Automatic Climate Control - Cool Transmission Tech

Many veteran wrenchmen shun tranny coolers that are plumbed with rubber hose, usually because of all the hacksaw-and-fuel-hose jobs they've seen go awry. However, the B&M kit uses high-pressure hose coupled with the barbed fittings and high-quality stainless steel hose clamps to ensure positive sealing.

The B&M kit comes with two options for mounting: Plastic "zip" fasteners to tie the cooler to the radiator or four universal steel brackets. We're going with the steel brackets so we can bolt the cooler to the outside of the radiator support, which in this case will make the plumbing a bit easier.

The zip fasteners are easy to use, but we have heard of radiator tubes being cut by the zip teeth in high-vibration applications where care was not taken to keep the two separated. The brackets can be cut and bent as needed, though ours fit pretty well out-of-the-box.

Once the cooler is bolted up, all that remains is to slip the hose ends over the barbs on the cooler and fasten the clamps. B&M warns not to double-clamp any connections. Conveniently, we were able to route the lower hose under the radiator support and the upper hose through an existing hole, but we got lucky. You may need to create appropriate holes--don't force the hoses under, over, or through anything that may pinch or chaff them for obvious reasons. Remember, this stuff will be vibrating, if only slightly, but frequently.

While investigating ways to keep the transmission from deep-frying itself during road-course maneuvers, we found an additional means of keeping the fluid cool: a deeper pan. Increasing the capacity of the pan, and therefore the fluid capacity of the system, increases the system's ability to manage heat. The B&M deep pan for the GM 4L60-E adds a whopping 4 quarts of fluid capacity, plus its aluminum construction helps to dissipate heat, and B&M says it adds rigidity to the trans case as well.

Before the filter can be installed, a special filter "spring" (also included in the kit) must be installed using one of the valvebody bolts. The instructions are specific about which bolt to use, and stress the importance of re-torquing the bolt to the factory 8-lb-ft spec. The spring is required to keep tension on the filter so that it doesn't vibrate out of its socket in the transmission pump.

Now's a good time to install a fresh filter, but the deeper pan requires the sump (which is the filter) to be positioned lower than it was with the stock pan. Rather than requiring a custom filter, the B&M kit includes an aluminum extension housing for the stock filter. It seals to the filter using a stock-type filter seal, included in the kit.

The pan installs using new bolts (torqued to 12 lb-ft), which are included along with a new gasket. Be aware that the cast-aluminum pan may require trimming of the stock torque-converter cover for clearance. A bonus of the new pan is a drain plug, making future fluid changes less messy.

A final bit of insurance comes from B&M's Trick Shift transmission fluid. Trick Shift is synthetic and we're told it has foam inhibitors, extreme pressure agents, and shift improvers. It's also said to handle heat more ably than standard trans fluid, so we're giving it a try. After pouring in 4 quarts, we started the engine, ran it through the gears, and checked the level, topping it off as needed. Make sure not to overfill the trans, as this can cause foaming, leading to other problems.