Martec recommended an Earl’s UltraPRO cooler for the rugged stacked plate architecture, aluminum construction that efficiently transfers heat, and state of the art brazing that can handle the rigors of off-roading. Since space was an issue, we wanted the most efficient fluid cooler available since we couldn’t just mount up a huge, overkill transmission cooler.
Additionally, we didn’t have to be concerned about the transmission cooler heat soaking the radiator with this mounting location. Air flow is admittedly not as good as in the grille, particularly at freeway speeds, but the included SPAL electric fan flows 342 cfm and works just as well at crawling speeds as it does at freeway speeds. This utilizes available space, makes for easy plumbing, and is protected from harm. Nick specified a compact Earl’s UllraPRO fluid cooler with an integrated fan and mounted the cooler under the chassis next to the rear driveline. We worked with fabricator Nick Maher from Martec Engineering in Carson City, Nevada, to come up with custom mounting for our transmission cooler. We have a 2006 Jeep Wrangler LJ though, so there was no bolt-on solution. In fact, if you have a 2007-2018 Wrangler JK, B&M offers a kit (PN 70291) to easily mount a transmission cooler behind the grille. There is plenty of room here, the cooler would get lots of air flow, it would be easy to mount, and it would be protected from harm. We considered mounting the transmission cooler behind the grille in front of the radiator, using the existing lines that currently go to the factory cooler inside the radiator. In addition, having the right parts to install a transmission makes the process easier. Mounting here provides significant air flow which will help keep temperatures low. Skidplates and a lack of air flow are issues that caused our transmission to overheat in the first place, so we had to be careful not to make the same mistakes with the new cooler. Mounting a transmission cooler is typically best in front of the air conditioning condenser so it gets ample air flow. This Jeep gets used off road regularly, including rockcrawling and water crossings, so we knew wherever we mounted the cooler it would have to be safe from harm. A transmission cooler beyond the factory cooler in the radiator was the obvious fix for a problem we didn’t even realize that we had. “The transmission fluid is 220 degrees!” We weren’t out hot rodding, but the catalytic converter sits right next to the transmission pan on our Wrangler, and the steel skidplate across the entire frame traps the heat inside. “What were you doing on the way over here?!” they asked after plugging in the scanner to our Jeep. Our transmission seemed to be shifting poorly so we visited our local transmission rebuilder. Jeep’s 42RLE automatic transmission doesn’t have the best reputation.
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