Does 5EAT have trans cooler standard?

[BMCracer]

Gen 4 facelift 3.0R with 5EAT auto. Do they have a gearbox cooler as standard from the factory? If they don't, any there any kits that fit better than others? Or a factory option kit? I will be towing +/-1500kg back and forward to the race track ( 2.5 hour drive on country roads, couple of long hills one of which is kind of steep ).

I have Tactrix and BtSsm, but I don't think I can get gearbox oil temperature on that?

Any other tips to keep it alive while towing most appreciated.

[Yowie]

You can check if there are hoses that go from the auto gearbox to the bottom of the radiator (if yes - factory cooler via heat exchange with 90 degree C coolant)

Many prefer a fluid-to-air cooler to take heat energy out of the coolant, prevent failures (coolant ingestion) ruining the gearbox and have ambient air taking heat out of the gearbox fluid. Of course then you loose the "coolant bringing the ATF up to temp faster" factor. That doesn't bother me here in Qld.

Other options include fluid-to-air cooling in series before or after the factory fluid-to-fluid cooler, depending on what you want to do.

Thermostats exist if you are worried about over-cooling the ATF with a fluid-to-air unit. I have one sitting in storage (not installed).

Installing a fluid-to-air heat exchanger is pretty simple. Remove the bumper/facia and mount the cooler in front of the radiator via flat tabs/brackets. Run hoses from the factory gearbox hard-line ends to either side of the cooler. The pressure of ATF only requires hose clamps (not AN fittings).

I bought a medium sized fluid-to-air heat exchanger (available if you want it) but the gearbox shop installed a large one.

If you want pictures of anything to assist - let me know. When I get my car back in a week or so this will be easier.

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In terms of monitoring ATF temp, I'm perpetually getting around to installing threaded tube fittings in the rubber hoses before and after the heat exchanger. I'll thread temp sensors into them and have the temps showing on a dual digital temp gauge in the cabin.

[Yowie]

Some pics I already have:

Larger cooler as installed:




Smaller cooler (available!) as purchased then as painted:

[bigBADbenny]

Like the stock oil "cooler" on equipped models the ATF radiator circuit is a warmer: helps get gearbox temp up to operating temperature quickly by warming the fluid by heat exchange with the engine coolant.

If your car has a factory fitted tow-pack, some models (all?) are equipped with an atf cooler in front of the radiator, however the core is small and upgrading is a great idea as per Yowie's suggestion.

Now I know how easy the upgrade is on a tow-pack car, I'll definitely consider it for our 2.5i 4eat: cheers!

ATF temperature can be monitored via OBDII using Btssm android app or FreeSSM on PC etc, when either app is in TCU mode.

[BMCracer]

ATF temperature can be monitored via OBDII using Btssm android app or FreeSSM on PC etc, when either app is in TCU mode.

How do we select which mode the BtSsm is in? If I can see live gearbox temps that would be great, then I can see if the gearbox is even running hot in the first place. Might save me a lot of work and $$......

[bigBADbenny]

I’m sure that info is in the Btssm manual.
From memory, the app might be started or restarted in TCU mode, eg via settings?