[fct]

So I got the B&M supercooler p/n 70264. What's the most obvious place to mount it on a 1999 Taurus? By that I mean, the place where you know for sure there exists mounting hardware. Obviously, right in front of car's radiator is the best place, above the factory cooler tube. However, I don't see any brackets or surfaces to which I could bolt it on.

PS: what's the easiest way to find out which cooler line is for PS fluid and which for transmission?

 

[shoz123]

The PS lines are larger than the tranny lines, 1/2" vs 3/8"

 

[jato]

On my sister-in-law's '99 Sable, the trans cooler was the finned tube. I say was because it's been replaced with a cooler off a G2 ATX SHO, which is now mounted to the underside of the steel inner bumper.

 

[egiroux]

Here's where I mounted mine. It's the point of highest airflow from both fans.

 

[fct]

I asked about line identification because it seems that the factory setup used to be pretty inconsistent. On some cars apparently there was no factory cooling tube at all. On others, the two got swapped.

 

[fct]

Here's where I mounted mine. It's the point of highest airflow from both fans.

But it this setup, the cooler is mounted on the engine's radiator. Isn't it going to increase the temperature of your cooler?

 

[egiroux]

But it this setup, the cooler is mounted on the engine's radiator. Isn't it going to increase the temperature of your cooler?

It's actually on the AC condenser. It's not touching-there's about 1/8" gap. The airflow is from front to back, so the heat is not transferred to the trans cooler.

 

[sheila]

If youre unsure about the line (tube) routing, just trace them back to their origins. If your ps reservoir goes dry, you know you screwed up lol.

 

[sheila]

Yes, fan airflow is pull, not push.

 

[chrism3784]

Older gen1 and 2 Taurus Sables had a stupid tube the went across 3 times, unfinned to cool the transmission. Absolutely rediculous, did not bring the transmission down in temp in summers. Is why they all failed.

 

[DLC360]

The best mounting location for a B&M cooler is right infront of the A/C condencer. Though it will slow the airflow a little, they are made to work in that location and not block much airflow. I also have the gen2 SHO cooler, its mounted low and only gets airflow when the car is moving, not always a good thing but better than nothing.

 

[fct]

I think I will try to secure it to the AC condenser using the four provided plastic tabs as shown here

Zr2USA.com > How To: B&M Supercooler Transmission Cooler

The only problem with this approach is that I need to get my hand behind the condenser to pull them and put ratcheting heads on them. There isn't much space for even wrist. I might loosen the driver side bolts that hold the condenser to see if that helps.


Another problem is that the factory rubber transmission line hose is not long enough to reach the cooler. I will connect the cooler to the side of the factory cooler where the fluid exists it (so it's driver side I think). I have a hose that goes from factory cooler to my aux cooler. However, the factory hose is not long enough to reach where the fluid will exist my B&M cooler. I have a 20 inch hose. Can I extend the factory hose with it, or should I replace the whole factory hose with a new one? Does anyone know the formal name of the metal tube that's used for linking two hoses? I want to see if I could buy one of those somewhere tomorrow.

 

[egiroux]

I used regular black wire ties and plastic strips to spread out the load on the back side. The fasteners provided with the cooler are too thick for the close fin spacing of the condenser.

 

[fct]

I used regular black wire ties and plastic strips to spread out the load on the back side. The fasteners provided with the cooler are too thick for the close fin spacing of the condenser.

Indeed, the provided fasteners are somewhat thick. So what? They go through the condenser fins just fine. A few of them will get bent a little. I think it's not a big deal. At least, this is the way I did it anyways.

 

[fct]

Thanks to everyone's advise I have completed the installation of the auxiliary transmission cooler. I used B&M supercooler, part number B&M 70264. You can see roughly what my installation looks like on the attached image.

A few comments are necessary here:

1) I suspect that moving the cooler up a few inches would probably be better, because there is more airflow right in front of the long horizontal hole in the grille. However, it was not physically feasible to install it up there. I had to pull the plastic fasteners from the other side of the AC condenser and this is how far it is physically possible to slip my wrist behind it without suffering from serious cuts or breaking things. (And my wrists are pretty narrow as is). This part was a PITA.

2). The fact that the aux cooler hoses are exposed to the thin horizontal oval hole in the grille is a cause for a slight concern because it is theoretically feasible that debris from the road could penetrate this space and cause the damage to the hoses. This is not so theoretical as there are some clearly visible dents on the AC condenser fins, surely from road debris. However, I believed that putting it up side down is better in order to prevent pockets of air from forming inside of the aux cooler, thus reducing its effectiveness.

PS: Last question, just how tight should I fasten the hose clamps?

 

[fct]

BTW, I wonder, just how much weight would be it be reasonable to tow with my car now? I am thinking of towing one of those small folding tent trailers, just the lightest of the kind. Hopefully, this cooler will help.

 

[egiroux]

Indeed, the provided fasteners are somewhat thick. So what? They go through the condenser fins just fine. A few of them will get bent a little. I think it's not a big deal. At least, this is the way I did it anyways.

I'm sure it will work fine. Sometimes I'm a little picky, and I had the wire ties so it was not very hard to do it the way I did. Your install looks good!

 

[dbfruth]

Here is the cooler install I did on my 98. Like the previous poster mentioned I mounted mine with the ports facing up so that the cooler would not trap air. It is also in front of one of the cooling fans. I have mine installed in line after the factory cooler and before the radiator. The engine is currently out of the car so the install was a little easier with the extra room.

 

[jato]

To lengthen the factory hoses I used brass barbed fittings that were rated to 400 psi and double clamped both sides of the splices.

 

[dbfruth]

I was able to mount mine without extending or cutting any factory hoses. I rerouted the hose going into the radiator and used the hose supplied with the cooler to go from the factory to auxiliary cooler