Well, here it is already September, where did the Summer go? I have not been able to get either my Rock Krawler deep sump tranny pan, or tranny cooler installed yet. I did make an attempt at the tranny cooler but was sidetracked when I punctured a hole in the Air Conditioning condenser that sits in front of the radiator.

I did get the Gen2 kit from RIPPMODS installed and the jeep is running better than ever.

 I am also in the middle of my AEV premium 3.5 inch lift install. I have the front suspension completed (see pics below) and will be starting the rear suspension today.

 

Compare this view from the stock suspension of Jeep picture at top of this blog! Even though it is a 3.5 inch frame lift, the body is lifted by as much as 6 inches.

JK Automatic Transmission Overheat Problem

Well, as you owners of JKs may well know, the 42RLE auto-tranny has some overheat issues. I decided to track the oil temp using two Glow-Shift transmission oil senders and gauges. I installed one on each oil cooler line as close to the tranny as possible. I took a test run up Highway 79 to Palomar Mountain Road out of Pala (I-15).

The outside ambient air temp was a cool 63 degrees outside.

By the time I reached the Hw79/Palomar Mt. Rd (S. Grade Rd.) split, my tranny was a whopping 288 degrees! This picture of my gauges is proof positive...the one on the left (blue) is on the transmissions oil "in" line (post-stock cooler) and is reading 252 degrees; the one on the right (red) is on the tranny oil "out" line (pre-cooler), which is reading nearly 290 degrees...ouch!

Even though that's not burning the oil, so to speak, it is seriously shortening the oil-life down to about 15k miles from what should be 100,000 miles.

This issue has been posted on JeepForum.com and JK-Forum.com and the reasons for this are many, not the least of which is a poor design from the factory as to where the stock-transmission cooler is mounted inside the housing of the engine radiator.

I suspect that I have also compounded the problem with the Warn PowerPlant Winch sitting so high in front of the JK grill.

However, I have a solution to the problem which will be a two-pronged approach. I plan to do what most of you all do, and install an auxiliary transmission cooler in line with the stock cooler, but, as a secondary solution, I am swapping out the stock transmission oil pan and replacing it with the Rock Krawler Deep Sump oil-pan. The larger oil-pan will add about two-full quarts of oil capacity, aiding in cooling and all but eliminating oil pump starvation when inclined on those level 10 off-road hills and rocks! Here are some photos of the B&M Transmission cooler and Rock Krawler oil pan I will be installing...

Here are the web-site links for the items I will be installing in the near future:

B&M SuperCooler Part#70268:
http://www.bmracing.com/PRODUCTS/Automatic-Transmission-SuperCoolers/Automatic-Transmission-SuperCooler-rated-at-13-000-BTU-11x7-1-2x3-4

Rock Krawler Heavy Duty Deep Sump Tranny Pan:
http://www.rockkrawler.com/?r_intro=1
Note: The Tranny-Pan doubles as a skid-plate, eliminating the need for the stock skid plate which I will have to remove anyway as recommended by AEV when I install the 3.5 inch Premium Lift Kit.

P.S. I after the installations are complete, I will repeat my run up to Palomar Mt. and post my temp readings/results.

Ordered the AEV 3.5" Premium Lift Kit this weekend along with the Rear Differential housing skid plate. Should arrive in a week or so. Also ordered a Viper 3303 Car Alarm system; Performance Distributors 'Screaming Demon' Coil/LiveWire kit; and am considering the Ravelco Anti-Theft system.

Ordered the Gen2 kit today

Spoke with Ross at RIPPMODS and ordered the Gen2 Upgrade kit. Should arrive in a week or so. I will be posting the mod here...stay tuned (no pun intended).

My next major mod will be to (hopefully) install the GEN2 upgrade kit to my original (gen1) Supercharger. This will eliminate the methonol injection by using an intercooler and will also eliminate the "piggyback" black box magic that rides on top of the stock ECM program. The GEN2 uses a complete new re-programming of the ECM via the Diablo Predator programming tool. I'm hoping to make the change this summer along with some tranny cooling modifications which I will detail as well.

This is the original (looking) Jeep with some minor 'bling'. This was before any of the mods listed in this thread. I have since added the Rippmods Supercharger and the Long-Tube headers for about a 100 hp boost in performance.

I'm really behind on my project updates. I had the Long-Tube Headers installed early this year, and have added a Body Armor Roof Rack and rear bumber with tire carrier. Need to add pics. I have also installed two transmission oil temp gauges, one from the hot (out) line and one from the cool (in) line. Need to get a set of benchmark readings. I have seen the hot temp as high as 285 (ouch!). I have already purchased a B&M Auxiliary Transmission Cooler and the Rock Krawler deep sump puncture proof transmission oil pan. Those both will be going on in the near future.