Remote cartridge oil filters on transmission?

[TheSilentChamber]

I'v been trying to find some information as to if you can use a cartridge style oil filter (such as canton/mecca) as a remote transmission filter. I'v tried email them but there email servers are down... so I figured I'd ask here. I'v seen remote location oil filter kits that use standard spin on oil filters, thats what got me to thinking, I'm going to be using a cartridge style oil filter on the motor, why not go ahead and use one on the tranny also. If it is ok to use do I leave the stock (in transmission) filter in place, or do I remove it all together? (by the way this is on an automatic transmission) Also will temp sensors/gauges work on all types of fluids or do you have to get ones specially made for for oil/transmission fluid?

[zagrot]

spinon filter adaptors for automatic transmission vehicles is a great idea, though i never got around to installing one when i owned an automatic. i'd leave the stock filter in place since it is immediately before the transmission's internal pump or replace it with a fine mesh metal screen. that approach would leave the stock filter to catch large particles and the spinon to catch the finer contaminents. also remember that in most automatics the filter locates the fluid pickup closer to the bottom of the pan. i'm not sure that an oil filter would be ideal for a transmission due to the media used, but i'm fairly sure that finer filters especially for transmissions are available. you may also consider removing the magnet from the bottom of the transmission's pan (that is if you have one, i cracked a speaker magnet in half and stuck the two pieces in oppsing corners of the pan) in favor of a magnetic sleeve on the spinon filter to reduce the need to drop the pan during servicing.

any temperature sender should work as long as the fluid interface is resistant to transmission fluid, which should not be a problem since all that i have ever seen have been made of brass or stainless, and it is sensitive in the temperature range of the working fluid and compatible with the gauge that you choose.

[LeSabre97mint]

Hello

Doesn’t Saturn use a spin on filter with their auto trannies? You might want to check them out.

Regards

Dan

[TheSilentChamber]

Yall both missed the question. I wasnt asking about spin on filters. I was asking about cartridge type.

[curtis73]

Whatever filter you use, make sure its for tranny applications. Don't use an engine oil filter. I suggest skipping the whole thing, honestly. Trannys don't have the excessive filtering needs like an engine does. Its not getting contaminants from blowby and constant hammering on the metal internals. That's why when you pull apart a 200k auto tranny it looks fresh and clean. Tranny cooling lines typically contain a pretty heavy flow of 30-50 psi fluid. It is not an auxiliary flow that can be changed much. In most trannys, its part of the fluid circuit and installing a filter will be almost like plugging up a valve inside the tranny. Overall line pressures can drop and cause serious damage.

In general it sounds like a wise idea, but if you use a filter that picks up small enough junk, it will restrict way too much. Conversely, if your tranny is spitting out chunks big enough for a properly-flowing filter, its very shortly going to die anyway. The range of effectiveness for an oil filter in an auto tranny would be only as a last resort to try and get a dying tranny to last a few extra miles, at which point there's no reason to engineer a special filter system.

99% of auto tranny failures are from broken, worn, or otherwise burnt pieces. Its rare that debris causes valve or pressure problems that could have been avoided by installing a better/remote filter.

[TheSilentChamber]

The filters I'm talking about have a flow rating of 40gpm@1psi drop. When fully "clogged" the pressure drop is rated at 4psi max. Reason I'm thinking of doing this is to make it easier to change the filter, and the transmission sees alot of heavy use on this car. Anyway, just food for thought, I may do it and I may not.