Hey folks,

I'm fixing to install an auxiliary transmission fluid cooler and was wondering how and where folks were putting them. The FSM doesn't seem to address it at all.

Can anyone post images of their mess?

I expect to have to fabricate a bracket assembly to hold my cooler in place and want to be sure to include considerations such as air-flow, hose routing, truck frame attachment, etc.

Thanks.

 

under bed outside frame forward of rear wheel drivers side thats where i have seen the dealer installed coolers

 

I've had two trucks with them there. I'll try and get you some pictures tomorrow.

 

the guys are correct with placement area of the cooler. may I suggest a B&M? Having tried both Derale on my PSD and B&M on my 1st gen, I must say the B&M is a much better unit for pushing the air and the t-stat is more accurate than the Derale for kicking it on(165-180 degrees on). Directly in front of the drivers rear tire, there is a portion of under bed tube frame that is perfect. I fabricated an 1.5" x 3" z angle, with 15 degree bends on them to catch framing and come inward to catch the od of the fan/coil dimentions. Check my pics-I may have a shot.

 

yep here's a picture off of my rig

 

Thanks folks.

I was thinking the location outside the frame rails might be in the stream of stuff off the front tire perhaps leading to the coil loading with trash.

I've been pondering locating my mess right there in front of the fuel tank.


Yup, I'm going with the plate type cooler such as that used by B&M. The one I've got on the way comes from Fluidyne. It's roughly twice the B&M with a shrouded fan and AN8 fittings.


Any particular temperature range that's ideal as far as switching the fan?

 

dave, when you get your fan/cooler combo, turn the fan so that it is a blow through system rather than a draw through, that way any stuff caught up in the coils gets sucked out and blown downward. Also, ever used birdscreen? Of course you have! any fellow HVAC/sheetmetal workers know about galvanized hardware cloth. Have you or your shop budies form up a framed birdscreen panel, and depending on how you fashion your mounting angle, shape it with a 3/4" flange in so that you can pop rivet the birdscreen frame on there to further protect your cooler and fan from debris.

I am actually going heavy duty and installing a stand off plate that will have below the fan 1 1/2", and will be made out of 14 gage. My episode with the tire tread peeling off the tire last summer not only took out the rear wheel well sheetmetal, but also my cooler fan.

I checked for sure where mine is mounted. It is roughly 10 inches in front of the diesel fuel fill tube that heads into the fuel tank. It is up high, mounted to the underside of the bed against the 2x2 bead supports.

As far as the t-stat goes, BM has one already built in to the component, bypassing the flow of fluid, and from there you just tie in your electrical leads. Derale, on the other hand, has one that can be mounted in line on the AN fittings with the flow of fluid, which might work best in your situation(unless fluidyne has their own T-stat). Both BM and Derale are normally set to start the fan at 180 degrees, and like I mentioned before, the BM comes the closest in accuracy. Tip: wire in an led to your guage pod, the one that houses your tranny guage, that way when it lights up, you know the fan is on, and you can watch your temps drop 20 degrees in around 15 minutes. Also, tap power into a switched on source, that way the fan doesn't keep running long after you have shut down and walked away from the truck.

Finally, thanks for the advice on my tranny removal post!

 

I copied mine off a guy selling them on Ebay.
It's a B&M super cooler, i mounted it on the frame and the t-case skid plate.

I also put in a manual switch so i can turn it on before the t-stat turns it on.

 

Thanks folks.

Since I'm sticking to a standard color scheme with the AN fittings (black/grey), I'm stuck waiting for back ordered parts.

@ bigragu, Yup, I'm on the LED, bypass switch, and switched source. I've got a thermostat on order that will simply screw into one of the unused ports of the in-line trans oil filter-head referencing that on its way to the cooler.


I'll post how it goes.

 

would this replace the cooler mounted on the engine? on the side just below the turbo.

 

No.

That heat exchanger on the side of the engine is really more for heating the trans fluid when Mom's driving slow and scared waaaay up north on cold days. Certainly, when the fluid is hotter than the engine's coolant, then yes, that side mounted heat exchanger acts as a cooler. Naturally that one up front at the radiator is a sure enough cooler. The under-bed cooler supplements all of it with even more cooling when needed.

 

i need that one too, my foot keeps turning into lead

 

Are yall using the trans to pump the fluid or an aux pump?

 

This just inserts into the existing plumbing. No additional pump needed.


The typical OEM fluid routing is: Picked up from pan > Trans oil pump > Engine mounted Heat Exchanger > Cooler up front > Optional Supplemental Cooler > Transmission.

 

Cool. I was thinking of doing something like this to my truck. When towing in traffic the trans temp loves to run alittle to hot for my liking.