Ford Power Stroke Nation banner

Upgraded trans cooler...with fan?

13K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  arto_wa 
#1 ·
I need to improve my trans cooling. I have a gauge in the test port and watch it regularly. I don't mind pulling over on long climbs now and then, but i've been towing on a lot of slow dirt roads and driving with the TC slipping gets hot *really* fast, even on level ground.

Plenty of options out there for a trans cooler but I don't see many with a fan. I was thinking an electric fan would be good since my biggest concern is with low-speed driving.

Will the sheer size of an upgraded cooler be adequate even at low speed, or should I keep hunting for a fan?

This thread talks about using an electric cooler for slow-speed driving, and kinda makes it sound unnecessary, but isn't totally clear on that.

Is there space to replace the factory air-to-oil cooler with the Mishimoto plate cooler, and then put a fan in front of it?
 
#3 ·
I had a B&M fluid cooler with a fan, it wasn’t enough. I ended up changing to a 6.0 cooler. I wished I had not wasted my money on the B&M. The 6.0 coolers work very well. There is a reason why everyone upgrades to them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
#4 ·
Just be sure to mount it somewhere in front of the Ac-condenser and the engine fan will pull air through it for you.

I've pulled 13,000lbs through the mountains and never seen trans temp over 180*. And mine is mounted behind the bumper.
 
#5 ·
If it were just mountain highways, I'd already have ordered the 6.0 cooler. Even pulling a steep pass, the engine is working so hard that the fan is running and the truck is making headway at least 30mph even if the fan isn't turning. But after just a couple miles of dead level, flat, bumpy dirt roads at 15 mph in near-freezing temps, my trans is breaking 200*. Understand that by "bumpy" i don't just mean "gravel road", i mean rocks and stuff. I'm keeping the speed low to avoid tossing everything in the truck and trailer, so it isn't moving forward fast enough to move much air thru the radiator and the fan clutch isn't locking so there's very little cooling going on.

What about a deeper pan? Does that do anything except look cool and snag on rocks (no lift kit on my truck)?
 
#6 ·
The deeper pan is a common debate that nobody proves or disproves. I personally dont run one.

If your worried about airflow at lower speeds, maybe a 6.0 fan with a new fan clutch? It helped me immensely.

I just dont like too many fans, especially if at high speed they are going to restrict airflow and cause problems then.
 
#12 ·
I have a 97 f350 with an IC, 238 80 injectors, etc. and I used to run a small trans cooler with an electric fan but it would still get pretty warm. I switched to a 6.0 cooler and the 6.0 plastic fan last spring (double check for clearance if you do so) and it made a world of difference on mine.. I will still get ~210-220 on LONG pulls but if you are on the dirt I would use 4-low if possible.. I have considered putting manual locking hubs in for this very purpose.. Our summer days are well over 100* and my trailer is ~16K lbs...
 
#14 ·
I have a very similar setup as Joshz. I did the 6.0 TC only (still have stock clutch fan) My temps are generally 160-175 even pulling my 13K Toyhauler only see 190's on grades. Also without a load my truck hardly ever sees 155deg.

Trans fluid begins to break down above 175, at 200 the affect on your fluid/transmission is minimal to the life of your transmission, however as temps increase the affects scale up (see "www".txchange.com/heatchrt.htm)

The key on trans coolers is volume along with cooling surface area. A pan will provide more volume but without additional cooling surface area your temps can still exceed optimal.

In-radiator coolers are NOT a good solution (especially for tow vehicles) and are actually counter productive. Your radiator coolant cooling system runs at approx 195 in Diesel trucks and up to 220 in gas vehicles, so trying to "cool" your trans fluid running it through your in-radiator "cooler" only heats up your trans fluid. Tow packages include an external cooler which is suppose to bring trans fluid temp down however, tow package coolers are generally undersized and suitable for light loads. If the internal radiator trans cooler is included in the system the fluid is still being heated before the external cooler can try to bring the temp down.

Solution is bypass the in-radiator trans "cooler" and only use an external trans cooler.

Here's another link to help in sizing your external trans cooler "www".hotrod.com/articles/transmission-cooler-basics

So, I'm curious if Joshz still has his in-radiator trans cooler in his system? This might explain why my temps on a similar setup seems to run about 10-15deg cooler.

