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Old 04-02-2020, 09:29 PM   #1
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Transmission cooler

Has anyone installed a transmission cooler on their truck? If so how much and what kind is the best for the money and how long did it take to install. I have a 2014 1500 Sierra. Thanks in advance
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Old 04-02-2020, 10:22 PM   #2
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Has anyone installed a transmission cooler on their truck? If so how much and what kind is the best for the money and how long did it take to install. I have a 2014 1500 Sierra. Thanks in advance
I have and it is a Long Tru Cool plate type cooler 4589. Rated for 24,000 gww which is twice the max weight when towing.

$88 on Amazon.

Transmission coolers fall into two types. "Tube and Fin" type which is just a tube, or series of tubes threaded through fin material. Plate types are a seried of plates joined at the edges with a hollow core and are connected to manifolds at the ends. The Long Tru Cool coolers have a couple of plates that have larger passages that allow cold tranny fluid to flow easily through and as it warms more of it will flow through the smaller openings in other plates.

I picked the largest cooler i had room for. Now when towing under hardest conditions my trans temp never exceeds 200 degrees and usually hangs out at 150 degrees average.

Mine shipped with 11/16" hose that is supposed to fit 5/16" or 3/8" tube but i just bought a few feet of ht trans hose from O'Reilly ap. Also bought fuel injection type hose clamps and tossed the worm gear type clamps in my spare parts bin.

Instsll took a couple hours but i was in no hurry. Does require a little creativity with mounting brackets but not a big deal.
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Old 04-02-2020, 11:49 PM   #3
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I did on my 1999 Chevy Silverado. 40K TruCool and made all new braided stainless lines to hook it up. Wasn't going to rely on hose clamps.

Out of curiosity, what are trans temps now?

There is a whole discussion on the TruCool install here.
https://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...470284/page11/



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Old 04-03-2020, 01:07 PM   #4
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I have a pretty good factory transmission cooler on my F-150. But, I was still seeing 230F temps on flat to light grades towing my ~7,000 lb trailer. So, I put in a B&M cooler in line with the factory unit. I think it was the 70264 model with 14,400 BTU transfer rating.

I used Parker fittings to tie into the existing fluid lines at the front of my truck.

I used a combination of radiator mounting bolts and zip ties to mount the cooler in the top, passenger side portion behind my grille.

It was a very easy job, once I figured out the correct fittings to use.

Your first job is to understand if you already have a factory cooler. That will affect how/where you install an aftermarket cooler.
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Old 04-03-2020, 04:55 PM   #5
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I have a pretty good factory transmission cooler on my F-150. But, I was still seeing 230F temps on flat to light grades towing my ~7,000 lb trailer. So, I put in a B&M cooler in line with the factory unit. I think it was the 70264 model with 14,400 BTU transfer rating.
What temp does it run now?

On my new Ford F-150, pulling a 6000# trailer, the highest I have ever seen it is 220°F going up a pretty steep grade on a hot day. For modern ATF, 220 or 230 is not even that bad with today's new fluids. Saying that, I believe in changing ATF fluid way more often than recommended. I did a pan drop at 30K where I also changed the filter. On the F-150 10 speed, that accounts for half the fluid. at 60K, I will change the fluid without the filter. at 90K I will do both.
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Old 04-03-2020, 08:02 PM   #6
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What temp does it run now?

