External trans cooler done!



I opted for the Hayden 678 cooler and it has worked great on the 30-minute drive I've taken so far! Hills that use to put the temps into the low 200's are now barely getting to 165°F. I'm going to test it on the trails this weekend, but if the first drive was any indication I think the O/D button will be going back to obscurity. The nominal temp for the test trip was around 140°F.

Amazon.com: Hayden Automotive 678 Rapid-Cool Plate and Fin Transmission Cooler: Automotive

I also wanted to have some abrasion resistance built-in to the hoses, so I opted for nylon sleeved hose.

Amazon.com: theBlueStone -4AN -6AN -8AN -10AN Braided Fuel Line Hose 20FT -6AN Nylon Braided for 3/8" Tube Size: Automotive

Lastly, I was worried about heat soak (most likely for no reason) between the lines and because I'm apparently a stickler for cleanliness, I saw these hose separators that ended up helping with routing more than I thought they would.

Amazon.com: -6AN Hose Separator Clamp - Fuel line Mounting Clamps,Aluminum Hose Fitting Adapter, Great for 3/8 Fuel Hose, Oil Line, Brake Line, Water Pipe and Gas Line,4Pcs/Pack,Black: Automotive

As I was researching on here, I noticed that most everyone was going through the passenger side of the "bulkhead", but my test fits made the lines way too cramped with all of the A/C stuff around, so I figured I'd just go through the drivers side.



The cool thing was that the Magnefine filter that was added had plenty of space to be mounted up front, too. There was a connection tab with two holes for something on the drivers side and I opted to zip-tie it there and added a hefty guy around the tab for security.



Naturally, I had to do some finagling to the radiator connection to keep the hose from kinking with the 90° barb, but I think it turned out nice and the separators allowed me to run the send and return around the lower radiator hose without much fuss.



I've got to hand it to the previous owner. By him changing the radiator already it made removing lines a breeze. The fluid that I drained (did the ~30k drain and fill at the same time) looked almost new despite the 240°F+ temps that it had been subjected to numerous times through the hills this summer. This was also the first time that I removed the factory skid plates even though I've done a few oil changes and I'm hoping that the oil wetness that I saw around the pan was from my sloppy filter removals and not something else. The engine hasn't really lost anything on the dipstick, so I have faith that it's most likely just residual mess.

All in all, this was an easier install than I thought it'd be and definitely something everyone should do!