Mike

btw: former AAMCO Transmission shop owner

NOte: sorry I don't have enough posts to include links in my posts please remove "" from addresses....:wink:
 
#16 ·
There was a guy on some of these Ford forums that was an engineer and was involved in the developement of the 5r110 tranny and i think he had said once that the trans can take the heat for short duration...apparently tested up into the 300 deg range w no issues. I would flat out have a strome if mine got past 240 or so, as mine is a built trans new about 2 yrs ago....i watch it closely when towing along w the EOT

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
#18 ·
I hit 280 degrees once pulling my 5ver and I said no more of that. Bought the 6.0 cooler and have never seen 180 again. Yes, I hardlly ever get hot. It was the best purchase I have ever made for my 02 7.3. last year when it was 100 outside and it was really smokey is when I hit 186 on the uphills. But other than that I run on average about 140-150 on the tranny. After I rebuilt it and added the deep pan with holes in it to cool better, I run as low as 135. No fans just the 6.0 cooler. Now I run 28qts of tranny fluid and it seems to help it stay cool.
 
#21 ·
Wow. SO much great info in this thread. Huge thanks to Mark K. for the good detail on tranny temps. If my tranny temp gets to 220 and i'm close to the top of a hill, i'll press on and idle to cool off at the top before needing the tranny for the downhill. Except for my one incident last week i've only hit 250 a couple times and that was for 2-3 minutes tops. But i'm just tired of this sword of Damocles over me all the time. A full day of towing under 180* sounds like a dream. Can't wait to put in the 6.0 cooler!
 
#25 · (Edited)
When I had the BTS trans installed, Brian took out the Magni-flow and tossed it. He said it is too restrictive. Then added
the 6.0 cooler.

I used to have all sorts of trans temp issues when I had a heavy trailer in tow and got in heavy traffic or long climbs
especially in Texas summers. With the 6.0 cooler installed in place of the stock cooler the high temps are now what
the "normal" was for the stock cooler. It is rare to see it get to 180-deg now.

As for in radiator coolers, they are located at the bottom of the radiator. The 7.3 radiator is way over sized and the
coolant temp at the bottom of the radiator is much cooler than engine temps. They work well in the case of the
7.3. The 6.0 cooler is the real solution though.

Also, if you have ESOF and want to just have 2-low, you can just unplug the module on the
passenger fender that actuates the front hubs.
 
#35 ·
Just wanted to check back in with my own results on this; finally did the work a couple weeks ago. All the great feedback here was very welcome, and I ended up deciding on the 6.0 cooler swap. Flushed the trans fluid per Mark K's instructions here, then put in the new cooler along with a magnefine. Got the 3/8 to 1/2" barb adapters on Amazon for a fair price. One of the least frustrating jobs I've done on the truck to-date, honestly. I went thru the top, removing grille and swinging the air conditioning condenser partially out of the way, with lots of cardboard to protect the fins and my arms. Mishimoto has a video doing it all from the bottom...I can see why you might want to do that but I appreciated spending less time on my back.

RESULTS: Amazing. Shouldn't be a surprise, given how huge this thing is compared to the original, but still it's crazy to see the low temps now. The truck had no OTW cooler, only the small stock OTA. I bought the Sonnax bypass valve rebuild kit but decided against installing it, since the trans is actually only 2 years old so I figured that's probably pointless. Two days ago I towed my 9k lb. 5er up a gravel road in 50 degree air temps, it was 1400 feet elevation gain in 3 miles at 15 mph max the whole way. Gearshift in Drive, and trans temp (at test port) never broke 180. On this exact same road a year ago I had to manually select 1st gear and would still have to pull aside and idle halfway up. I towed from Seattle to Wyoming (6k ft. elevation gain) in 80's to 90's and never saw trans temp get over 170. If you're considering this mod...just do it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lt.Dan
#36 ·
...Important thing I forgot to include above:

If you do this mod, I never saw it mentioned but it takes a while to purge all the air out of the new cooler. After you've put in the new cooler and topped up the transmission, make sure you're carrying around 2-3 bottles of Mercon V and your funnel in the truck. The next 4-5 times you drive it, check the fluid and top it up each time. I topped up twice after the swap but still found that my trans was under-filled afterwards.
 
#37 ·
I installed 6.0 AT oil cooler and external filter kit to my 1999 F350 few years ago and have sometimes wondered why the inlet and outlet hose connections are on the bottom of the 6.0 AT oil cooler?

Oh well, the 4R100 is working fine and any air in the cooling lines must have been purged out by now!


By the way, I really appreciate the expert advice from Mr. Kovalsky over the years!

:ford:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top