phmichel wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 4:07 pm
VStar - I gather you're a technician as I have seen many qualified and intelligent posts from you. I have a query for you regarding this cooler issue:
My vehicle is a 2013 Rogue S, USA model. Not plumbed or bracketed for a cooler. CVT temp can hit 215F in the summer, especially when climbing hills. I bought the 4 port cooler adapter and intend to install a Hayden cooler as well. Question: Would it make sense to put a 12V motorized ball valve in line with the cooler input so the cooler flow can be turned off when not needed (winter)?
Also - what can you share about the CVT fluid condition status number found on the CVTz50 app and Nissan Connect? The manual says the fluid can go to 200k units. I find that hard to believe.
Yes, I'm a Master Tech, Nissan and ASE. I just don't advertise it unless people ask. My first
sensai taught me that outside the
dojo, the black belt wraps his
ghi with the white belt. Humility matters, a good lesson that I took to heart.
You're right to be scared of 215F temperatures, that's too high. Fresh fluid will handle 240F but breakdown is very accelerated when you go much above 200F. Vis the fluid status numbers in the TCM, I have
zero faith in them. My customers are all used to hearing me say, "Just change the dang fluid."
You're basically in the same boat as TeamOK from an installation standpoint, so a series installation should do a good job without any fancy valving. The thermostatic valve on the coolant outlet will indirectly govern the temperature based on how much heat is being exchanged, so there's already some regulation built in. Keep in mind that regulation is what you really want. Closing off flow in the winter won't allow the beehive to
warm the fluid, which will cause accelerated wear. Not as bad as overheating, but still bad. That's why I don't recommend capping the beehive coolant lines and relying solely on the rad cooler. You could, but you'll run
too cool. The idea is to get the temperature up to normal quickly, but once it gets there, prevent excessive heat. Chaining the cooler to the beehive in series accomplishes that, allowing the beehive to do its job warming the fluid but allowing the cooler to dump excess heat to atmosphere and protect against cooling system failures. Our '13 Altima generally runs a nice 150~170 no matter what the conditions, and that's exactly the setup we have.