Upgrading TRD Trans cooler

Hey guys,

I tow alot with my 05 TRD prerunner and have noticed the transmission get pretty damn hot. I never tow over capacity but I do tow long distances (across the country back and forth)

On long trips I notice my Transmission really starts radiating alot of heat in the cab. My scanguage wont pick up and trans temp codes but I know it has to be cooking.

Its actually fairly annoying, I literally have to blast AC to keep the cab cool, even when its snowing outside. Nothing will stay cold more than a couple min in the cup holders.
Had the tranny fluid changed and apparently the fluid that came out was extremely dirty and black. Its pretty lame we cannot check the fluid ourselves.

And Yes, the transmission seems just fine, shifts like the day it was brought home.

My question is does this seem a little excessive or should I just deal with it?Thinking about replacing the TRD cooler with something substantially bigger. Thoughts?

 

TRANSMISSION COOLERS
If you do not have a transmission cooler on your truck and you plan to tow or haul heavy loads or you are in heavy stop and go traffic and use 4X4 low a lot , consider purchasing a cooler . The cooler thats built into your rad is designed to cool the transmission with the weight of just the truck by itself .When you are in 4x4 low , your torque converter is usually in the stall stage and creates a tonne of additional heat .
160 - 200 are considered normal temps providing your engine radiator is functioning properly . If your engine overheats , your transmission will also overheat
Normal fluid temperature in transmission to be 175 deg. F.

Rate of oxidation to double for each temperature increase of 20 deg F above normal (175 deg F). As oxidation rate doubles, useful life of fluid is cut in half.

At 175 deg F life is 100,000 miles
At 195 deg F (20 deg above 175) life is 50k miles
At 215 life is 25k miles
At 235 life is 12k
At 255 life is 6,250
At 275 life is 3,000
At 295 life is 1500
At 315 life is 750

At temperatures much above 300 deg F the metals in the transmission will tend to warp, twist etc. high temperatures causes the formation of varnish deposits which impair or pre vent transmission operation.

At a fluid temperature of 415 deg F fluid life is 30 minutes!

Source: Empire Lubricants Inc.
Consider a scan guage http://www.amazon.com/ScanGauge-Comp.../dp/B000AAMY86
Here is the best information for the scan guage http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...-pressure.html

This is how Low Pressure Drop technology works::
When Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) is cold it is viscous. The unique Tru-Cool design allows the colder, thicker ATF to flow more efficiently through two open bypass channels positioned at the top of the cooler. As operating temperatures increase, the ATF becomes hotter and thinner, It's then directed through the core where it is cooled. Tru-Cool's highly efficient cooling technology combines improved protection against lube failure with optimal heat transfer.
http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tru-Cool-.../dp/B005XZXB1M
Long Tru-Cool Oil Coolers offer advanced cooling protection for many towing applications. The advanced technology out performs TUBE & FIN Designs, Delivers up to 15 times less flow restrictions, 30% more cooling delivers maximum heat transfer, Self-Regulating for maximum lube flow protection through start-up, varied temperatures and driving conditions, heavy loads and towing.

 

This is the cooler that I have on my truck, also have a temp gauge on the output line of the trans. This cooler works fast! Well worth the money.

$399 B&M 70297 Hi-Tek Transmission Cooling System

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CIIE1W/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

your scangauge should be able to use an xgauge to get the trans temp no?

Mine does

 

What codes do you run? I have tried a ton of codes and never could get it to display the temp. What kind of temperatures do you typically see?

 

Thanks for all the information.... Trans oil life is super helpful. Also, as stated previously my truck is a prerunner so I spend exactly zero time in 4wd. I know that isn't the cause of the heat. I cant tell if the transmission is creating more heat in full OD lock or just all the time. I don't have an issue of the tranny searching for gears usually, and if I do I just run it in 4.

I have heard from more than one person that flushing fluid, especially fluid that has been burned is terrible for automatic transmission because it causes the (assumed) damaged clutch plates to start slipping. Anyone find this to be true? Is this why Toyota chooses not to have a transmission dipstick? They discourage fluid changes?

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...hift-kit-shift-recalibration-kit-2nd-gen.html

 

http://www.scangauge.com/support/x-gauge/toyota-specific/

IIRC its the top one

 

Hey Justus . I am 2010 plus as shown on the link you posted and those codes worked for me , . I have an old scan guage version 3.16 . Up until recently, I wasnt able to get the codes working .
Read through this post . I am not sure the guy from scanguage continues to offer free flashing to the latest firmware . I was lucky and they released a code that worked for my scan guage version .
I have never seen the temps go above 200 . If it ever does go above 200 , time for a bigger cooler
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/102837-scangauge-ii-can-read-oil-pressure.html

 

nice......... I have the newer sc2 so thats not the prob for me........... But now I entered BOTH temps thanks to the 1810 code for RXD............ hope it actually works out right... cant have too much info.


anyone good at this code crap wanna work with the ultragauge MX I have, please PM me

 

I will try that code again but I'm pretty sure I have tried all those. What temps do you normally see? Are you TRD? with the cooler?

 

if its below 90F and unloaded i never see above 150. a couple hundred pounds (excluding myself) going 90 through the desert that is 100+F up a hill in 5th unlocked, the fan will kick on (which it at 180) but won't go above 190F. Then as soon as the torque converter locks again it plummets to 150 again.

Pulling my jeep on a flatbed (at least 5000 lbs) to cali from colorado the highest it got was 220F and that was 70F outside and going up a 7+% grade that was a couple miles long, as soon as it crested it went back down to 150F. When I tow it to the off-road park, which is all up hill at 6000 FT elev., it sits around 180-220. It is hardly ever locked, mostly just sits in 3rd gear.

Keep in mind that I simply just swapped in the new cooler (posted in my first response) and did not bypass the "cooler" in the radiator.

All these temps are the reading from an autometer gauge that I have plumed into the hard line that is coming out of the trans, so its the hottest fluid one can measure without a sensor in the trans itself.

 

trd offroad with tow package.

160 ish average in this 90+ heat but thats cruising.

so ya know its gunna go up on takeoff, and any climbs

 

I'm also looking at an upgrade to the trans cooler. I'm getting ready for after the first of the year, I will be pulling a 4500lb camper on a tour of the East Coast for about 10 months.

Are you saying the "Long Tru-Cool LPD Transmission Oil Cooler 4454 18,000 GVW" on Amazon is a replacement cooler for the stock TRD cooler? Or would this be in addition to the stock cooler? I know nothing about trans coolers other than what they do. The specs mean nothing to me. I'm thinking you are saying this is a replacement, if so, is there anything else that would need to be done, lines, mounts, fluid?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

 

I found this Scanguage II code that works for my '07

Transmission Fluid Temperature
TXD: 07E021D9
RXF: 032180000000
RXD: 2810
MTH: 00070065FE70
NAM: TFT
In degrees F

I have an oversize cooler ready to replace the stock tow package cooler when I have time. I chose a Hayden 30k lb. GVW

 

If you have a newer Scan gauge it will read trans temp. You have to add a Xguage to it. You can get the codes free off the Scan gauge web site. I have it on mine, use it all the time. Plus I just added a secondary trans cooler in line with the factory tow package one. See my post from taco user.