Robinhood4x4
04-17-2013, 07:20 PM
Having bought a small popup trailer a few years ago and living in one of the hottest parts of the country with lots of high altitude mountains, I thought it would be prudent to install a tranny cooler. This is especially true since I was getting these kind of temperatures when towing. http://www.ultimateyota.com/showthread.php?10114-Auto-transmission-temperatures
I ended up getting the derale series 8000 cooler from etrailer. http://www.etrailer.com/Transmission-Coolers/Toyota/4Runner/2007/D13502.html?vehicleid=2007759266
As usual, these things come with the zip ties that wear holes into radiators so I decided I'd just make my own bracket out of 1/8" thick, 3/4" wide flat stock.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-xqdr6Jh/0/L/i-xqdr6Jh-L.jpg
For the top mounting point, I just reused the holes the horns are mounted to, but for the bottom I had to drill holes into the support beam. However, my Ridgid cordless drill was too big to fit in that area, so I had to use a dremel with a cutting bit to shave a hole into it.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-Vh9PTDc/0/L/i-Vh9PTDc-L.jpg
I didn't want to slip and drill a hole into the AC condenser that was about 1" away so I taped a piece of steel to it to protect it.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-Gbm5MW5/0/L/i-Gbm5MW5-L.jpg
Here's the bracket bolting into place.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-g5KwcRb/0/L/i-g5KwcRb-L.jpg
And here's everything else bolted in place. Note the small bracket I made to support the hose on the left. It bolts into the hole that is used to support the V8 tranny cooler.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-tmJ7Kq8/0/L/i-tmJ7Kq8-L.jpg
And here's a shot from underneath where it ties into the return line for the transmission.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-qbRjfsG/0/L/i-qbRjfsG-L.jpg
Some notes:
I ordered an extra 4 feet of transmission line from amazon and I only had 1 foot left over between it and the hose that came with the kit.
This guy provided a good write up on how he did his install and I used his pics to figure out which line was the supply and which line is the return. I sure hope he is right! http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21501
So based on this, the line that goes into the top of the radiator is the supply to the radiator. The line that comes from the bottom of the radiator is the return to the transmission. I plumbed a hose from the bottom of the radiator, to the cooler, then plumbed a hose to the hard line back into the transmission. The nicely cleaned hose and hardline in the above picture is going back into the transmission.
Like the guy from 120 said, I hardly lost any fluid, maybe only a tablespoon.
After the install, I took it around the block and then the next day took it into the dealer for a full tranny flush.
From the scan gauge, the temps definitely seem cooler, but I've only driven it to work a couple days. Over the next few months will be the real test and I'll post back what I find.
I ended up getting the derale series 8000 cooler from etrailer. http://www.etrailer.com/Transmission-Coolers/Toyota/4Runner/2007/D13502.html?vehicleid=2007759266
As usual, these things come with the zip ties that wear holes into radiators so I decided I'd just make my own bracket out of 1/8" thick, 3/4" wide flat stock.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-xqdr6Jh/0/L/i-xqdr6Jh-L.jpg
For the top mounting point, I just reused the holes the horns are mounted to, but for the bottom I had to drill holes into the support beam. However, my Ridgid cordless drill was too big to fit in that area, so I had to use a dremel with a cutting bit to shave a hole into it.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-Vh9PTDc/0/L/i-Vh9PTDc-L.jpg
I didn't want to slip and drill a hole into the AC condenser that was about 1" away so I taped a piece of steel to it to protect it.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-Gbm5MW5/0/L/i-Gbm5MW5-L.jpg
Here's the bracket bolting into place.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-g5KwcRb/0/L/i-g5KwcRb-L.jpg
And here's everything else bolted in place. Note the small bracket I made to support the hose on the left. It bolts into the hole that is used to support the V8 tranny cooler.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-tmJ7Kq8/0/L/i-tmJ7Kq8-L.jpg
And here's a shot from underneath where it ties into the return line for the transmission.
http://antinode.smugmug.com/photos/i-qbRjfsG/0/L/i-qbRjfsG-L.jpg
Some notes:
I ordered an extra 4 feet of transmission line from amazon and I only had 1 foot left over between it and the hose that came with the kit.
This guy provided a good write up on how he did his install and I used his pics to figure out which line was the supply and which line is the return. I sure hope he is right! http://www.toyota120.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21501
So based on this, the line that goes into the top of the radiator is the supply to the radiator. The line that comes from the bottom of the radiator is the return to the transmission. I plumbed a hose from the bottom of the radiator, to the cooler, then plumbed a hose to the hard line back into the transmission. The nicely cleaned hose and hardline in the above picture is going back into the transmission.
Like the guy from 120 said, I hardly lost any fluid, maybe only a tablespoon.
After the install, I took it around the block and then the next day took it into the dealer for a full tranny flush.
From the scan gauge, the temps definitely seem cooler, but I've only driven it to work a couple days. Over the next few months will be the real test and I'll post back what I find.