Transmission cooler

[rod.f Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close rod.f]

Hi i have a 99 V6 Auto its only got 160klms and full service history with toyota never done any hard work or been of road i have owned it for 3 years never had any issues i just had gearbox serviced i am towing a Jayco eagle from Sydney To Brisbane and back again for a family holiday just wondering with the weight of the van plus extras would it be wise or would i need to put a Transmission cooler on before i go just to prevent overheating .
Thanks Rodney.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

I had two 90's one diesel one petrol both auto, friend runs a transmission shop so could have had one fitted at any time for minimal cost, at the time he had a 90 himself and didnt even have one. He said to me for just towing around town I wouldnt need one (use to tow a ski boat and camper trailer behind mine. He did say though that if I was doing a lot of long distance driving towing that just for extra life of the transmission then put one on but not really a great need due to the weight of camper and trailer (camper was lighter then boat). He said there an extremey reliable box, strong and give very little/virtually nothing in the way of trouble. I never bothered and never had any issues. I use to push them both pretty hard as well on sand and never had the transmission warning light come on due to heat. So myself, I wouldnt bother for the one off trip. If you intend in the future to do a bit of touring then in the long run I would fit one just to maybe prolong the life of the transmisson. Cheers Steve

[rod.f Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close rod.f]

Thanks Steve for your advice
Rodney

[K & M McF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close K & M McF]

Not sure about the auto, but the manual certainly does not need one.

[Auss15 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Auss15]

If you intend to do your trip over the coming months it wont be an issue, air temps on the road will be a lot cooler then the middle of summer.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Hi there Rodney, Just incase you were not aware they do have a cooler built into the radiator in the tank, the fluid runs through a cooler which is surrounded by the radiator coolant inside the coolant tank. The 120's (petrol anyway not sure on the diesel) but they also have an external cooler from the factory as well. So making sure your cooling system is running 100% makes a difference as well, sounds like your vehicle is in tiptop condition so dont see you having any issues and as mentioned above by Auss15 your running into the cooler part of the year........Cheers Steve
This is my factory external cooler

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

This is the cooler inside the radiator tank from inside a BA falcon, they are prone to shitting them selves and wheh they do you can say goodby to the transmission

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Rod,
If the cooling system is in great condition I doubt you require an additional cooler, but two things to keep in mind;

- if your radiator is still original, it's probably not in great condition and is due for replacement.
- if you decide to install an oil cooler, you MUST install it in series with the original cooler. Trans coolers are not a replacement for the original.

[MDST Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDST]

Example of a transmission cooler:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...l-3rd-gen.html

3rd gen 4Runners 1996-2002 and Prado 1996-2002 are practically the same platform. So, should serve!

Cheers

[Shan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shan]

- if you decide to install an oil cooler, you MUST install it in series with the original cooler. Trans coolers are not a replacement for the original.

If Glen or someone can explain this point for me, that would be great !! I thought you could simply remove the original one and put a bigger/better one in the same location.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Hi there Shaun, you will have a standard cooler will look like this [IMG][/IMG]

Not sure why you need to upgrade it ??? they work fine and have never heard of anyone having issues with the standard cooler either on sand or towing, there was issues with the 150 but believe this has been fixed. If you follow the ccoler pipes you will notice it runs into the radiator tank first, this has an internal cooler for the transmission within the radiator tank, it then comes out and goes through the cooler and returns to the transmission (hope this makes sense ??) Just having the cooler up front without the fluid running through the radiator cooler as well could cause the transmission to over heat. The only vehicle I know of that totally diverts away from the radiator is the BA falcons as the internal cooler rusts out which then allows coolant to enter the transmission which in turn kills the transmission. Unless you have had issues I wouldnt bother changing cooler. If you notice under the bonnets of the diesel 120's either 1kz of D4D they dont even have one, only the V6 petrol has it (must be for all that extra grunt over the diesel lol). If your concerned maybe fit a transmission temp guage first so you can keep an eye on temps...........Cheers Steve

[Shan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shan]

Thanks for the quick and detailed reply Steve !! I noticed the standard cooler as per the pic and I can't say I had an issue yet.
But couple of times when I use the low range for a while I felt the heat in the cabin, engine temp was normal. As you suggested I should look into a temp gauge first.

Research begins... Any tips fellows??

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

I spoke to a few radiator places last year, but they couldn't offer good advice in regards to the transmission cooler.

I visited a transmission place who works on road and race cars. They said people often install aftermarket coolers WITHOUT running it through the radiator, but due to this, the transmissions got too hot and fail. They actually had a couple cars in the shop at that time having their transmission rebuilt for this exact reason. An expensive lesson for those owners. His advise to me was to replace the OEM radiator first, and then come back later if required.

Individual transmission coolers rely 100% on air flow to cool down. The OEM ones which are inbuilt into the radiator have the added advantage of being cooled by the larger radiator mass, the fan, and the engine coolant. If you need to improve the transmission cooling, then simply add another cooler, which is 100% guaranteed to improve the cooling ability.

[Shan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shan]

Cheers Glen !! I'm going to Wholesale Automatic Transmissions to find out bit more on this.
They have a transmission temp gauge as well. Here

[Leethal Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Leethal]

Actually the inbuild trans coolers also moderate the fluid temp, that is prevent the fluid being too cool in some circumstances.
I believe electronic autos prefer/need the temp to be within a specfic range to work properly.
However if the engine temp is up then the trans fluid will be up as well, it has too as it is in the bottom of the radiator and as such is cooled by the coolant as it leaves the radiator back into the engine.
Also if the trans fluid is very hot it has less chance to be properly cooled by the engine temp coolant.
I am looking to plumb a cooler before the rad so the fluid is never cooled too far as the few times my trans temp light has come on the engine temp has still been normal.
Ya gotta love soft soft sand lol

Lee