transmission cooler setup

[evowned]

Hi guys, Ive spent the last several hours researching the "strawberry milkshake issue". naturally it scarred me, so i immediately ordered a 4454 and external bypass valve. now that i keep reading though, i realize i may have ordered the worse choice. heres where my questions come in..

I live in two different cities throughout the year. summers see 100*+F, and winters see 0*F or below. my main concern is the summer heat, as stop and go traffic is an everyday occurance.

im starting to think the 4454 might be too small (thickness) to handle the heat. should i have gone with the b&m 70264 instead?

due to restriction of the external viscosity bypass, i do not plan on running it (ordered it, so i guess im returning it), nor do i plan on running a separate fan for the trans cooler.

Did i jump the gun and waste my time/money on this one? i need to do this mod asap because temps are already 100*F down here, and I dont want to take any risks. Also, if its overkill, thats fine with me, but I do NOT plan on running a gauge to monitor it. im just looking for something that works. (i do enough gauge watching on my weekend car, i dont want to have to do it on my daily too)



any pointers would be great, thanks. i have the 4454 and ext. bypass coming, but if its not going to be sufficient, maybe i should just return it and buy the b&m.

 

[quicksilvr]

Hi guys, Ive spent the last several hours researching the "strawberry milkshake issue". naturally it scarred me, so i immediately ordered a 4454 and external bypass valve. now that i keep reading though, i realize i may have ordered the worse choice. heres where my questions come in..

I live in two different cities throughout the year. summers see 100*+F, and winters see 0*F or below. my main concern is the summer heat, as stop and go traffic is an everyday occurance.

im starting to think the 4454 might be too small (thickness) to handle the heat. should i have gone with the b&m 70264 instead?

due to restriction of the external viscosity bypass, i do not plan on running it (ordered it, so i guess im returning it), nor do i plan on running a separate fan for the trans cooler.

Did i jump the gun and waste my time/money on this one? i need to do this mod asap because temps are already 100*F down here, and I dont want to take any risks. Also, if its overkill, thats fine with me, but I do NOT plan on running a gauge to monitor it. im just looking for something that works. (i do enough gauge watching on my weekend car, i dont want to have to do it on my daily too)



any pointers would be great, thanks. i have the 4454 and ext. bypass coming, but if its not going to be sufficient, maybe i should just return it and buy the b&m.

If you have summer heat close to 100, and stop and go traffic, you'll be touching 200 degree ATF temps all the time with the 4454. I'd have gone with the 70264. My 70268 (similiar to 4454) is already overworked, and it's only 90 degrees here. Today I saw 205 ATF temp 3 times during 50 minutes of around town driving. The highest was when I was climbing a long hill from a stop, going about 40mph.


I'd return the 4454 and get the 70264. Especially if you're not going to monitor the temps with a gauge.

 

[evowned]

thank you very much for the quick response. I was so worried about having the cooler here when i got the truck, i ordered without doing enough research.

oh well, eat shipping cost again and learn my lesson i guess.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

dang ive been kickin around the idea to get one too and was set on the 70268 i havn't ordered yet but looks like i gotta do some research first

 

[Carolinafan]

I ordered a 70268 and it came in yesterday and now I'm thinking I should have gotten 70264. Seeing as it is already 98*-100* on almost a daily basis, I hope the one I got works for me. On the other hand PalmettoRunner has the 70268 also so hopefully I will be okay.

 

[GottaBeTRD]

hmmm. gosh i wonder what the tranny temp is without the cooler? the 70268 seems like a decent price too. decisions decisons.

 

[trailmix]

Just go with the 70264. Its the same size as the 268 but twice as thick and i think it probably cost about the same. Why would you want to buy a lower gvw cooler when you can get a bigger one that fits in the same area and cost almost the same.

 

[evowned]

Just go with the 70264. Its the same size as the 268 but twice as thick and i think it probably cost about the same. Why would you want to buy a lower gvw cooler when you can get a bigger one that fits in the same area and cost almost the same.

agreed. im going to send the smaller one back. unfortunately a 70 dollar cooler will end up 100 because of shipping the old one twice lol oh well rather do it right once than have to re-do it or fix it later

 

[UARandy3]

I just did mine a couple weeks ago. I was originally set on getting the B&M 70268, but after reading every thread on here and yotatech, I became unsure and debated getting the 70264. Quicksilvr and BigFishAllDay had excellent input in many of the threads, so I PM'd them and ultimately made the decision to go ahead and get the 70264 for just a couple extra bucks for extra peace of mind.
Here's a couple recommendations they made to me (hopefully they don't mind me quoting their excellent recommendations based on experience):

BigFishAllDay: Let me put it this way, if I had to do it all over again, I'd probably have just gone with the 70264. The only major difference in terms of size is the thickness of the coolers.... the 70264 is 1.5", and the 70268 is .75". Also, the 70264 is about 1.5" narrower, so it will fit in the same place as the 70268. It'll give you that extra peice of mind and it doesn't cost that much more than the 70268.

I haven't taken tranny temps on my '97, which is the truck in the write-up, but I have a tranny temp gauge and a scanguage in my '01 and it's running a TRD cooler, which is very similar to the 70268. I took the '01 off-roading and after a series of steep hill climbs my temps were hitting 210 w/the TRD cooler. It's supercharged and on 285's, so that probably contributed to the heat, but I'd feel more comfortable with a bigger cooler in there.

quicksilvr: I can wholeheartedly recommend the thicker 70264, mounted flush to the condenser using the zip ties that come with the cooler. My 70268 easily lets my transmission get over 200 degrees during extended normal driving around town. Which is way too hot in my opinion. Cool and clean. That's how transmission fluid should be. The 70264 will still be fine in the cold temps, B&M's bypass design works well. I see -20 degrees in the winter around here.

