Whats the dif between an auto and manual tranny RADIATOR

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

I'm looking to have a radiator on standby (spare part) for an Auto tranny E34 which I may end up using in a manual tranny E34. I just wanted to know what the actual differences are between the 2 radiators, and whether they are interchangeable?

Thanks dudes.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Part of the reason I ask isL
http://www.radiatorexpress.com/product.asp?part=1995+BMW+525I++%2D+2%2E5+liter+L6 +RADIATOR+Name+Brand+Replacement&part_id=39374&aaia_id=1012082
They say they have a radiator tht fits both,

And other part suppliers always specify different radiators for the auto tranny car and the manual tranny e34.

[632 Regal]

all the smart guys are sleeping off the long weekend...lol

I'll try to bump this tomorrow for ya.

[wingman]

On my E12 (yeah I know it's different) I fitted an auto one as a replacement. The difference was that it had an extra section (at the edge of the radiator) that connected up to the transmission cooler. To adapt it to my car I just had to move the top mount out to the wider position placed there by the factory. Maybe this is the same deal.

[winfred]

on most bimmers the auto radiator has the tranny cooler made into one of the tanks and uses the engine coolent, so you can put a auto rad in a stick but not the other way around, unless you want to switch to a external trans cooler which i did on my 535 when i installed a 540 radiator, i spliced a e36 325 tranny cooler into the 535s lines and bolted it to the front of the radiator just like a later 525 has

[winfred]

don't need to move anything on a e34, they are the same size


On my E12 (yeah I know it's different) I fitted an auto one as a replacement. The difference was that it had an extra section (at the edge of the radiator) that connected up to the transmission cooler. To adapt it to my car I just had to move the top mount out to the wider position placed there by the factory. Maybe this is the same deal.

[winfred]

they just are stocking a auto radiator to save inventory


Part of the reason I ask isL
http://www.radiatorexpress.com/product.asp?part=1995+BMW+525I++%2D+2%2E5+liter+L6 +RADIATOR+Name+Brand+Replacement&part_id=39374&aaia_id=1012082
They say they have a radiator tht fits both,

And other part suppliers always specify different radiators for the auto tranny car and the manual tranny e34.

[genphreak]

On my E12 (yeah I know it's different) I fitted an auto one as a replacement. The difference was that it had an extra section (at the edge of the radiator) that connected up to the transmission cooler. To adapt it to my car I just had to move the top mount out to the wider position placed there by the factory. Maybe this is the same deal.On e34 the mounts are the same, one simply doesn't connect the cooler lines if installing auto radiator in a manual car. Its the same on Fords and many other production cars- radiator mounted tranny coolers are cheaper and easier to make. I wonder if it has any goodor bad affect on the tranny in comparison to a remote cooler.

[winfred]

bad, overheat the engine and you are roasting the tranny too, done a few nuked motor swaps and had the tranny puke on the test drive, a remote cooler is not going to transfer that heat to the trans fluid


I wonder if it has any goodor bad affect on the tranny in comparison to a remote cooler.

[genphreak]

bad, overheat the engine and you are roasting the tranny too, done a few nuked motor swaps and had the tranny puke on the test drive, a remote cooler is not going to transfer that heat to the trans fluidThanks Winfred, very true. It might be cheaper and easier to make, lighter in the car too.

And **yet another reason** to avoid overheating any L6 motor :)

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Thanks guys. I think I will go the separate tranny cooler route as I can get a new manual transmission Radiator for like $130. That'll be my standby tranny, and if I need to put it in an auto, I'll just add a separate tranny cooler. I like the idea of having a separate one anyway.


Thanks Winfred, very true. It might be cheaper and easier to make, lighter in the car too.

And **yet another reason** to avoid overheating any L6 motor :)

[joshua43214]

Trans cooler in my 540i uses coolant for heat exchange.

The heat exchanger in radiators with internal trans coolers are in the side tanks, it wont affect engine cooling at all to have an unused coil in there. you can use the auto cooler on a manual with no worries.

[632 Regal]

from what I was told by Darryl Young is the radiator heat exchanger should always be used even if you have an auxillary cooler as it not only cools it 90% but also eliminates cold trans clutch wear by warming the fluid much faster...especially race applications. Worked for me until I would overpower the transmissions by 1/3 more than they could handle :D


On e34 the mounts are the same, one simply doesn't connect the cooler lines if installing auto radiator in a manual car. Its the same on Fords and many other production cars- radiator mounted tranny coolers are cheaper and easier to make. I wonder if it has any goodor bad affect on the tranny in comparison to a remote cooler.