Hi folks,
I recently made a post pertaining to the all-too-common CVT whine / whir, which appears to correlate with CVT transmission failure. We all know how expensive an R & R on these transmissions can be, so I set out to do something about it.
PROLOGUE: My '07 Pat has ~105,000 miles on it, and is driven quite a lot: Around 60 miles a day, including hill climbs, highway speeds for at least 40 minutes, and stop-and-go traffic... Basically the three things that stress out a transmission. Mine started to develop the whine, whir, hesitations and clunky shifting from P to Drive / Reverse after being ran awhile.
SOLUTION: I've finally been able to get an auxiliary intercooler installed! This transmission cooler (NOT an engine oil cooler) is installed in-line with the factory cooler (which is simply inadequate). This intercooler is an 8x10 copper coiled radiator. It does not use a fan. It is mounted directly in front of the engine's radiator.
PROCESS: Install time was ~3.5 hours. To get to the transmission's cooling lines, the front bumper cover had to be removed. I went to Jeff Daniel's Jeep in Harleysville, PA. They do awesome work and create some serious Jeep monsters. The cooler itself was universal, and ran $75. Total install was around $330. CVT fluid had to be topped off to proper levels (very important), which is obviously expensive, at around $17 a quart.
RESULTS: I drove the Pat from Jeff Daniel's to my office 40 minutes away. It's 90+ today, and I drove it pretty briskly, doing some hill climbs taking back roads, and eventually getting onto the highway.
LIKE NEW (so far): I can accelerate around 200-300 RPM less than before, after it'd been heated up. I hear no CVT whine, no metallic whirring, no hesitating, no slipping feelings, no inconsistent power band. It appears to have remedied this common problem.
Picture of the new cooler is attached.
I'll post an update after my commute home, when I go through the aforementioned stop-and-go, highway, and hill climbs.
I recently made a post pertaining to the all-too-common CVT whine / whir, which appears to correlate with CVT transmission failure. We all know how expensive an R & R on these transmissions can be, so I set out to do something about it.
PROLOGUE: My '07 Pat has ~105,000 miles on it, and is driven quite a lot: Around 60 miles a day, including hill climbs, highway speeds for at least 40 minutes, and stop-and-go traffic... Basically the three things that stress out a transmission. Mine started to develop the whine, whir, hesitations and clunky shifting from P to Drive / Reverse after being ran awhile.
SOLUTION: I've finally been able to get an auxiliary intercooler installed! This transmission cooler (NOT an engine oil cooler) is installed in-line with the factory cooler (which is simply inadequate). This intercooler is an 8x10 copper coiled radiator. It does not use a fan. It is mounted directly in front of the engine's radiator.
PROCESS: Install time was ~3.5 hours. To get to the transmission's cooling lines, the front bumper cover had to be removed. I went to Jeff Daniel's Jeep in Harleysville, PA. They do awesome work and create some serious Jeep monsters. The cooler itself was universal, and ran $75. Total install was around $330. CVT fluid had to be topped off to proper levels (very important), which is obviously expensive, at around $17 a quart.
RESULTS: I drove the Pat from Jeff Daniel's to my office 40 minutes away. It's 90+ today, and I drove it pretty briskly, doing some hill climbs taking back roads, and eventually getting onto the highway.
LIKE NEW (so far): I can accelerate around 200-300 RPM less than before, after it'd been heated up. I hear no CVT whine, no metallic whirring, no hesitating, no slipping feelings, no inconsistent power band. It appears to have remedied this common problem.
Picture of the new cooler is attached.
I'll post an update after my commute home, when I go through the aforementioned stop-and-go, highway, and hill climbs.
