ATF Cooler on 2022 Tacoma?

Interesting; does anybody have a picture or two of the plumbing for that system, or better still, a technical document from Toyota which shows a diagram of the system and its plumbing?

 

the trans fluid is cooled in the radiator - been doing it this way for 60+ years

 

Yea. Almost every single auto car has this setup.

I will say, the Taco still has the thermostat which to me is the most important part. You can add back a bigger cooler and not deal with the issues of ATF over-cooling (not serious like engine oil temp but high viscosity ATF still not great). It's my biggest complaint with out 5th gen 4Runner since you can't really add a cooler without having some tradeoff in cold temps. Only solution for those is an external thermostat or a cooler with a bypass tract (a-la Hayden Rapid Cool).

 

there are 2 types of trans cooling they use, one is pipes in the radiator and one with a small air cooled radiator......on the window sticker they just are not specific what kind it is........in 2020 they switched what type they use

 

EXACTY .......it is still a cooler, its just in the radiator(which always has a big fan blowing on it) .....toyota is not trying to be deceptive at all.......it may be better than an external cooler.....who knows......the ones wanting to sue toyota should move on to the transmission shift points or mpg

 

here you go

for that peace of mind you need

 

^^ sir I think you made your point.

 

They didn't switch what kind they used in 20. They stopped adding the secondary external cooler. Both have radiator cooler.

 

My 16’s OEM cooler lines are thermostatically controlled, I would assume the updated cooler would be also. It’s what made me comfortable putting a fat stacked plate cooler in place of the oem unit. Gets cooler faster than the small oem unit but still operates by the stock thermal switch.

Plus it looks cool imo

 

Can someone clarify if the 3rd gen (maybe 4th gen also) automatics have a thermostat built into the transmission to control ATF cooling? And what temp does it open? Saw mention that it could be pinned open.

the A750F in my 2015 doesn't so i added a oil 180F thermostat to control flow to my added air/oil cooler. Temp never gets above 175 and thermostat keeps it from running to cool in the winter.

 

Radiator ATF cooling has existed in my personal hands-on experience since the 1958 Chevy Nomad my Dad owned.
In the 70s, every Toyota automatic I worked on as a dealership tech, had radiator ATF cooling.

The difference: back then, water temps routinely operated at 165~180 degrees, which is ideal for ATF operating temperatures.
The smoggers of today operate in the 210~220 degree range, meaning ATF temps are raised in a similar manner.

Add in a tow load and a hot summer day, towing up hill and you have a recipe for high temps.
I would like to add a ScanGuage tool to monitor my rig and keep ATF at 180 degrees.
Sadly here in CA this is an open invitation to thieves to smash out a window and steal it.

 

the difference is the window sticker versus the sales brochure material.

The sales brochure material is outdated

 

That chart is outdated and not applicable to today’s semi-synthetic fluid and how it’s used in that transmission. Plus it was for extended time at those temps not like 10 minutes or so. The trans overheating alarm goes off at 250. So either people don’t trust Toyota engineers or they think there’s a master plan to sell a bunch of transmissions down the road.

 

I’ve had a problem with my AT fluid getting too hot when doing simple trail driving. The truck read transmission fluid too hot or something and the truck started to not work correctly.

Asked my local Toyota dealership and they said not to worry about it because how abnormally high the temperatures were in my city. It’s usually not this hot out but still kinda sketchy when you’re an hour away from cell service and driving a brand new truck, better yet brand new Toyota tacoma.

 

This is related to torque converter management in low gears,especially the lockup solenoid. To avoid, need to understand how the system works and avoid unnecessary heat.

 

I see, this was also when the truck was fairly brand new and it’s never done it since ‍♂️

 

Even if the fluid can withstand the temp you are neglecting the affect of increase temp on the mechanical components. You will notice that once you get into temps above 250F it mentions seals hardening and clutches burning out. I am not a mechanical engineer (my son is and many in this forum are also) but i have read many text books and articles regarding material sciences and there is a direct relationship between wear and temperature.

And if the sensor that is giving the 250F warning is the one in the pan the temp in the converter is much higher. And recall that the Toyota WS fluid is a lower viscosity type which was designed to eek out a minuscule MPG increase. Now bring that up to 250F or higher and guess how thin it is then. And the 250F is saying its at least 250F. It doesn't say how much higher it is than that.

And the Toyota engineers (or not) also came up with the brilliant idea of a sealed for life transmission to satisfy EPA requirements to reduce consumption and disposal of oils and lubricants. You wont find the majority of members here that agree with that one and neither do engineers..

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/129-1002-automatic-transmission-and-power-steering-filters/

But as many have mentioned and I agree, its your truck and you can treat it however you wish. With the add on cooler I have my transmission pan temp will NEVER go over 180F and that is what i will stick with..


On a side note during a co-op job at GM at the St Catherine's engine plant in Ontario I was working next to the Engineering group. It was way back when they were producing 2.8 Liter V6's for front wheel drives vehicles like the Citation. They had one on the engine stand. I commented to one of the engineers that it looks really nice with all the covers and components being hidden away but it looks like it would be hard to service. His comment was that they didnt design it to be serviceable , they designed it to look good. So you should that into account when you consider how and why things are designed.

 

The tranny temp warning is linked to AT oil temperature No. 2 sensor. It is located in the valve body and usually registers high temps when the torque converter goes into fluid coupling state.
Pan is No.1
It is not a pan temperature sensor.

 

I never said I operate my truck with the transmission temperature warning on. I don’t have the auxiliary cooler on my truck and the hottest the transmission gets is around 225ish going up long hills while towing and cools rapidly at the apex (Scanguage 3 trans temp 2) and I’m ok with that. I don’t need an auxiliary cooler. I also don’t let my transmission suffer trying to find the right gear. S mode all the time when towing. I don’t think think they removed the auxiliary coolers to “look good” and frankly Toyota engineers probably have a completely different set of goals than GM engineers do, if the last 50 years of automotive history are any indication.