A/T Radiator in M/T Truck?

Hey guys, I have a 2002 Xtracab 3.4 with a manual trans. I am looking to upgrade my radiator (I recently put a smaller pulley on my supercharger, and on a hot day while towing up a hill the OEM radiator just isn't quite enough). The OEM or OEM equivalent plastic/aluminum radiators are sold as either manual, or auto. However, many of the all aluminum radiators are set up to work with either automatic or manual transmissions, which means they have two extra fittings for transmission cooling, which aren't used for manuals. I am not familiar with how the transmission cooler works in this application, I thought transmission coolers were usually separate radiators which pump ATF through them. If you use a A/T radiator in a M/T truck does that have any downsides? Such as it holds less fluid because there are separate channels which only relate to the A/T?

Thanks in advance

 

the A/T radiator is "taller" to accommodate the extra reservoir for the A/T fluid. unless you have a non-stock skid plate the radiator should fit fine.

also that extra helps warm the A/T fluid in the winter as the warmth from the antifreeze/coolant soaks into the radiator itself.

 

I put an aftermarket (gasp) one in mine a few years back. They work fine, the A/T baffles are completely separate from the water cooling and as I recall the fluid volume was the same. However, if you're saying the original isn't enough, I'm not sure these would do much better. Maybe look for one with higher capacity? Don't know.

 

They work fine in manuals, just leave the a/t fittings disconnected. If one was ambitious technically you could use the a/t fittings in the radiator to cool something else such as engine oil or power steering fluid.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, my main concern was the ATF cooling chamber would take away from the volume of antifreeze the radiator could hold. I was imagining the lower tank being mostly ATF, but based on the responses I got I decided to buy it anyway. I received it yesterday, and determined it is just a narrow tube of ATF which runs through the radiator, only holding 1 oz/30 ml of ATF.