Trans Cooler?

[ADH8796]

I'm looking into getting a trans cooler because I tow a trailer sometimes and I'm pushing bigger tires. So I figured this would be a smart investment. What are your suggestions on brand? where to buy? Ext.

[marko3xl3]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to get one soon as well

A while back, when I was researching, I saw somebody use these:

http://www.importperformancetrans.co...ers.shtml#main

and I really liked how they looked and if they hold true to their word in the description, they seem to be pretty good.

Technically, we should only need the 14,500 one, but the more you can fit the better...to an extent. Also, the write-up I saw used two small ones IIRC.

[ADH8796]

Great looks nice to me but I don't know jack about trans coolers.

[marko3xl3]

Haha, all right. Let me try to explain.

" "

Dang, I don't really know anything either

Here, I'll steal someone else's words (it's for a different gen, but there's plenty of good info in there!):

Although the bottom of the radiator acts as a tranny cooler, my A/T light has come on exactly 3 times in the past 10 years. The first was while coming back from Arizona, carrying a full truck load of people and gear while doing 70mph in 100 degF heat. The second time was while bombing around Pismo Dunes at 30-40mph in the soft sand. The third time was while going up an incredibley steep grade for about 1 mile while completely loaded down with people and gear. I figured all that heat probably wasn't doing the tranny any good so I added an auxiliary tranny cooler.

There are 2 types of coolers out there, the "tube and fin" style and the "plate" style. From my research on the internet I found that the plate style is the most efficient. If one is an electrician or an EE, a good analogy for the two types is the tube and fin is series and the plate style is parallel (not to be confused with how one installs the cooler in relation to the radiator).

The TRD cooler is a stacked plate style and costs a small fortune. I opted for a Hayden plate style cooler from the local auto parts store for $50. The quality is just as good as the TRD and costs a ton less. I got the smallest one they had because at the time I didn't know where I was going to mount it. It's a good thing I did though, because it fit perfectly.

Installation was pretty straight forward. Normally, the tranny cooler is mounted either in front of the radiator or behind it, but I couldn't see anywhere it would fit and I was too lazy to take off the bumper. So I got some 1/8"x1" flat bar, drilled some holes and bolted it to the tranny cooler. See below for a picture of this mount.



Then, I dropped the skidplate and bolted the tranny cooler up to some existing holes in the front cross member. Plumbing the cooler was really easy. I took off the line where the fluid exits the radiator and connected the new line. This new line was then routed to the tranny cooler, trying to keep the line as straight as possible, and cut. Another new line was connected to the other side of the tranny cooler and routed to the tranny inlet hard line. Very little tranny fluid came out during the whole process. Previously, I had done a tranny flush and so I remembered which line was the inlet and which was the outlet. Unfortunately, now that I write this I forgot which is which.

To increase the air flow to the tranny cooler I drilled (2) 2inch holes in the stock skidplate. The skidplate bolted right back up without interference from the cooler. I got a chance to test it out on that same steep grade and it passed with flying colors, no tranny light.

Keep in mind that because of the location of the cooler it can be vulnerable to impacts or other damage. If the cooler were to break open and loose all the fluid, you'd likely need a new transmission. But so far I don't have any dents that high in the skid plate.

Update: I did finally get the tranny light to come back on but it was under extreme conditions. I was driving in soft gravel in 4hi going fairly slow, about 15-20mph so very little air was flowing through the cooler.

Here's a couple more pictures:





Update 3-20-07
Since doing a solid axle swap, I moved the tranny cooler up higher and out of harms way.

[04 Rocko Taco]

I think Hayden is the preferred brand with most Toy drivers, they make great kits, low pressure drop coolers. I've seen them mounted anywhere from right behind the grill to under the truck, to on a frame rail, and even in the bed of a pickup with a fan on it. Google hayden trans coolers. They make at least a couple of models for us.

[slosurfer]

Thanks for reminding me that I need to get one soon as well

A while back, when I was researching, I saw somebody use these:

http://www.importperformancetrans.co...ers.shtml#main

and I really liked how they looked and if they hold true to their word in the description, they seem to be pretty good.

Technically, we should only need the 14,500 one, but the more you can fit the better...to an extent. Also, the write-up I saw used two small ones IIRC.

I have one of these and they are awesome, comes with awesome hardware. This is for a different gen. but the info is the same. Mine is the second post. I think it says what model I got. It was the big one.
http://www.ultimateyota.com/index.ph...26&topic=216.0

[MTL_4runner]

Technically, we should only need the 14,500 one, but the more you can fit the better...to an extent. Also, the write-up I saw used two small ones IIRC.

The Hayden trnny coolers were the most popular coolers for 3rd gens because Hayden was the company that made the cooler sold under the TRD name. The cooler TRD produced was roughly equal to the Hayden 676 cooler which was an 18,000 GVW transmission cooler. People usually erred on the side of caution and the vast majority moved to the larger 24,000 GVW cooler made by Hayden (that was the famous P/N 678 cooler everyone was installing in the early days). Later a few other people took it a step further and moved up to the hayden 679 which was a 30,000 GVW cooler. The bottom line is that you can never cool your tanny fluid too much but at a bare minimum I personally wouldn't use a cooler with less than 20,000 GVW cooling capacity. There are many manufacturers including the new "low pressure drop" coolers but the critical part is just that the cooler is a stacked plate design vs a simple tube and fin style (which are less efficient).

Here's what the TRD kit looked like:
http://toyotaterritory.com/TRANSCOOLER.jpg

[Lee]

my hayden just came in yesterday!

[calrockx]

Hayden 678.
yep, i'm happy with it.


tranny & ps coolers

[Lee]

what kind of PS cooler did you get?

Also, any other tips, pics, etc on your install would be great charles

i got the 678