect) the added weight and reduced gearing(from the larger tires) will put more strain on your trans and cause it to work harder(thus my need for the second cooler) a lot of the guys on here only use one cooler and i guess thats ok for them, but i have a trany temp gauge(so do some others) and i watch my temps religiously, i dont want to have to put in a new trans anytime soon. i have 260K+ miles on my rig, and about 10k i did a trans flush after about ~60k miles of use, the fluid that came out was bright red like it was new, and smelled fresh and clean, i intend to keep it this way. cool fluid helps keep your trans working with minimal wear.

 

[GhostRing]

excellent responses! Thank you very much for helping to shed some light on this.
I rushed to install the cooler to avoid any catastrophes, so I admit my studies of the
slushbox intricacies was limited. I kept hearing warnings of "too cold" but went with the
larger cooler with intentions of moderate wheeling, fairly slow moving in town commutes,
and mountain drives to Eugene. I guess I've seen radiators get covered but for different
reasons in cold climates. I will install a decent gauge asap to end the guessing game...

 

[benjamin247]

I just bought my stock 97 Limited (202K miles). It's my daily driver averaging 10 miles a day on weekdays and 30 miles on the weekend. It averages around 65F here at the moment during winter and plan on taking it up to Tahoe (4 hour drive).

Do I need a tranny cooler during the winter or can I hold off on this mod until spring?

And if I'm not sure, do I just go with the 70264 since I do plan on taking it to San Diego during the summer, which can get pretty warm (100+ F) and a 7-8 hour drive.