Transmission Cooler Worth It?

T

TRDFerguson

New member
I am going to be towing an open 4x8 trailer with maybe 500 pounds of bedroom furniture in it from Orange County to Chico. This is a little over 500 miles with a steep but breif climb over the grapevine. I haven't towed with this truck (98 3.4 Auto 4WD w/ 241k miles) before and dont know if I ever will again. Is investing in a transmission cooler worth it? I originally thought no because of the relatively low weight and mostly flat terrain, but when I think about that distance I start wondering.

New Denso radiator last May and transmission fluid is new in the last 7-8 thousand miles.

What do you guys think?
 
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Sure why not! You never know even if you have a new radiator it can still fail. was always told a cooler tranny is a happy tranny!
Plus i just like adding things to my truck.:lol:
 
I am new to the community, but from what I have read taking the possibility of a milkshake out of the equation is definitely something I would go for. One less thing to worry about.

+1 for the cooler fluid temps. Especially with the mid to high 80s we've been getting. Not sure when you're planning your trip though. It's neat to see another member from Orange here, I'm over in Mission Viejo.

Good luck with the trip

Matt
 
As long as you keep the OD off and the torque convertor stays locked up it should be fine. In your case if you put a trans cooler in, run it in series through the cooler first and then the radiator. You then can easily switch it to stand alone after your trip. The best case for you is to know what temp your transmission is running but that means also installing a temperature sensor and gauge. Synthetic transmission fluid also makes a big difference if it is going to work hard.
 
I wouldn't bother.
As strunner says as long as the torque converter stays locked up you'll be fine.
That's not much of a load at all.
On flat sections you should even be able to keep O/D on.
 
I added a trans cooler to 2 of my 4runners, not to aide in towing but to prevent the "pink milkshake".
 
Yes. New radiator or not.

Not for the towing, but to protect your transmission from coolant.
 
Hey I went to school in chico and I live in socal! I made that drive probably 20+ times usually with about 2000lbs in tow (waverunners). I would get a trans cooler for piece of mind. I usually ran with OD off or just leave it in 2nd going up the grapevine. Once you get on the flats out near bakersfield I would turn OD on and let it cruise. There are lots of little rolling hills that I would turn OD off before it down shifted on me. I tried to keep it ~60, always got >19mpg because I was going slow. it will take you 8.5+ hours from OC.

Let me know if you have any questions on that drive/good places to stop!
 
TRDFerguson said:
I am going to be towing an open 4x8 trailer with maybe 500 pounds of bedroom furniture in it from Orange County to Chico. This is a little over 500 miles with a steep but breif climb over the grapevine. I haven't towed with this truck (98 3.4 Auto 4WD w/ 241k miles) before and dont know if I ever will again. Is investing in a transmission cooler worth it? I originally thought no because of the relatively low weight and mostly flat terrain, but when I think about that distance I start wondering.

New Denso radiator last May and transmission fluid is new in the last 7-8 thousand miles.

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

For the price of an external cooler you cant afford not to haha seriously recommend one. Easy install and i think i got free shipping on my B&M on Amazon prime.
 
Personally I'd just get a new radiator.

You're 4runner won't have any problem towing that under just about any condition I can think of. A new radiator will ensure no pink milkshake for another 150-200k miles
 
I put mine in just so I'm not always worried about milkshakes
B&m coolers are on jet.com
And right now they have 15 percent off first time orders
The cheapest I found can't go wrong with one
 
If you're running an original radiator you should probably replace it anyway. If you are worried about keeping it cool pulling that trailer you are absolutely fine as the 4runner is completely capable of pulling it easily.

If you add a transmission cooler I would still suggest that you replace the radiator for efficiency sake.....and in case there is any internal corrosion. You can nip that possible problem in the bud.
 
I'd forego the cooler for the purpose of towing this little bit of weight and I would also forego keeping it out of overdrive. For the purpose of avoiding the pink milkshake the aftermarket cooler is a good idea, bypassing the factory cooler altogether.

For perspective, would you pull it out of overdrive with three 175lb friends along for the ride and no trailer in tow?
 
Trans cooler = less likely to get pink milkshake

Pink milkshake happens from overheating transmission

The most common type of transmission failure is from high temps over long periods of time

Monitor transmission temp, and you can avoid it getting to a dangerous temp and pull over to try and prevent it.

Now my question: what is standard operating temps of transmission fluid?

The highest I've got was 230 degrees but it was only for 5-10 minutes

This was up a steep hill for a couple miles.

I suppose the it depends on the temp and how long you're running for....

Does anyone have any experience with a failing transmission and the temp or situation they were pushing their car to?
 
Thanks for the replies, it's not about pink milkshake since I have a new radiator. Simply about overheating the transmission. I was unsure about the long distance playing a factor more than the weight.
 
Dropping trans temps will always help transmission life, I would recommend putting the biggest one you can fit in the space your placing it in. The stacked plate designed coolers are the better choice compared to the s-tube type style. 230 degrees is ok but like I said the cooler the better. You can also plumb in an in line filter on the return line from the cooler. Also your torque converter locks up in overdrive, so turning off of O/D your convert or won't lock up
 
OP, I think you are correct in thinking your real risk is overheating over a long period of time. The only way to know for sure is to put a sensor and gauge in. Then you will know for sure as opposed to what we all are doing now which is guessing. Even the best and most experienced guess is still a guess. Get some real time info while you are driving
 
I recently got a scangaugeII, and one of the main reasons I wanted it was to monitor things like transmission temperature. What I didn't know is that there isn't a sensor in 96-98 (why didn't I just buy a 99+????).

I guess my bottom line is this: apart from reasons like "it's always a good idea to have a transmission cooler" and "you will avoid pink milkshake with a transmission cooler", or "it's stupid not to just considering the price"am I taking a serious risk by making this drive without one? Because my gut feeling is that my truck is in good condition and has a new radiator and very new full synthetic transmission fluid and I'm not even really close to the rated towing limit and therefore I don't see a large risk just looking at the facts. What I need is some knowledge from someone with 4Runner towing experience that can give me some insight.

This may be the only time I tow with this truck. Also, just to be clear, running the OD OFF will help keep the temps down?
 
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