3rd gen Transmission Cooler Upgrade

Awesome, you got it done! I've ordered the extra quart of the WS stuff. Will see if I can get to it soon. Thanks for getting the pics of your install up!

 

Thanks for idea! I'll be doing some towing in a couple weeks so I figure if get it done now I'll have a couple weeks of testing around town before we hit the road.

Look forward to seeing your set-up!

 

Jumping in here as I recently got the RV bug and was wondering about towing with a '16 TRD OR double cab, 2WD. I see from the manual that the 2WD with the V6 can effectively tow 300 more pounds than the 4WD (6700 vs 6400). That makes for a GCWR of 11,300 of truck, trailer and load. The dual axle trailer I'm considering is 25 feet with a dry weight of 4567 and a GVWR of 7400 ( 2833 max cargo). I never intend to carry that much and would shoot to keep trailer weight under 6000. Would my 6 cylinder Taco perform OK under this load? The numbers say yes, but I wonder about real world experience from Tacoma owners. I would expect to use a load leveling hitch (already on trailer) and an electric brake controller (not yet on my Taco). Is the taco prewired for this controller when it has the trailer tow package? I expect flat roads would be OK but steep grades could be challenging. Any advice from experienced folks? Thanks.

 

Ditto, but with my 4WD DCLB.
Thinking of a 24' trailer with dual axles and 3400lbs dry weight.
Towable without troubles?

 

As long as your truck has the factory tow package it will be prewired for a brake controller. It's hidden behind the kick plate in the drivers foot well. You will also need to order the correct pigtail connector when you purchase the brake controller. As far as 6k weight that's quite a bit. The truck will do it but that's allot of weight for a taco. If your just pulling it an hour outside of town here and there you may be OK with the setup. If you're planning a multi state road trip you might expierence allot of miserable days climbing hills in the slow lane.
My trailer is about 3500lb loaded to the brim and full water tanks. I almost always have a generator, big cooler, and road trip grill in the bed and it still tows well. When I pull the same load with the water tanks empty (-250lbs) the difference in gas mileage and ability to hold 5th gear is substantially better.

I'll link a couple of towing threads I follow so you can do a little more research.

www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-us-what-you-tow.27460/

www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gen-3-towing-thread.413026/

 

Many thanks. These are good links and will peruse them with great interest.

 

Hi,
Some data re towing with stock trans cooler/tow pkg: I was in AZ towing an Aliner that is supposed to weigh 1200# empty. Going N on I 17 from PHX up the Mogollon Rim to Flagstaff there are some pretty long steep hills. This was in May before it gets really hot -about 85 degrees then. I weighed the truck a 2017 TRDOR 3.6 and trailer together at 8200# when loaded up. When towing with ECT and S mode, shifting manually using a Scangage showed temps of 225 +degrees when hitting 55 MPH, so I backed off on speed up steeper hills to keep it below that. Descending with downshifting didn't seem to heat the trans near as much as the uphill where engine is developing max power and more is turned into heat in the transmission.
Here in Colorado it is cooler on mountain passes- but the air is thinner at altitude, and has reduced cooling capacity. I have seen similar temps here towing on long passes. Towing on long mountain grades in the western US of over 3000' elevation gain will give sustained trans heating.

Some thoughts on towing:
1. Weigh your combined rig and see what you really have.
2. The Scangage is a valuable tool for managing trans temps; it works well. Ignorance is bliss - until you cook something.
3. Check/fill trans level before doing any towing. (mine was a qt. low-dealer feigned surprise- Yeah.)
4. The cooler upgrade makes sense for doing significant towing or demanding use.
5. Don't be the person who buys the used Taco that was used in the push-it to-the-max Tow Test on the Ike -Eisenhower Tunnel Grade.

Many thanks for posting this cooler upgrade.

Thanks again to Gearcruncher for moderating and contributing to trans knowledge.
Cheers,
Jay

 

That's really good insight! Thanks for sharing. I was thinking of posting that Ike Eisenhower video but didn't want people to think it's ok to be hammering on their trucks like that without monitoring equipment. Don't get me wrong I'm not afraid to mash the gas and run up the RPMs to pass a semi uphill if need be but knowing your temps is crucial if you're gonna be doing that!

 

Well ,we're on the road. New York to Utah. Pinned transmission first day. Running great. Seems I have to just leave it in 4th sport mode, running at 3000 rpm for 70 mph. Does that sound similar to your experience, Lord Humongous?

 

Not directly related to transmissions but the engines in the 3rd gen run hotter than the 2nd gens

 

i have a 2017 tacoma transmission oil cooler, my truck is a 2017 2.7L, not sure weather to install the tacoma trans. cooler or an trucool after market. Transmission fluid in this area with 80 to 90 outside in traffic hitting 200 to 210. any thought would love to hear?

 

Yes that sounds about right. I generally cruise 65-70 when towing and sit right around the same 2800-3k. My right hand is usually on the sport shifter and I try to take advantage of 5th gear as much as possible on the flats or when we have a good tailwind. Drafting a semi also helps hold 5th as well . The truck will definatley pull the trailer uphill at 75mph but I prefer to just let off and cruise the big hills in 3rd gear. I'm about 4000-4500rpm @55mph in the big grades. Keeps things cooler and doesn't burn as much gas.

