Which Trans Cooler for AZ Heat??

VanPattyCakes

VanPattyCakes

New member
Hey Guys. I know the external trans cooler topic has been beat to death but I haven't been able to find a solid answer to my question. I Plan on bypassing the internal trans cooler. That being said which external trans cooler do you suggest for my climate. Its' not uncommon to hit 110 degrees plus in the summer. Winters are pretty mild and temps rarely go below 40. I do like to camp/snowboard/mountain bike in some northern (and thus colder) areas in AZ. Also, I'm never towing. Thanks in advance for y'alls insight.
 
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Have you had any issues with your trans temps getting too high? I've lived in AZ 14 years and not had any issues with any of my Toyotas. My 06 4Runner has a factory trans cooler and it seems to keep everything nice and cool.

Maybe give Will and Kyle at Sierra Expeditions in Tempe a call, they are Toyota specialists and he will give you a straight up honest answer even if its a product they don't carry. They are my go-to guys when I have questions or need advise:

480 968-9689

On another note - its time to go snowboarding! I'm thinking I'll be heading up the hill either Friday or Saturday
 
Well, I'm going to go ahead and replace the radiator as I've got 225,000 miles on the Runner and I believe the rad is original. While doing so I figured I'd grab an external trans cooler and bypass the factory internal cooler in order to avoid the ol' strawberry malt o' death. But to answer your question no, I've never had a problem with trans temps.

Yes, it certainly is time to ride. Seemed as though the season was winding down until They got hit this last weekend in Flag. Probably going to have to cruise up the hill at least once more before the seasons over.
 
i talked to my lc buddies and basically the problem is not that the transmission is not getting cooled enough, the problem is the radiator should be replaced after 200k miles. the external trans coolers are not big enough on their own to sufficiently cool the transmission. on an lc it has an auxiliary cooler, but it still runs through the radiator to regulate the temperature. the bottom line is the radiator should just be replaced, the bypass is not the right solution, unless you have a way to properly regulate the fluid, which gets more expensive and ultimately gives you less cooling ability than how its set up from the factory. if your trans is overheating, adding an external radiator before it goes into the radiator for the engine is the best option, since the engine radiator will regulate the fluid temperature.
 
D Farms said:
i talked to my lc buddies and basically the problem is not that the transmission is not getting cooled enough, the problem is the radiator should be replaced after 200k miles. the external trans coolers are not big enough on their own to sufficiently cool the transmission. on an lc it has an auxiliary cooler, but it still runs through the radiator to regulate the temperature. the bottom line is the radiator should just be replaced, the bypass is not the right solution, unless you have a way to properly regulate the fluid, which gets more expensive and ultimately gives you less cooling ability than how its set up from the factory. if your trans is overheating, adding an external radiator before it goes into the radiator for the engine is the best option, since the engine radiator will regulate the fluid temperature.
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Yeah, I'm definitely replacing the radiator. But I planned on bypassing and not using the internal trans cooler in the new radiator for peace of mind really (pink milkshake) and using just an external trans cooler. So your opinion is to replace radiator and just use the internal trans cooler inside the radiator?
 
I've got the b&m 70264 bypassing the radiator and it has worked fine for the last 3 years. Same weather conditions here.
 
you know, i was thinking about the stock trans cooler from an lc which has no bypass. most of the aftermarket ones have a bypass built in, so you wouldnt have to add anything. i dont think its nessesary to use an external radiator if you have replaced the engine radiator. if you do though make sure you get a big one, my friend got one that was small and his trans temps were in the 210s while we were wheeling.
 
^^^ Good thinking.

I know for sure the B&M's have a temperature bypass, so you don't have to worry about your tranny being too cold. I forget what temp it kicks in at.

However I can't monitor my temps here in the hear with my OBDII reader, and I haven't installed a temp gauge, but I haven't fried my transmission yet either.
 
JBurt said:
^^^ Good thinking.

I know for sure the B&M's have a temperature bypass, so you don't have to worry about your tranny being too cold. I forget what temp it kicks in at.

However I can't monitor my temps here in the hear with my OBDII reader, and I haven't installed a temp gauge, but I haven't fried my transmission yet either.
Click to expand...

Do you use Torque, by chance?
If so, I have a custom PID that lets you read transmission temps!
 
D Farms said:
you know, i was thinking about the stock trans cooler from an lc which has no bypass. most of the aftermarket ones have a bypass built in, so you wouldnt have to add anything. i dont think its nessesary to use an external radiator if you have replaced the engine radiator. if you do though make sure you get a big one, my friend got one that was small and his trans temps were in the 210s while we were wheeling.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think it's necessary to bypass the trans cooler on a new radiator either per se. But If a larger B&M has a built in bypass and will adequately cool, I'd rather go that route and avoid any internal failures altogether.
 
