adding an oil cooler to a T20 trans ???

[smog]

I'll be running large tracks for snow (18 to 20 inches wide). I heard people complaining about the t20 starting to slip when overheated.

So... Is there a way to add an oil cooler (and pump) to the T20 transmission ?

[jwiereng]

Perhaps you could just tap the case near the bottom for a outlet and one for the return. Incorperate an electric pump and a motorcycle oil cooler. I am not an expert on the t 20 so just a thought. Of coarse you would need to calculate the additional volume of the system and add more oil. Having the inlet and outlet both below the normal oil level would overcome the possible problem of too mch oil draining back to the case and overflowing when you shut down.

Another thought. Creat a water jacket stools the case and watercool it.

[racerone3]

I'll be running large tracks for snow (18 to 20 inches wide). I heard people complaining about the t20 starting to slip when overheated.

So... Is there a way to add an oil cooler (and pump) to the T20 transmission ?

what machine are you planning to run the tracks on? your argo doesn't have a t-20 or are you working on another machine???

[smog]

the argo trans got external disk brakes and fan powered brake cooler so no problem there...

But I have a Max IV 2008 coming and I heard I MAY overheat the brake bands with the tracks.

I know how to do it (using a cheap transmission cooler from napa) but I want to know if it was done before.

The other way would be adding a large radiator fan over the T20 as the problem will only appear during winter. So adding airflow around the tranny could be enough.

[6X6]

Smog:
I've seen the large fan over the T-20 before, Maybe Jennifer's Max IV (Max I) or Whipper's Godzilla? Can't remember but I'll be off to the galleries to see which (or both) As for an oil cooler, I plan on this on my racer, using a compact H.D. cooler and a small pump which I haven't decided on yet. The inlet I will put on one case and the return on the other case so I don't have one side run hotter than the other. My thought was maybe a low pressure Electric fuel pump like used on power equipment and other small engines, on the return side so I don't cook it. I will also run an in-line filter, Metal so heat doesn't soften it, might as well, it won't hurt. All good fittings and all double clamped or all true AN threaded fittings, Can't risk leaks here, grenading a T-20 is an expensive act.

[jpswift1]

I run T-20s on all of my machines in my fleet and not once have I ever ran into an issue with overheating. Even my Max II with tracks, my Attex 440 Thunderchief racer, and my big huge Hustler 980 BIGFOOT with huge Super Swamper Vampire ASX tires perform flawlessly all the time in the most extreme conditions without an issue in the transmission. You could add some anti-slip differential additive (about 4 ounces) to keep the bands from chattering if that happens. The T-20 fluid cooler is a good idea, but I really don't think that it's necessary.

[LarryW]

Well if your going to run a cooler, I would just use the drain plug as an inlet to the cooler and return it to the fill plug. It would be easy. You could even get a thermostat switch that would turn the pump on when its hot. You may not even need a fan. You could run the cooler in the front of the engine fan intake if you want free air flow but that may also make your engine run hotter if the trans gets hot. But as JP stated, it may not be necessary.

[thebuggyman1]

Your normal oil level is just high enough for the drums to pick up oil as they turn, keeping all 4 of them wet. One thought would be to just add an extra resevoir keeping the oil level the same but boosting oil volume to 2 or 3 qts. More oil = cooler oil. If you did add a pump I would put 4 inlets into the case tops, one for each drum. If you pump too much volume/pressure you could end up with a foaming oil problem. I would lean towards the sump, here's a common mod for vw dunebuggy engines, it bolts to the bottom of the engine and simply adds more volume. Mofoco EMPI 9142 HIGH CAPACITY ENGINE OIL SUMP KIT VW BUG GHIA

[smog]

Thank you for all your comments, I will look into it.

the problem happened to a guy here in Quebec running RSBolduc 20 inches rubber tracks ( http://www.argorsbolduc.com/items.html )

the t20 overheat and the lack of low range made him sell his 950T Max IV and go for an Argo; he is now a happy camper as he is saying the argo is better for deep powder and large tracks.

[micmac]

Smog,

I own a Max IV and probably will never get rid of it but in my opinion for tracks they aren't the best choice. The body mold requires you to step down to the smaller tires resulting in less body clearance. From the videos I've seen in deep snow the body ends up snow plowing and then the tracks lose traction. The newer Argos seem to be purpose built for tracks keeping the larger tires and more body clearance. Again my opinion but if you want a go anywhere snow machine then the Max IV probably isn't what you need. I really wish Recreative would do something, anything, to updated their body to accommodate larger tires AND tracks, that would be an awesome machine!

[smog]

Smog,

I own a Max IV and probably will never get rid of it but in my opinion for tracks they aren't the best choice. The body mold requires you to step down to the smaller tires resulting in less body clearance.

well my argo 8x8 and the neighbour's 6x6 bigfoot had to step down on tire size as anything over 22 inches will make the track grind through the body (there's less than 2" clearance with the 22" using the argo plastic 18" super tracks)

MAY BE the newer argo body style is better (avenger, frontier etc)

[micmac]

Yes I was speaking of the newer style Argo bodies. Argo has refined them over the years whereas RI has kept their cobbed together system the same. Again not Max bashing as I love mine it's just that I wish they had a genuine durable system.

[wfo]

HAPPY NEW YEAR.......just got back from GLAMIS and will be posting some vids of the new year
on the FOR RIDERS WHO LIKE THE DUNE thread...i took some heat readings from the T-20 at
GLAMIS and after a 30 min hard WFO run the temp was only at 130 degrees not to bad..so really all
that is needed would be a way to hold extra fluid, like a sump that could just be a heat exchanger..

[smog]

i took some heat readings from the T-20 at
GLAMIS and after a 30 min hard WFO run the temp was only at 130 degrees not to bad..

thank you,

I installed the tracks on the Max IV but we got a week of rain instead of snow (who said Canadian live in igloo ?)

so now we are almost back on grass; I HOPE I will be able to work out the T20 in soon.

[smog]

I look forward to your report on the T20 once you guys get a decent amount of snow. You should post that on the forums for everyone to see because a lot of us never even get to play in more than an inch or two of snow and we never even think about that.

Thanks,

Mike

So far so good, I never had the t20 slipping under load; the Bandolero engine will bog down growling for hours in deep snow but the T20 never let me down. I also never had problem with the 18" wide plastic tracks without the bearing extensions.

I'm happy with the machine