Thanks to those guys and others' experience, the 70264 is now installed on my runner, which I keep busy turning 285s in 100+ degree weather...but now much more confident that I no longer have to worry about the dreaded pink milkshake.

 

[evowned]

hearing your cold weather experiences make me feel like i made the right choice, since where i live in the winter can see temps below zero as well.

on another note, owner said that 140k miles on the 4runner and its running conventional tranny fluid. should i switch it over to synthetic? or just pick up a quart of conventional to replace some of the lost fluid when hooking up the trans cooler? i realize synthetic v. convention is a debate as old as the sun for motors (probably be putting synthetic in the runner on next change), but what about tranny? who has had what luck with what fluid? i can get amsoil at a good price, and im happily running that in my other car.

 

[frayed]

Figures, I just received the 70268 in the mail. We're into the 90's already and will definately have days sitting at the 100-105 mark during the summer. Worried now about pulling my trailer (old steel boat trailer converted to carry a motorcycle) and 400 lbs. bike on those hot days to and from the track.

 

[A.Wilson013]

Figures, I just received the 70268 in the mail. We're into the 90's already and will definately have days sitting at the 100-105 mark during the summer. Worried now about pulling my trailer (old steel boat trailer converted to carry a motorcycle) and 400 lbs. bike on those hot days to and from the track.

I will be honest, I have had the 70268 for about 2 weeks now and am not very impressed by the temps I am getting. Cruise control held at 60mph on the highway I am fine, about 108 degrees, but as soon as I feel like having some fun and driving "spirited" I get up into the 130-150 range.

My mods are listed in my sig, and I am sure they have something to do with it.

 

[NTORACN]

I will be honest, I have had the 70268 for about 2 weeks now and am not very impressed by the temps I am getting. Cruise control held at 60mph on the highway I am fine, about 108 degrees, but as soon as I feel like having some fun and driving "spirited" I get up into the 130-150 range.

My mods are listed in my sig, and I am sure they have something to do with it.

Your tranny cooler temps are just right. To cold tranny temps don't allow the fluid to get warm enough to boil off any condensed water in the fluid. Max temps in the 200 to 220 degree range per drive cycle is just fine.

 

[Tomsriv]

I'm thinking of doing this too. I have 225,000 miles on my runner so its due for some kind of failure at any time.
I'm curious how you guys are mounting your coolers. Did you build brackets our find a good spot to mount it away from the radiator? Using the zips to attach a trans cooler to the radiator fins will cause premature wear on the radiator by adding weight and stress to the fins, which were not designed to hold weight. Anyone figure out a better way to mount the cooler?

 

[BADGATE]

im starting to think the 4454 might be too small (thickness) to handle the heat. should i have gone with the b&m 70264 instead?

You could also just keep the smaller cooler & replace the radiator. A replacement is not much, like $125. Use the new smaller cooler & keep the cooler in line with the one that is integral to the radiator. You know you'll be good for another 100k + miles Also takes care of any concerns with starting/running in extreme cold temps.

 

[City_Rider]

I just installed the 70268 last weekend - being up in Canada I don't think overheating will be an issue, even in the summer.

Thankfully I don't have to deal with the 90+ degree heat for weeks on end! I don't think the 4Runner or I would enjoy that very much...

 

[evowned]

You could also just keep the smaller cooler & replace the radiator. A replacement is not much, like $125. Use the new smaller cooler & keep the cooler in line with the one that is integral to the radiator. You know you'll be good for another 100k + miles Also takes care of any concerns with starting/running in extreme cold temps.

not a bad idea. I already bought the larger cooler though (main concern is heat above 100*F here plus humidity above 80% which leads to heat soak) ive dealt with heat soak on my other car many times since its turbo'd, and the only way to get rid of heat soak is let the car cool down internally.

BUT in respect to your idea, I could still do that next time i do a coolant flush (install a new radiator and re-route the lines). ill give it some thought. wheres the best place to get a radiator for the runners? stealerships are notoriously expensive.

 

[quicksilvr]

not a bad idea. I already bought the larger cooler though (main concern is heat above 100*F here plus humidity above 80% which leads to heat soak) ive dealt with heat soak on my other car many times since its turbo'd, and the only way to get rid of heat soak is let the car cool down internally.

BUT in respect to your idea, I could still do that next time i do a coolant flush (install a new radiator and re-route the lines). ill give it some thought. wheres the best place to get a radiator for the runners? stealerships are notoriously expensive.

Google Koyo A1998. I think car-part.com has good prices. Thats the radiator to go with...should cost about $130.

 

[evowned]

Google Koyo A1998. I think car-part.com has good prices. Thats the radiator to go with...should cost about $130.

awesome, thank you very much! so whats your thought on synthetic tranny fluid or conventional?

 

[quicksilvr]

awesome, thank you very much! so whats your thought on synthetic tranny fluid or conventional?

I use Valvoline MaxLife and love it. It's a semi-synthetic? fluid....hard to figure out....Valvoline says they use some synthetic base stock...but they don't market it as full synthetic. Either way, it's great stuff. The Castrol DEX IV is also a good full synthetic. MaxLife can be bought for only $17/4 quarts at Walmart though...hard to beat the price for the quality.