JBurt said:
^^^ Good thinking.

I know for sure the B&M's have a temperature bypass, so you don't have to worry about your tranny being too cold. I forget what temp it kicks in at.

However I can't monitor my temps here in the hear with my OBDII reader, and I haven't installed a temp gauge, but I haven't fried my transmission yet either.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight JBurt. If your B&M is holding up fine out there in Imperial, I'm confident I'd have the same results. I May go with the 70264 just for peace of mind.
 
I originally went with the 70266, as B&M recommends the supercooler size if you're going to bypass the radiator cooler. I was not impressed with the design of the B&M using NPT fittings, it actually leaked the second I started it up. After doing a little research, I found out that B&M coolers are made by Long/Tru-cool, and they have the same size cooler (4589) with welded fittings and a bypass feature, both of which the B&M did not feature, and for a few bucks less on amazon as well. I pulled the B&M and have been running the Tru-cool 4589 ever since with no issues. I went with the larger size(s) based on recommendations and the fact that I'd rather have overkill than a fried trans.
P.S. Tru-cool has lifetime warranty, B&M offers a one year warranty.
 
Last edited:
BlazeRunner said:
I originally went with the 70266, as B&M recommends the supercooler size if you're going to bypass the radiator cooler. I was not impressed with the design of the B&M using NPT fittings, it actually leaked the second I started it up. After doing a little research, I found out that B&M coolers are made by Long/Tru-cool, and they have the same size cooler (4589) with welded fittings and a bypass feature, both of which the B&M did not feature, and for a few bucks less on amazon as well. I pulled the B&M and have been running the Tru-cool 4589 ever since with no issues. I went with the larger size(s) based on recommendations and the fact that I'd rather have overkill than a fried trans.
Click to expand...

Hmm thanks for the input BlazeRunner. I've already placed the order for the 70264. Per B&M's website this cooler does have a bypass. I'll check it out when it arrives and if I encounter any leaks I'll just send her back for the Tru-Cool. Ordered through Amazon so return or exchange is a breeze. I see you're in AZ as well. You've been fine with bypassing the factory trans cooler and relying solely on the external cooler?
 
VanPattyCakes said:
Hmm thanks for the input BlazeRunner. I've already placed the order for the 70264. Per B&M's website this cooler does have a bypass. I'll check it out when it arrives and if I encounter any leaks I'll just send her back for the Tru-Cool. Ordered through Amazon so return or exchange is a breeze. I see you're in AZ as well. You've been fine with bypassing the factory trans cooler and relying solely on the external cooler?
Click to expand...

The only reason the B&M I ordered did not have the bypass was because of the super cooler size. Also, the super cooler size has the threaded fittings, which was the cause of my leak. The Tru-cool keeps the welded barbs and temperature bypass like the smaller B&M units. I have been fine running the cooler bypassing the radiator, even when crawling/wheeling out in the heat, even though I have no way to currently monitor transmission temps. I'm probably going to tap a sensor to the tranny pan eventually.
 
Wow. I would have gone with that had I known about it at the time. If it's got a bypass, the bigger the better. I would just return the one from amazon (or cancel if it hasn't shipped yet) and go with the 4589. Cheap insurance. Transmissions are expensive (although I haven't had problems with my B&M yet either).


BlazeRunner said:
I originally went with the 70266, as B&M recommends the supercooler size if you're going to bypass the radiator cooler. I was not impressed with the design of the B&M using NPT fittings, it actually leaked the second I started it up. After doing a little research, I found out that B&M coolers are made by Long/Tru-cool, and they have the same size cooler (4589) with welded fittings and a bypass feature, both of which the B&M did not feature, and for a few bucks less on amazon as well. I pulled the B&M and have been running the Tru-cool 4589 ever since with no issues. I went with the larger size(s) based on recommendations and the fact that I'd rather have overkill than a fried trans.
P.S. Tru-cool has lifetime warranty, B&M offers a one year warranty.
Click to expand...
 
JBurt said:
Wow. I would have gone with that had I known about it at the time. If it's got a bypass, the bigger the better. I would just return the one from amazon (or cancel if it hasn't shipped yet) and go with the 4589. Cheap insurance. Transmissions are expensive (although I haven't had problems with my B&M yet either).
Click to expand...

Alright, cancelled the B&M and just going to go with the TruCool. Pretty much the same price as the B&M and you're right, bigger the better. The lifetime warranty certainly doesn't hurt either.
 
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