ML500K

Having used Star to measure the transmission temperature to be about 90C (194F) at idle ( drove the car around the block) recently after my tranny rebuild, I knew I had to do something about lowering the temperature. So I got it done yesterday. I got the B&M tranny cooler and fitted it in front of the radiator. I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone, separating the tranny oil from the radiator lowers the tranny temp and eliminates coolant contamination.

From testing after a 30 minute drive driving in stop and go traffic ( medium acceleration), plugged it up to Star and it was reading 85C (185F). I still want to test the temp while driving under hard acceleration with star hooked up instead of hooking it up after driving for more accurate realtime results. Will report back after.

My guess is that without the external cooler, the tranny temp would have reached 95~100C+ easily.( 203~212F)

King320

Correct me if I'm wrong, but arent AMG transmissions designed to work at those temps? I'd be worried about messing with the temp since the components expand and contract with heat.

drew500

i see alot of people installing those on their bmw's

Autotechnica

100 degrees celcius doesn't seem hot at all. I've hit 280 degrees F in one car and 240 degrees F in another car while at the track. Moderate aggression.

With these cars, I would just do transmission drain and refills once a year. It doesn't cost much more than an oil change.

External tranny coolers are a great option if you want peace of mind from glycol contamination though.

BTW, I've got the same B&M unit on my Volvo. They are relatively cheap and work well.

TruTaing

Woah, that is all it takes to separete the transmission oils from the rest of the radiator? For those w/ the faulty radiators, doesnt this make lots of sense? :x

buffyclk500

nice job

hope it all works out great

ML500K

If you saw my gasket blistering you would think otherwise. Only excessive heat would have cause it to blister like that.

ML500K

Thanks! I really don't drive that aggressive at all. This would be the third time fixing my tranny issues. 1st was a faulty control board ( above the control module) , 2nd was the whole tranny control valve module. 3rd was just recently, has to replace the whole clutch housing where that plastic needle bearing broke.

Most probably by overheating cause of the drive and stop traffic in the city; accelerate hard and stop, not much cooling at the red light esp. during the hot summer months. Hopefully this will be the last of my tranny issues. Engine feels great on the other hand

doom239

Did this mod at all raise your Engine temp??
Because I see that your now blocking a quarter of your radiator????

ML500K

It actually lowered the engine coolant temp by 3 degrees Celsius. Usually it would be 89, and now 86.