Got it changed over the other day and went on a road trip. I didn't see much difference in my temps. But before anyone freaks out, let me add to that. I had an external bypass installed about 5 inches from the tranny tubes. I put it on there because in the winter the temps can get -25 below zero. I wanted a very small "loop" for the fluid to flow through at those temps to help keep it warm. But today I took it out and now there are no bottlenecks in my system. My temps have dropped and when my electric fans kick on I can watch the temps drop even more and it drops fast!

No more 4454 for me. I'm sold on the B&M, where I have it mounted, and how I have it mounted (higher up and closer to the rad. to help the fans suck air through it).

 

psraff, no before and after temps?

 

Yeah, we need numbers!!

 

Oh ok, if you insist....

With the 4454 (and the bypass) I would see temps ranging from the 165 to high 170s for daily driving. Up in the mountains it hit 230 one time and I about pooed myself.

Now I only drove it one time with the B&M and without the bypass and it was at high 140s to up to 157. It was at 157 when my fans kicked on and it dropped to 135.

Outside temps have been pretty constant in the mid to high 50's.

 

So I finally drove with my setup today. B&M 70273, -6 lines and an inline oil filter. Temp sensor mounted about 8" from the transmission output. Lines are wrapped in DEI heat sheathing where they get close to the exhaust. Brand new Amsoil ATF in a Lexus A340 converted to 4WD.

Outside air temp this evening was about 110° (probably higher). Gauge showed temps of 200º-230°, on both the highway and street, which is quite unsettling. Even though the expected range for trans fluid is typically 70º-100º over ambient air temp, I'm still concerned. Don't even want to think about how hot it would get going uphill, or how hot it was getting with the pathetic TruCool 4454 (or no cooler at all). Truck is heavy, though, with 285s.

Might have to add a fan to the cooler. The cooler is mounted kind of low, but I don't think it's a huge issue.

 

Man, psraff reached 230 with 50 degree weather outside?? I live in Texas, and it's been about 100* for the past two weeks straight. I shudder to think what my temps are like with only a single TruCool. . .

 

I'd rather have a TruCool 4454 with good air flow than a B&M with poor air flow.

 

Yeah, that's a good point. I guess I need to just buckle down and get a scangauge for myself. Mostly stock 4x2 shouldn't be getting nearly as hot as a regeared 4x4 pushing big tires, especially since my cooler is mounted close against the AC compressor and with plenty of airflow.

 

I think you need better airflow through both coolers. I'd get them both, or at least one, mounted as close to the condenser/fan as possible and see if the temps drop from there.

I love those horns though. Hella's ?

 

Ok, when I hit 230, I was driving slow, uphill, in the mountains, loaded down with camping gear. I think that was the only time I ever hit over 200.

 

x2. Get those closer to the condenser. So when the fans come on they suck air through the coolers, not from around them. Also, depending on your bumper, they might be mounted too low. As mine is now the bottom 1/3 is behind my bumper so there isn't direct air flow to that portion. I don't know how much that hurts, but it has to have a negitive effect to some exstent.

(I wish my truck could be that pretty though!!!) Looks very clean.

 

I have a TJM T-15, and the coolers have a ton of airspace around them and get pretty good flow through the winch line hole (which will likely never be blocked). The bottom of the bumper is very open, too. Those stupid horns prevent me from moving it up much further, but my 4454 wasn't in a much higher location, either.

I went driving last night and even on the high way I was seeing 230º at 70 miles per hour when it was about 93° out. Not good.

Good suggestion about moving the cooler up to behind the grille. I might try it, even though I don't have much wiggle room with these lines. Redoing them would be pricey and a pain in the dick. I think just flipping it backwards would get it an inch closer easily, and might help a bit. Probably will add a small fan on it, too. The cooler on the right is for engine oil; it can only do good considering the stock setup is simply oil to water.

I'm ordering a tee fitting so I can add another temp sensor at the terminus of the return cooler line, and make it switchable between the send and return on the same gauge. Really would like to see the difference between the outgoing and cooled fluid.

 

Why has no one tried the Trucool 4544 cooler? I just installed that and it was extremely easy to mount with the supplied brackets. I used the horn bolts and the 2 bolts that hold the ac condenser bottom brackets to the condenser. The cooler sits behind the center support perfectly. Also Trucool has 1.5 inch thick coolers, do people just prefer the b&m? I wish I had a 99 or up so I could use a scangauge to monitor temps.

 

Instead of taking pics of mine, I'll just steal the pics from this thread:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/a...cooler-205767/

See how pendrag mounted his. Mine is very very close to that... Mine is a bit higher even still, but you get the idea. It's turned backwards so the inlet is on the top and pointing to the pass. side of the Runner. I put the square foam pads on each corner and it's up against the condenser. Even with it mounted high, the bottom third is behind the bumper. I've made another piece to mount from the bottom of the bumper to the front of the skid plate. I'm putting it back on and see if that helps temps any (not that I need it though). But the idea is to force the air up through the coolers, and not down under the skid plate. I want to add some tabs to the sides to help direct the air from excaping and force it upwards also.

 

Hey Midget... Is it possible for you to move your pass. horn over next to the driver side one? It would give you room to move your cooler up like we mounted ours. Yeah, redoing the hoses would suck.... But I'm sure it will drop your temps.

 

Quite a few people have used them. Mine just came off last week. Read the whole thread and you will see how people have had temp issues with them when you start wheeling. Highway use may be fine for many people, but I didn't like the temps with it when I was camping in the mountians.

 

I read the thread and saw alot of people using the 4454 model cooler. I used the 4544 cooler. Has anyone tried the 4544. The 4454 has a BTU rating of 13,000 while the 4544 has a BTU rating of 20,000. The B&M everyone seems to be getting is rated at 14,400 BTU. I am curious because it is not easy for me to read temps since I cant use a scangauge so if someone has had a bad experience with mine I may swap it. A tranny cooler is cheap compared to a transmission.

 

Yup, all about air flow. I initially thought my single B&M 70268 (same as 4454) wasn't going to be enough. But after over a month of driving and a couple days in the high 90's, I've never gotten hotter than 190. My temps (read with SGII) generally range from 140-170. I'm pretty happy with that, considering it's summer time and 80-90 degree weather.

My cooler is mounted high, and sandwiched BETWEEN the condenser and the radiator. My fan clutch is fresh, and my fan moves a lot of air.....and I think the cooler is getting a really nice draw being that tight to the radiator.

 

If any of you guys haven't read FOG's thread about mounting location, check it out. He took some measurements with identical systems in identical conditions, and it's very insightful.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/t...covery-215128/

 

OK, so after the suggestions made here and reading that other thread about placement, I took the afternoon to move the cooler to a better location.

Totally fixed my issue. Relived and I feel retarded at the same time. The amount of air that gets pulled over the cooler from the fan is impressive when you get it super close to the condenser. Don't know if I would zip tie it to the condenser; I've never seen that NOT do damage to a radiator. Bad idea, especially with vibration off road. Worth it to make some brackets.

Excuse the wretched pics.



Oil cooler on the right, which is how far the trans cooler was from the condenser to start. Now it's tucked right up against it. Maybe 1/8" gap.



Moved it up 5 inches. Not as pretty as before but it works.





Sits right in the grille, with 2/3s being above the bumper line.



This is why being in the garage in AZ during the summer is absolute hell...

Before, temps would climb as high as 240º, and rest no lower than 210º

Now, temps are at 185º and barely peak at 200º. And this is at 111º ambient air temp, 130º under the hood.