A/T Trans. Fluid B&M Supercooler and Temp Guage

[gettinafit]

Well the process has just begun. Here are the prelim. pics of the installed cooler and lines, and the T-fitting for the Tap in Temp sensor.

NOTE: This will probably Void Honda warranty somewhere possibly, And neither I nor Fitfreak recommend this modification. Do So at your Own RiSK!

This was done by me on a fellow Fit-freak member's Ride USER: "WAVE"



Tie wire-ties were just to hold it steady before installing the bottom mount!






This is a Pic of the Temp. Guage sender in a T-fitting in the cooler return line. Purpose is to monitor cooler efficiency. (Guage electronics not completed.)






Cooler is in!

Stay tuned more to come!

[koolkevin1107]

very nice. so far its lookin good!

[Wave]

Seems to be holding up so far too. Mounting it up high just underneath the hood latch mechanism and behind the front license plate gives it lots of protection from direct rock and other road debris hits as well as plenty of airflow. I'll try and get my pics up for you guys today.

My concerns so far is:

- The bent metal strips used to install the B&M cooler show right through the grill. Flat black spray paint should fix that.

- Where the heck am I going to mount the temperature gauge inside the cabin? Suggestions guys?

- The rubber hoses are totally exposed in the lower grill. I'm a little paranoid about that - how tough are they?

[Wave]

Keep in mind that this AT cooler was installed in anticipation of Jackson Racing's upcoming 5 PSI supercharger kit for my Fit but it doesn't hurt to have an AT cooler installed even if you never intend to go the forced induction route on your vehicle.

ONCE AGAIN - ALL MODIFICATIONS ARE DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK!


Notice how the B&M cooler is directly below the hood latch mechanism. Once the front bumper is back in place the cooler is totally protected yet gets plenty of airflow. The silver metal strips provided in the B&M kit are meant to be bent by the installer for a "custom" install - kind of looks rough and ugly but it works!


A shot of the lower portion of the cooler. Notice how we used 2 of the 4 silver metal strips that are provided in the B&M kit for the lower end, one to wrap around the exisiting metal support and another to connect it to the cooler. Like I said it looks kind of rough but it is very solid and once the cover is on you can't see it.
The tie wraps you see were there because we intially thought tie wraps would hold it securely enough - DON'T BOTHER!
Metal > Plastic anyday!


Side shot shown mounted on the existing metal bracket. Notice how it has plenty of airflow directly in front as well as behind it and doesn't interfere with any of the stock equipment. Once you put the bumper back on it is located behind where the front license plate would be ---> Totally protected from direct hits from various road debris and gets lots of cool air from the lower grill and the upper grill openings.




View of the rubber hoses when installed and the bumper is reattached. They're slightly exposed but I tucked them as low as I safely could out of the way. Hopefully this won't be a problem. You can't see the lower metal mounting bracket unless you happen to be lying down on the street and the black rubber hoses are barely even noticable.


Open the hood and this is all you see looking down at the hood latch mechanism.




Installed. The only thing you can see are two rubber hoses and the shiny metal brackets. Flat black spray paint will fix the metal. The black rubber hoses are almost unnoticeable so this is a fairly stealthy install.

Next up - B&M Temp. Gauge Installation

[leonine]

Time do do a DIY home depot grill on the lower bumper! Did you bypass the radiator cooler or patch into the return line. Can you take pics of the lines going from the radiator to the cooler and from the cooler to the tranny when you get a chance please. How did you determine which hose was the return line from the radiator? Did you pull it when the car was running?

EDIT: i want to mount mine lower so i will probably drill into the radiator support and use long bolts to go all the way through.

[Wave]

The AT cooler works in conjunction with the radiator cooler not in place of.

The pics on the lines are going to have to wait until I can get the bumper off again - maybe Lance can chime in on it since he did it.

I dunno about mounting it lower. Take a look at the radiator fins now, notice how they're all torn up from debris hits? Granted your lower grill mod may provide better protection. Plus I had to keep it up higher because I'm assuming the Jackson Racing intercooler will be mounted underneath the AT cooler

[sonorliteman]

You don't need to worry about the hoses or cooler being exposed...they'll hold up just fine.

[leonine]

did you dump all of your fluid and replace? Notice any difference at all?

[Wave]

Originally Posted by sonorliteman

You don't need to worry about the hoses or cooler being exposed...they'll hold up just fine.

