Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Transaxle Filter and cooling question

Hello, I am a n0ob here on the countour.org forum.

I am helping a buddy of mine out with his 98 contour, with ATX. He just had a rebuild, and I am wondering if the contour has a stock transmission cooler, and if anyone here has an aftermarket one installed.

Also, I see some of you have aftermarket remote tranny filters installed. Won't they cause pressure drops in the line?

Thanks
-D. Carlsson

The stock cooler for just about every car made is a coil inside the radiator coolant return tank. While probably OK for the average motorist, it is probably inadequate for performance applications, trailer towing and hot weather climates such as Arizona, Florida, etc.
I've read/seen posts here a while back where an auxiliary cooler is munted in front of the radiator. I recall one installation where the hoses appeared to run unprotected beneath the car - bad idea!
Anyway, putting in an aux cooler is pretty difficult on our car. There just isn't enough room up-front to make the job easy. It can be done, but expect a lot of time and several skinned Knuckles.
As for the secondary filter, I like the spin-on type or the Magnefine. The increased pressure drop may be a concern, as nobody seems to have a handle on what is permissible with CD4E. Anyway, I would say give it a try, but change the aux filter often.
See the locked post at the beginning of this forum - there is good discussion there.
Good Luck!

To add a little to what DanB has stated...

As for the cooler - as with most all late model cars, almost all of them use a 195 degree thremostat. With the engine running at that temp and without regular system flushes or fluid changes, you can only expect your tranny to last around 50K! And that is in everyday driving. Drive you car hard and you will cut that almost in half.

An aftermarket cooler is a good thing. Even a small one, such as the smaller B&M Super Cool cooler that you can get from Summit for around $50. Anything outside of the rad is a good thing!

As for the line filters - If you do a search here using the work Magnafine, you will find tons of threads on the topic of this filter. A few have them installed and as far as I know, they are not seeing any problems as of late with the filter causeing problems with the tranny. Many do agree though that the spin on filter design is much better since it has less of an effect on line pressure.

As for what is exceptable line pressure varations - From what I can tell in the Ford service manual, you need to have between 45-63 psi at idle in drive. That would give you something like 18 psi to play with.

One problem with the spin on filter is that unless you move your battery to the trunk, you really don't have much room for it anywhere else other than where the battery currently is.

I personally don't have either of the filters. I just change my fluid out like a mad man!!

Welcome aboard and hope that we can help you are your friend with anything else.

I have purchased the spin on filter. I plan on mounting it down around the coolant overflow tank. That is close to the radiator fitings for the atx. cooling/filter path is, radiator, external cooler, filter and back to atx.

Just to confuse the issue, here is my two cents:

When getting my ATX aux-cooler installed my tyranny man said that the fluid in a transmission will perform best when warm (not hot or cold). The transmission is designed to run at the engine radiator temperature. Therefore, running the output of the aux-cooler through the radiator serves the purpose of maintaining the ultimate temp for operation. Don't forget those COLD winter days.

AND: if you are getting metal flakes in the filter.. you need repairs made to the transmission. Gray colored dust is normal and comes from clutch material.

Good point made, however in TEXAS........our days for the most part are hot and hot and hot and looong. Typical day of 98 deg is normal. Between my engine running a tad hot, fans working on and off to cool radiator as well as atx, I'm thinking the extra cooler is a relief for me here in Austin. Now I would be the first to admit that if I were in say Bangor Maine....things would probably be a little bit different!

Thanks,
Bob