Transmission Cooler

[JaycoNewbies]

:confused:DH and I have a 2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition truct With a V-6 Supercharger that we use to pull the popup.  Do we need a transmission cooler?  What the heck is a transmission Cooler?  (I know it should be obvious).  How much does a transmission cooler cost and where do we get one.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Hoagie]

A tranny cooler does for the transmission fluid what the radiator does for engine coolant.
The tranny fluid is routed through the cooler, which looks similar to the radiator with tubes looping back and forth through a block of fins. These fins help "radiate" the excess heat the fluid builds up during hard driving, hill climbing, towing, etc.
Tranny coolers are built-in to some radiator cores. Don't know if your truck has this or not, but these factory coolers may or may not be sufficient depending upon driving conditions.
An after market tranny cooler will significantly lower the operating temperature of your transmission. An overheating transmission can lead to poor shifting, damaged seals, valves and other parts, and outright transmission failure. Whether or not the expense of having one installed is warranted you'll have to wait until one of the resident mechanics weighs in, or ask your local mechanic.

[wavery]

The "Stacked plate" design coolers are far superior to the "Tube & fin" design.

Here is a sample:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HAYDEN-1679-ENGINE-TRANSMISSION-OIL-COOLER-STREET-ROD_W0QQitemZ300403774238QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item45f175d31e

As you can see, they aren't expensive and they are easy to install on most trucks.

Here's a pic of the installation on my Silverado (with my grille removed). As you can see, I put a fan in front of mine for higher performance.


You may also want to consider using synthetic transmission fluid. It does a far superior job of cooling than does petrol based fluids.

The addition of a trans cooler will also help your engine run cooler because your radiator won't have all the heat from the transmission to deal with.

While installing the trans cooler, it is a perfect time to switch to synthetic trans fluid. While you have the lines off of the radiator, it is easy to pump out the old trans fluid and install the new synthetic. If you are interested, I can give you the full scoop.

[CajunCamper]

Wayne a couple of questions for you. 1) does installing the transmission cooler in from of your radiator decrease the radiators ability to cool the coolant in any way and 2) is the installation something that the non-mechanic type can do with the proper instruction?

[wavery]

Wayne a couple of questions for you. 1) does installing the transmission cooler in from of your radiator decrease the radiators ability to cool the coolant in any way and 2) is the installation something that the non-mechanic type can do with the proper instruction?

The trans cooler actually increases the radiators capacity to cool the engine coolant in that the trans fluid that is going into the radiator is cooler. Normally, the hot trans fluid passes into the radiator and the BTUs are transferred from the trans fluid to the radiator coolant.

I would not recommend by-passing the internal radiator trans cooler completely unless you have the room for a very large, fan cooled trans cooler or possible 2-fan cooled trans coolers.

Depending on the vehicle, someone with the ability to turn a wrench and a screw-driver and be able to identify the correct fittings on the radiator should be able to complete this installation "on some vehicles".

The actual attachment of the trans cooler can be more difficult on some cars than others.  My truck was extremely easy but then again, I knew how to snap the grille out in 10 minutes.

[cst34mil]

I had one installed by my local shop last August. It is a heavy duty fin type hooked up in series with my factory one ( its part of thr radiatior) The cooler was  $ 129 and install was $70

[mach8274]

:confused:DH and I have a 2002 Ford F150 Harley Davidson Edition truct With a V-6 Supercharger that we use to pull the popup.  Do we need a transmission cooler?  What the heck is a transmission Cooler?  (I know it should be obvious).  How much does a transmission cooler cost and where do we get one.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I believe your truck has a 5.4l V8 with a supercharger. Your truck also already has a factory installed trans cooler and it works fine. I have a 2002 F150 4x4 with the same engine minus the supercharger. It has the same trans and trans cooler. I now pull a 7000 pound travel trailer with mine and the trans still does not overheat. Your set-up will work just fine the way it is from the factory.

FYI-I was a Ford master technician for 6 years from 98-04. Believe me when I tell you, that trans is just about bulletproof.

Hope this helps.

Dave

[mach8274]

I need to add something elso to my previous reply. Your truck actually has 2 trans coolers. One is part of the radiator and the other is mounted in front of your a/c condenser as an auxillary cooler.

Dave

[aw738]

Here is a sample:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HAYDE...item45f175d31e

This one is a little on the expensive side. It can be found for less. Ignore it fitting my Dakota, it is universal. Hayden and Imperial are the same company.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Maxi-Cool-XL-Transmission-Oil-Cooler-Imperial_5670021-P_895_R%7CGRPCOOLAMS_555815105___

[wavery]

This one is a little on the expensive side. It can be found for less. Ignore it fitting my Dakota, it is universal. Hayden and Imperial are the same company.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Maxi-Cool-XL-Transmission-Oil-Cooler-Imperial_5670021-P_895_R%7CGRPCOOLAMS_555815105___

That's a great price.........

I just re-read CajunCamper's question and I don't think that I answered the intent of the question adequately. I think what you are asking is if the trans cooler blocks the air from getting to the radiator or if the heat passing from the trans cooler to the radiator could be an issue.

That is a valid question. In some vehicles, this could be a slight concern. When climbing steep grades at speeds of ~20-30MPH, there is limited air flow over the radiator cooling fins. The trans cooler could cause further restriction but the more cooling surface that is exposed to moving air, the better it is for the over-all cooling of the engine and trans.

Just think of the trans cooler as adding many sq inches of surface from which to remove heat from the entire system. Anything that you add should be a plus and more is generally better than less (except in cold climates).

In my particular case, I found that the trans would run at it's highest temps (195*) while sitting in traffic with no air-flow over the cooling surface. The engine temp remained stable because the electric fan would kick in @ ~200*. What was actually happening was that the radiator was actually "Heating" the trans fluid instead of cooling it.  The radiator fan didn't pull enough air through the trans cooler to be effective though so I decided to add an electric fan. I wired the fan to the fuse box with a relay wired to the engine's fan. When the engine fan kicks in, it turns on the trans cooler fan, through the relay. I now seldm see transmission temp over 160* (usually around 135*).

[JaycoNewbies]

Thanks for all the responses.  It was very helpful.  Especially the fact that I don't need to worry about a tranny cooler since my truck already has one.  Something actually working in my favor.  That's a new one.

[brainpause]

My truck already had one as well, but I took it out and added a larger Hayden unit. I did it soon after I got it, so I don't know how much better it is. But it couldn't have hurt.

If I had it to do over again, I'd probably leave the old one in the system too. I just thought that more connectors meant more potential for leaks. As someone once told me, it is hard to overcool a transmission.

CajunCamper, I was VERY nervous about putting it in, but I'm also not afraid to push buttons and try new things. It was an incredibly easy install. I lost very little fluid during the changeover, and the grill on a Silverado pops off very easily.

I'd highly recommend it. Seems like I paid 50 or 60 bucks for it.

Larry