Best Ls400 Or Cheap Ls430.

[Spacewagon52]

You have the best of both worlds! Maybe we should all have one of each - 400 and a 430!

[GrahamG]

Paul, well done taking such positive action by way of preventative maintenance.

May I ask how you decided which/what size cooler/radiator to fit because obviously too much cooling would present a problem just as would too little.

I see various after market radiators in the USA for sale for the LS430 in two versions, either 'with or without towing' and the difference is either 1inch or 5/8inch thick radiator cores.

[39buss]

My MK 3 LS 400 had two pipes ( feed & return) coming from the gearbox to the bottom header on the radiator. This topic was discussed at length not so along ago and a member fitted an oil cooler and then decided to renew the radiator instead and discarded the cooler on the grounds that a new rad was comparatively cheap.

[Scribe]

I'm sure the 430 is a much nicer (and roomier) car to be in. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see Phil's (The Acre) before he sold it. Probably just as well, otherwise I might have wanted one. The problem is that nearly all of them have air suspension, whether or not you want it.

My trusted indie mechanic isn't fazed by anything, and when asked about repairs to air suspension has always said, 'Oh, it's not that difficult.' But I noticed the other day that when he showed me the GS430 he's just acquired he said, 'And there's no air suspension to go wrong.'

[cruisermark]

yes the gs430 has the same engine as the ls430 but no air suspension - they are fully loaded beasts and they must go like a rocket

[soundchaser100]

This is the ATF Cooler in situ, I wasn't very scientific when I chose which one to fit as I just went for one with the same size pipes as the original, and roughly the same size. I'm not bothered about over cooling the trans, the amount of heat a Torque Converter generates is colossal, so there's always plenty of heat being produced. The main thing ,to me, is that the damage to the transmission by coolant contamination cannot now happen. In any case if you look on U.S. websites, they point out that excess heat is the enemy of an Auto Trans, not over cooling it. The car runs great with seamless gear shifts so everything appears to be OK.

Paul

[GrahamG]

Paul,

Thanks for posting the photos of your ATF cooler. Above all you can now enjoy peace of mind knowing cross contamination is impossible.