Tranny Cooler install

[Peaty]

In 06 when the B9 was released and I saw there was a tranny cooler kit for it I was very interested. I managed to get a copy of the install procedure and it was way more involved than I cared for. It entailed removing the whole front bumper and all sorts of other crap. Now it seems they have revamped the procedure and it looks a lot easier. I ordered one today and will do a ScoobyMods page after I get it in. I should have it early next week. I don't plan on towing anything but I always thing a tranny cooler is a good idea for the extending the life of the tranny itself.

[Peaty]

Got my tranny cooler kit today, I hope to install it this weekend if I can find the time. Some pics below

[Peaty]

Finished doing the install a little bit ago. It's not really hard, just a lot of those plastic fasteners to undo which can be a pain. I'll do a write up soon and post a link.

[Peaty]

OK done with the page:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24760#post24760

Questions, comments and any corrections welcome

[tribeca09]

I installed a transmission cooler on my 09 Tribeca today. I encountered a couple of things which appear different from Peaty’s prior installation.

First, on the 09 Tribeca, the foam on the driver’s side is already perforated at the factory so you know exactly where to cut it.

Second, and more importantly, I got confused by the striping on the cooler hoses and the Subaru instructions. The instructions (at diagram 9) tell you to connect the blue-striped hose to the lower cooler line and to connect the white-striped hose to the upper cooler line. Later, the instructions (at diagram 12) tell you to connect the “Yelow” [sic] hose to the lower trans. line and to install the “Blue” hose to the upper trans. line. However, the striping on BOTH hoses at the ends where they connect to the trans. lines is yellow. After staring at the instructions for way too long and then reviewing Peaty’s excellent installation photos, I determined that the blue-striped hose which connects to the lower cooler line also connects to the LOWER trans. line – not the upper line shown in diagram 12. In fact, if you try to connect the blue hose to the upper trans. line you will find it difficult to stretch that far.

Does anyone know if reversing the fluid flow through the cooler would cause any problems? I am perplexed by the Subaru instructions/hose striping.

Any thoughts?

[immortal_suby]

I think you'd want the inlet to be the top and the outlet to be the bottom

[tribeca09]

Ok, I think I've got this thing figured out --

At the bottom of Peaty's installation instructions you will see it is "Issue B," "Date 2005/03/31."

At the bottom of my installation instructions I find "Issue A," Date "2005/01/10."

In Peaty's diagram 9 the hoses are labeled Blue (bottom hose) and Green (top hose).

In my diagram 9 the hoses are labeled Blue (bottom hose) and White (top hose).

In Peaty's diagram 12 the hoses are labeled White (top hose) and Yellow (bottom hose).

In my diagram 12 the hoses are labeled Blue (top hose) and Yelow [sic] (bottom hose).

I am thinking that the Issue A instructions are incorrect and were replaced by Issue B. In which case, my lines are connected properly (e.g., bottom cooler line to bottom trans. line). I may need to flip my top hose end over end so that the White-striped hose end connects to the trans. line instead of the cooler line -- which makes sense to me, because I had to contort (but not kink) it slightly.

So, in short, if you have the "Issue A" instructions, be careful.

[McGurk]

Thanks for the clarification. I was almost ready to tear it back apart to double check my hoses. They fell right into place with no tweaking, however, so I'm pretty sure they're right. The one thing I did find odd, and still do, is that I went to add more tranny fluid after the install and initial warmup, but there wasn't any more required as the dipstick read in an acceptable area. Any thoughts?

[immortal_suby]

I'd add in the capacity of the cooler. It's tough to get a good reading on the dipstick.

[boostsr20]

What fluid did you use to refill and how much volume did the cooler add?

[tribeca09]

I flipped the upper hose end-over-end so that the green-striped end attaches to the cooler (where, coincidentally, there is a green paint mark) and the white-striped end attaches to the upper trans. line. It fell right into place. To heck with those Issue A instructions :-)

I checked the fluid (hot) and, like others, found that the level fell within the acceptable range without adding more fluid. The cooler is fairly small, so I was not surprised.

During installation I caught the small quantity of fluid that drained from the hoses in a clean container and returned it to the tranny via the dipstick tube.