On my new Ford F-150, pulling a 6000# trailer, the highest I have ever seen it is 220°F going up a pretty steep grade on a hot day. For modern ATF, 220 or 230 is not even that bad with today's new fluids. Saying that, I believe in changing ATF fluid way more often than recommended. I did a pan drop at 30K where I also changed the filter. On the F-150 10 speed, that accounts for half the fluid. at 60K, I will change the fluid without the filter. at 90K I will do both.
with a good cooler heading up a steep long grade on a hot day 210 will be avg . on a hot day normal flat towing 150 a cool day will stay 135 to 144. less heat is always better then changing fluids often . the heat alone will wear things out faster . of course i still flush and replace filters way before they are due
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Old 04-03-2020, 09:11 PM   #7
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with a good cooler heading up a steep long grade on a hot day 210 will be avg . on a hot day normal flat towing 150 a cool day will stay 135 to 144. less heat is always better then changing fluids often . the heat alone will wear things out faster . of course i still flush and replace filters way before they are due
Remember not all are the same. Adding a cooler to newer ford will not help as they have a thermostat to keep the temps up.
My f250 pulling a 11k camper on a hot day =210, my f250 on a cool day pulling 11k=208 and my f250 on a cool day running empty= 208
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Old 04-04-2020, 02:54 AM   #8
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Yep...it's also why I didn't add one to my F-150. They have a really good cooler right at the pan that is a heat exchanger with the coolant. A thermostat allows the atf to get up to 203 or so very fast.
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Remember not all are the same. Adding a cooler to newer ford will not help as they have a thermostat to keep the temps up.
My f250 pulling a 11k camper on a hot day =210, my f250 on a cool day pulling 11k=208 and my f250 on a cool day running empty= 208
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Old 04-04-2020, 09:13 AM   #9
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What temp does it run now?

On my new Ford F-150, [...]
Your F-150 and my F-150 are about as different as Ford’s original horseless carriage and a horse-and-buggy.

New Fords (maybe all trucks) run at much higher temperatures and have radically different thermostat points. As you said yourself, 220-230 in a modern engine isn’t too hot. Look up the 837 different transmission articles and guidances online and they’ll all tell you that you should be in the 170-195 range, at 220 your fluid is varnishing, and at 230-240 you’re cooking your fluid and transmission (hardening seals and so on). This is largely outdated conventional wisdom now.

My new truck has a thermostat point of 192 F. That’s about 20 degrees higher than my F-150. Getting above 200 in normal driving is common and hitting 220s towing up grades is also common. Those are all danger zones for the 2005 (older) trucks. And, I want to be careful not to hijack this thread into a “how hot is too hot” debate. It’s a good question and things have changed quite a bit ... so, it warrants discussion. Just maybe not here.

Anyway, I tried to keep my answer confined to the OP’s question about how to add a tranny cooler by mentioning that I had done this.

My overall experience is that my F-150 5.4L 3V engine is an engineering disaster not capable to tow moderate loads up grades. Nothing I could do to that engine would change those dynamics ... hence my new truck in my signature and the reason I gave my F-150 to my son.
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Old 04-04-2020, 12:47 PM   #10
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Your F-150 and my F-150 are about as different as Ford’s original horseless carriage and a horse-and-buggy.
Correct.

As far as the OP, he may not even need a transmission cooler which is why I asked him how hot his ATF was. It is relevant to the conversation
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Old 04-04-2020, 02:26 PM   #11
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Good point for the OP’s tranny temp and how that may relate to the need (or lack thereof) for a cooler. More info there would be helpful. I just didn’t want to be the guy that dragged his thread into the ditch due to my histrionics about my old truck!

Cheers.
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Old 04-04-2020, 02:51 PM   #12
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Correct.

As far as the OP, he may not even need a transmission cooler which is why I asked him how hot his ATF was. It is relevant to the conversation
FWIW, I haven't seen a car since automatic transmissions were introduced that didn't have at least one cooler. The one integrated into the "cool" side of the radiator. Just simple liquid to liquid heat exchangers.
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Old 04-04-2020, 04:19 PM   #13
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FWIW, I haven't seen a car since automatic transmissions were introduced that didn't have at least one cooler. The one integrated into the "cool" side of the radiator. Just simple liquid to liquid heat exchangers.
Agreed. What I should have said was an additional cooler.

My 1999 Silverado had the one in the radiator but didn't have an extra air transfer one that later models have. Unfortunately, that extra one that GM was putting on was pitifully small and people were still having issues.
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