Have fun and safe travels!

 

Yeah it definately leaves a smaller margin catastrophe in an extreme heat event and all the more reason the monitor it. I know Toyota engineers where thinking about MPGs when they designed it that way but I'd still be interested in a cooler running thermostat if one ever came available! Maybe just 10 degrees Fahrenheit?

 

I definatley think it's good idea considering allot of aftermarket coolers can be had fairly inexpensively. I'd go with the trucool as it'll be more effective and less expensive than OEM. I am however not familiar with how non tow package equipped trucks are set up as far as a oil sending unit. I believe they still circulate fluid to radiator to speed up ATF warming but I havent been able to look myself. If that's the case you might be able to bypass the radiator all together and run a cooler. If its not set up that way youll probably have to get your hands on a toyota OEM sending unit. Im interested so keep us posted how it's setup. Thanks!

BTW If you bypass the radiator it will take longer for the fluid to warm up in cool temperatures. I believe the trucks ECU likes to keep the torque converter unlocked when cold so that may affect your mileage. A positive of bypassing the radiator is the fact that a radiator failure won't also cause a transmission failure. Id consult an expert like gearcruncher on this one.

 

Thanks for the reply. First good workout on the taco, and she does like to run high r'ss. Today we hit Colorado,so going to really see some hills. Scan tool is on the wishlist, but info I've gotten here has left me more at ease. Thanks again!

 

So we just ordered a toy hauler trailer... We should pick it up in 12-16 weeks. They estimate the dry weight at 3500-3600 pounds. It's a toy hauler and I assume we will pack 1000-2000 pounds of gear and bikes/quads. I know I have written this before, but we live in socal where we have short hills all around us. We recently drove Socal, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Socal and it was super hot. It was 90 going through Flagstaff and then 115 going across the deserts. I hope we don't tow through this heat but it may happen once in a while. I plan to install just the fluid cooler that you bought and installed. I've asked you before and you said you haven't used the fan, right? I don't care to wire it and all that jazz. I hope the cooler by itself is enough. My wife and I were talking about things we will need to tow the trailer, and this sounded like one the cheaper things and she was enthused by it.

How did you mount the cooler? What hardware did you need? Are all your hoses one piece? You didn't need to branch anything with T-barbs? How much hose did you need? Did the cooler come with enough hose? If not, what kind of hose is it? Where did you get the pump for the WS bottle?

It looks like I might be the first person to perform this install, after you. I don't want to fuck anything up....

I wrote more about the trailer here, if you care. Already bought a generator for it, too
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gen-3-towing-thread.413026/page-44#post-15414504

 

am still wondering if using a trucool cooler which bypasses when cold, is the fluid still bypassing when you check the transmission fluid level at the proper temps, if so when the fluid warms to temp and stops the bypass and uses the whole cooler for fluid, is the transmission fluid going to be low.

 

I used a kit similar to this one for mounting the cooler. There are plenty of holes to mount the brackets to on the core support so drilling shouldn't be necessary. The top of the core support is recessed (compared of the bottom) so you'll have to put a couple 90° bends so the cooler sits flush. I was also able to use the radiator support and hood latch bolts on top. For the bottom I If I remember I just used a couple of 1/4" bolts and nylon lock nuts for the bottom. It's mounted SOLID. I'll get some good pics later.

$19 Hayden Automotive 253 Metal Mounting Bracket Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000HE6H9W/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the pump that fits Toyota World Standard ATF.

$10 CUSTOM ACCESSORIES Pennzoil 36671 Pennzoil Fluid Transfer Pump - Gallon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002M589TA/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As far as hose the cooler comes with about 3' of 3/8" ID oil hose. That's perfect since that will also fit the OEM barbs without adapters! After measuring and cutting the line to fit for the first connection you'll be left with a smaller useless piece so pick up another 3' section from the parts store before you start. My hoses were one piece but I added an approximately 5" piece of hose when I added the inline filter on the return. There is no reason to use t-barbs since it's a closed loop i.e. fluid flows from the trans -> oem cooler -> aftermarket cooler -> back to the trans. I also replaced the OEM spring clamps with hose clamps since its better hold.

Also, if you're thinking about the scangauge now is the time to bite the bullet. I know its a little pricey for a temp reading but it makes the fluid fill procedure super easy and you won't have to hack your OBD port.

Let me know if you need any pictures or better instruction.

 

I researched this since the Hayden uses a viscosity bypass as well. Fluid still flows through the entire cooler when cold, however the fluid flows much faster through the bypass channel than the cooling fins at higher viscosity. When the fluid warms and becomes less viscous it will flow more freely through the cooling fins and make it a more efficient cooler.

 

so is that bracket kit the one you used? Did you pick it up at an auto parts store, or something? I would enjoy some pictures of the mounting. I really have no idea how to mount this. Some quick pictures would be great.The reviews state that Hayden makes many mounting kits. Do you know which kit you used?

Does the cooler come with 6AN hose? It doesn't say

Also, do I want the gallon or quart pumper? Also, what's a good price for WS? It seems expensive on Amazon