I prefer to look as stock as possible.

[Wave]

Originally Posted by leonine

did you dump all of your fluid and replace? Notice any difference at all?

Just replaced whatever spilled + the additional amount needed to fill the new cooler and lines. A little over a quart I guess.No I didn't notice any difference at all. Mental peace of mind I suppose since the AT fluid is now cooling "better".

[gettinafit]

From the radiator hose that goes to that metal line I PM'd you about, you disconnect the radiator end, add new hose directly to the cooler. Then you run the other side of the cooler to the Temp guage line to the Trans line! Get it?

we tested to flow by disconnecting the hose and adding a hose (no spill) into a bucket which ever one pissed was the return out of the radiator!

[leonine]

Thanks for the help. Hopefully i can install this weekend. Then i will shoot out to your place to do the gauge wiring unless i feel comfortable with your DIY instructions at that point.

[leonine]

Was the hose supplied by B&M enough to route the distance or do i need to get more?

[Wave]

Originally Posted by leonine

Was the hose supplied by B&M enough to route the distance or do i need to get more?

Based on where we mounted the AT cooler and the way the hose is routed around the drivers side of the radiator we had just enough. Your mileage may vary.

[leonine]

Installed mine this past saturday. 6 hours total. Most of that was installing the temp sending unit. I installed the cooler down low using the factory bolts that attach the vertical beam in the middle of the radiator that supports the hood latch. Then routed the lines inbetween the radiator and the support through to the inside of the engine by the radiator overflow bottle. I chose their because their were rounded corners. That was the easy part. Then i chose to mount the sending unit tapped into the return pipe itself instead of between 2 hoses. Much cleaner and easier to access when gettinafit (or I) run the wires for the gauge. That was very ambitious and a big pain in the ass. Needed some extra 3/8 hose and 3/8 pipe from carquest and some thermal tape. Then i emoved the entire return pipe, cut it and then realized that the pipe is metric and was 1/2 mm too big for the 3/8 compression fitting So i proceeded to dremmel the pipe down and also took a metal file to the compression nut and finally got it to slide over. Then i flaired out the end and hooked it up to the sending unit. The other side was easy because i bought stock 3/8 pipe. Was able to use the compression fitting on that end so no big deal. Got everything tightened up and installed. Started it up and the damn thing was leaking (a drop every 15 seconds or so). Luckily i got a wrench around it and gave it a couple more turns and it sealed up. Then added more fluid (about 3/4 of a quart...i only lost a couple of ounces of original fluid during the install) and finito!

Here are a couple of pics of the fiting and the cooler. The cooler is mounted behind my DIY home depot lower grill guard so no worries about debris. Sorry no detailed pics of the install. Camera was not working.

[Wave]

Nice job on the temp. sensor placement. That does look much cleaner. Maybe I might have to do that to my car too...

So where are you going to install the temp. gauge?

Also can you take a few steps back from your car and take a pic of the front end? I want to see how visible it is.

[leonine]

Not sure yet??? I still think maybe attached to the gauge cluster surround somewhere. There it would be plainly visible and if wired correctly into the gauge lights it should be dimmed when you adjust the knob. Or possibly down low where you had suggested below the a/c controls. The case is so obtrusive and bulky. Glad i got it though because everything came as a kit rather than me having to scrounge around for individual parts.

[gettinafit]

I see you shortened the metal line and bent it up a bit to make everything fit! I guess that means you unbolted the 10mm on the case to the right yes? You could always solder in a ground to that bolt with a 18guage wire just to make sure!

And you are right, honda uses metric not (Standard american Equivalent) SAE Inches. (I didn't measure the honda line b/c I didn't chose to use it)


Good to see things working! Wave and I still haven't gotten together to do the electronics yet. But that idea of the dimmer circuit is a good idea!

[leonine]

yeah i removed the whole line. Had to in order to cut it and install the sending unit. What fun! I am very impressed with myself (i'm patting myself on the back now). Still relatively an easy mod though. The dimmer circuit is where i want to hook mine up to so hopefully we can take care of it on the 30th unless you and wave get to it first and post pics so i can copy.

[leonine]

Originally Posted by Wave

Also can you take a few steps back from your car and take a pic of the front end? I want to see how visible it is.

Here ya go. Not really that visible at all.