A/T transmission radiator, as motor oil cooler?

greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
in Engine & Drivetrain
So to further my confusion regarding my car and some of the comments about was it originally automatic, even though the VIN says it's not. It seems to have an automatic transmission radiator in it. At least I think, please correct me if I'm just mistaken.

I have two ports at the bottom of the radiator that you could connect hoses to. I know this is how a lot of automatic transmissions have their fluid cooled, but I'm not certain if these had a separate cooler and this is just a radiator from a later model civic or what.

Either way, my inquiry here is would it be feasible to get one of those oil filter blocks that lets you run a remote cooler and just use the automatic transmission ports to cool the motor oil? I can't think that the detergent packs in the oil would have any real adverse affects on the radiator. I'm not sure about the temps though, if an automatic transmission runs much cooler than motor oil and that heat would cause a problem.

So just putting this out there to see what you all think or if somethings been done like this already and I just missed it when I searched. I did find a humorous thread that Charb locked due to getting a migraine reading it =D

Comments

  • truckslammertruckslammer Moderator
    All the radiators come with those auto tranny cooling hookups stock. You should be able to tell in your wagon if "it seems to have an automatic transmission in it" or not! I doubt the oil would hurt the radiator but I also doubt that you would want to run the engine oil through there.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Missed a key word there =D I meant it seems to have an automatic transmission radiator. But since you said they all come with them, that answers that question. Because mine has power steering in it a couple other people asked if it was originally an auto, that's what that was about.

    Thanks. I'll hook that up sometime in the near future and keep my fingers crossed. I wouldn't see too much difference running that through there vs a separate oil cooler, in fact my old volvo has a cooler that works in a similar fashion. It's a sandwich that passes coolant through it in one set of the passages and then the oil through another. A heat exchanger as it were.
  • truckslammertruckslammer Moderator
    Sorry, couldn't resist. I knew what you were putting down. I am not sure you get much cooling from it. I haven't ever ran temp gauges to see what kind of temperatures we are looking at here. Good luck! :encouragement:
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