im about to do some tranny upgrades like a shift kit and cooler, but i had a questions.
The heat exchanger, Do i need it in texas? if i did take it out do i just plug the lines or what?
Is a deep tranny pan needed?
What type of tranny fluid do yall recommend?
What do yall think?

 

If you already have a tranny cooler then a deep pan might not be necessary, but it wouldn’t hurt either. I use and recommend AmsOil Universal A.T.F. but that’s just me. I won’t say anymore about any oil because I don’t wanna start a friendly fire fight. =D

As for the heat exchanger, I do not know. I have wondered the same thing. If the heat exchanger ‘fails” wont it cause ATF and antifreeze to mix together? I don’t need that. If I don’t need it and can avoid a large problem by removing it then it’ll be the next thing to go.

 

I have asked the question about the heat exchanger in the past and was told it helps keep the fluid at operating temp, then I wonder why add on extra coolers if the exchanger is just going to heat the cool fluid up. I would also like to know the exact reason why it is there and if it is truly needed.

 

The heat exchanger serves two purposes.

1. It helps warm the fluid, especially in cold temps.
2. It cools the fluid. The exchanger is actually pretty efficient acting as an oil cooler. Without it, you WILL overheat your fluid. I don't know what sort of size equivalent conventional cooler you would need if you removed the heat exchanger. There have been a few posts here and there from people the removed the heat exchanger. They couldn't keep their transmissions cool enough after the removal...especially in a towing situation.

I do recommend relocating the heat exchanger. Some have moved it to behind the front bumper. I've not moved mine yet, but it's on my long list of improvements. I feel the the location is a poor one. It seems to me that the 2 fluid systems, the coolant and transmission fluid, are prone to absorbing heat from the turbo and exhaust housing.

 

Check to see if you have the underbed auxilary cooler on the drivers side under the bed. It was an option from the factory.

 

i have a factory cooler up front above the intercooler but thats it

 

The fluid has to be able to come up to operating temp and the heat exchanger does this. most vehicles have this built into the radiator but on our trucks its a seperat unit. Adding the additional coolers helps when towing.

 

I also posed this last year and recieved the same 2 responses you have. I believe *MY* tranny temp issues were due to the factors Free89W350 stated. I think with the WSO stock TC, coupled with the HE, tranny temps would NOT cool down. IMO, the HE will not allow the static tranny temps under 180* and that *driving* the truck WILL heat the ATF in my SE climate, unless it's well past freezing (single digits).

I bypassed the HE last Nov. in favor of routing thru the large oil-air cooler under the bed (fan is now on a manual switch) then on to the small oil-air cooler behind the grill... since that time, I have had NO heat related issues.

- Empty running w/o the fan keeps it at 180* regardless of terrain or flogging
- Towing 7k#-8k# requires the fan to be on and some regulation between 3rd gear & OD to keep everything @ 180* or lower (this is why I think the TC is toast)

 

If your still running the stock TC than that is definatly your problem. I just had my trans done and TC reworked and my engine temps do not climb going up hills anymore from the execcive heat from the heat exchanger getting to the coolant.

 

Been running mine with the exchanger completely deleted and not a bit of problem. Do see the use in it, fluids only going to get warm if the coolant is warm. By that time it seems the tranny fluid will be warm from operation. Just my 2 cents though.

 

Yeap, very likely the factory TC with *just* 159K! I'm hoping to swap it out after the new year along with some other things.

I only noticed slight increases in engine temp, but the tranny temp goes ballistic when towing. I usually run 3rd uphill & OD down, but wouldn't mind running OD most of the time (slight uphill grades that don't tax the engine)... While everyone says that 2700+rpm isn't a problem, is sure sounds bad!