Transmission Cooler with Fan (pics)

toy4rner

toy4rner

New member
Well I finally got my transmission cooler installed. No pink milkshake in my future. I decided to mount a fan. I works really well. Instead of blowing 120 on a similar cooler with a fan i built my own with the following. It was not a difficult install about 3 hours with a transmission flush.

taking off the grill is a pain. See the zip ties below. It will be much easier to take off next time. I managed to salvage 3 clips and used it on the bottom 3 mounts (not as easy to finagle zip- ties down there). I put an LED switch inside to control the fan. Otherwise the install was easy. I though about a filer, but decided against it for the meanwhile.

The first time i flushed my trans, i used castrol dex/merc. After reading the forums I decided to use valvoline max life dex/merc which is synthetic, fairly well priced and if this counts for anything, smells just like the stank OEM toyota ATF.

Cooler: 49 shipped
Amazon.com: B&M 70268 SuperCooler Automatic Transmission Cooler: Automotive

Fan: 24.50 shipped
8 INCH TRANSMISSION COOLER OR AC CONDENSER FAN 8": eBay Motors (item 330367745068 end time Jun-08-10 21:18:52 PDT)

ATF: Amazon.com: Valvoline VV322 MaxLife DEX/MERC Automatic Transmission Fluid - 1…

video:
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gotta love zip ties:
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I have a few other things I need to do first, but have really been thinking about a tranny cooler. My biggest worry was the horrible heat here in the south, also I do a lot of idling and slow driving and was worried it might heat up too much. I love the fan and will probably go that route when $ permits.

Can't wait to here how it does,
Maxil
 
Good stuff man, I just got done with my B&M ATF cooler mounted exactly the same way...and glad I did because I've been in this same traffic for the last two hours...and probably will be for another 2 hahaha
 
thanks for the kind comments. If anyone has any questions, just PM or post. I got lucky with the B&M cooler and the ebay fan because the holes on the fan bracket lined up perfectly with the cooler. (no drilling needed). I put some lock tite on the nutz and backed the fan ones with nylon lock nutz....just a precaution seeing how much fun breaking grill clips are for me.

Compared to this cooler: Hayden Automotive 525 - Hayden Remote Transmission Oil Cooling Systems - Overview - SummitRacing.com

plus the "low resistance" benefit of the B&M, almost 1/2 the price, any the satisfaction of making a working mod.
 
Very nice! I have the same cooler, mounted between the radiator and the A/C condenser. So far it's working good for me. I might have to add another cooler though, depending on what my temps start looking like as summer really hits. Right now I'm only peaking around 180 after 3 hours of driving on the highway and in town. Not bad.

Concerning the grille clips: they are actually very easy and won't break if done right. I did mine wrong the first time and broke 3 of them. And took 15 minutes. After that I found the right way to use them, lol.

The clip stays on the truck, NOT in the grille. Reach inside the clip with a small flat screwdriver, push up, and it comes right off. Super easy...easier than zip ties.
 
Nice installation! I've only ever seen pull-type fans on coolers, though. It's interesting to see a push-type. Too bad the fan motor blocks some of the air to the cooler when it's not actually turning.

I towed my small pop-up camper this weekend about 100 miles in 85 degree heat. I only have the Tru-cool cooler with no fan. At first, it was doing fine, keeping temps below 180. I was only driving 65, mind you. Any slight hills would force the temp up to nearly 200. The max I saw was 197, with a normal sustained average of about 181. Not terrible, but not as good as I'd hoped. Might be time to add that fan!
 
i like the fan idea i though about doing that too since it gets to 120 here in the summer but i just installed a second cooler since i got on for a great deal locally. I bet if you left the fan on while you are stopped it would also help with keeping you ac cold when your not moving. Also is your return line coming from the top of the cooler or the bottom. I was told that you always want to run the feed to the bottom so that it fills the cooler completely to the top and you get the most out of your cooler.
 
Last edited:
Nice pics man.

I've been thinking about adding a fan to my setup too since I'm wondering if the 4454 alone is enough. Maybe I should just get that B&M cooler with the fan already mounted on it from their website and redo the install. Hmmm summer is here and it's gonna get hot!

I wonder how much cooler the ATF stays with the fan vs no fan.
 
Temps and clips

I'll try and post some temps this weekend. Right now in Tampa the days are running highs of low 90's. I built mine with the send hose at the top and return to trans at the bottom after reading some other posts. I too thought that the fluid wouldn't stay in the cooler long enough.... It's just a swap. Let me know any theories out there. The fan is working well I run it most of the time while driving since it's so hot here. I try to test temps with and without the fan to see the difference. Thanks again for the comments
 
toy4rner said:
thanks for the kind comments. If anyone has any questions, just PM or post.
Click to expand...

I will definitely be taking you up on your offer. This has been something I've been wanting to do for the past few weeks. Love the setup and really like the idea of the fan. Please tell me how you have the fan wired(where did you tap into for the power source)? Also is it on a switch or automatically comes on because you possibly have it wired with something else? Do you think there any downside to having a fan when the winter temps hit?

My baby is going to get a lot of TLC(plugs and wires, tundra brake upgrade and trans cooler) really soon.

TIA :thumb3:
 
Wiring

Yeah for and 80$ mod it's not a bad investment. I mounted the switch right below the dimmer switch left of the steering wheel. The switch has 3 prongs. 1 ground, 1 hot and 1 switched. So I ran a 12ga wire from the battery to a 15 amp fuse and then to the switch. One ground to the switch and the last wire to the fan. I grounded the fan and that's it. It can turn on with the runner off. So i know I gotta be mindful so I don't goose the battery. They sell temp controllers that you can wire the fan into to come on at a preset temp or when the a/c kicks on. I decided again doing this because of cost and I really didn't want to complicate the matter. I like the first fan so much....... I may put another one on the left side:driving: it also makes a pretty decent hum when on. I post so pics soon.

Temps are running about 190 with the fan off and 170's with it on in 90 deg.

I do not see any drawbacks from this set up in the winter. Leave the fan off and it just a cool with slightly impeded air flow.
 
wiring pics

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