Question I own a 1997 Chrysler Sebring Lx 2.5L v6 coupe, and I have been having transmission problems. I recently had it rebuilt and it still overheats after driving 8 hours and my speed sensor goes nuts and I go into limp home mode. And by the way, this car only has 167,000 miles, and is on transmission rebuild/reman #4!
I talked with my transmission shop and they said an aftermarket transmission oil line cooler would not void my warranty. My question to you is, can I install a secondary cooler in series with the stock cooler that goes into the radiator without overloading anything and still get propor flow? I don't know if it is possible to overcool the fluid either. . .
I ideally want to remove my AC completely (my check-engine light is on anyways) and remove the condenser and put a heavy duty transmission cooler in it's place. This is in addition to the stock cooler in the radiator. I want to run the trans fluid from the trans <-> cooler <-> radiator <-> trans. I don't use my AC and I feel that I can put that increased airflow to better use.
If you do not recommend doubling up, do you think I could benifit from an aftermarket cooler, or just removing the condenser completely? -- Stock cooling just doesn't cut it in a delivery vehicle.
AnswerP.S. Have you checked to see if there is a build up of crud, leaves, etc on the cooler/condense/radiator fins by shining a light from the back side and looking thru them for obstructive materials? Maybe you could improve the cooling by cleaning out such materials with compressed air or a water hose.
Hi Charlie,
I have not had any experience with transmission cooling issues. I just took a look at some of the Chrysler shop manuals that I have. They speak of a two cooler set up as if it is routinely available, but did not describe the flow path or issues of overcooling. They also note that in the case of a transmission failure in the past that the oil cooler should be flushed and the by-pass valve in the trans should be replaced because of the presence of metallic debris remaining from the earlier damage. (The by-pass valve might be an existing means of dealing with an overcooled situation, so your concern about that may already be dealt with). They describe the procedure for cleaning the oil cooler, and for verifying the flow rate by testing the output at idle speed. So evidentally what you are proposing is not unusual. I can xerox the page from the '94 manual that discusses this and snail mail it to you. Just give me a postal address.
The recent transaxles not have a temp sensor and modify the shift schedule in reponse to oil temp ('04 Sebring trans manual, but this is probably not applicable to your '97).
I would work with the trans rebuild shop to make sure that what you do is appropriate and consistent with the warranty.
They probably have seen such two-cooler setups.
Roland
