Do I already have a transmission cooler?

I'm the second owner of my Explorer. I believe the first owner of the truck used it to tow a pretty big boat. The truck has the V8 and the larger beefier tow hitch.

I was talking on another forum that I post on about me starting to use my truck to tow a trailer. I was told that along with good brakes and the right type of hitch, that I should also have a transmission cooler..

I think it may be possible that my explorer may already have one, because the previous owner used it to tow a trailer as well..

My question is, how can I tell? What can I look for to know for sure?

you probably have one. If you want to make sure, stand in front of your x, then look under the car and right behind the bumper You should see a rectangular box that looks like a small radiator with two hoses connected to it.

I HAVE ONE! wow, that's really cool because now I don't have to worry about having that done now..

Is this something that comes stock on my model explorer?

The heavy duty tranny coolers are standard if you have the towing package, which you've stated you do. Interestingly though, they're sandwiched between the A/C condenser and the radiator. If you pull the plastic cover off the top of the radiator and condensor (the piece with your emission stickers, etc. on it) you can see it down in there. Every now and then, I'll remove that top piece and flush out all the debris from the condenser and radiator. We get lakeflies here pretty badly, and they plug up all sorts of stuff. Sometimes they'll get so thick on the power transformers that they'll cause a power outage!

EXPLORER04 said:

you probably have one. If you want to make sure, stand in front of your x, then look under the car and right behind the bumper You should see a rectangular box that looks like a small radiator with two hoses connected to it.

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That one mounted on the lower crossmember isn't the tranny cooler...It's the power steering fluid cooler. You can't see the tranny cooler unless you remove that top shroud piece that I mentioned. This is the first vehicle I've ever owned that didn't have the tranny cooler exposed to the coolest air stream...Instead it's getting somewhat warm air coming thru the A/C condenser. Kind of stupid if you ask me.

E.B. Cornburner said:

The heavy duty tranny coolers are standard if you have the towing package, which you've stated you do. Interestingly though, they're sandwiched between the A/C condenser and the radiator. If you pull the plastic cover off the top of the radiator and condensor (the piece with your emission stickers, etc. on it) you can see it down in there. Every now and then, I'll remove that top piece and flush out all the debris from the condenser and radiator. We get lakeflies here pretty badly, and they plug up all sorts of stuff. Sometimes they'll get so thick on the power transformers that they'll cause a power outage!

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Mine isn't sandwiched between anything... It's like underneath the car in the front,... There's a little plastic flap, pull it back and you can see it bolted on.. Looks like a mini radiator with to two hoses coming off of it..

So is the transmission different for trucks with the tow package, or is the standard tranny just with the cooler?

Hmmm...
I know on mine I have the Class III tow group (large reciever hitch) and my tranny cooler is where I described, between the radiator and condenser. Not visible from the outside or underneath. Once when I was looking for it I actually had to trace the lines from the tranny up to the front, and they kind of disappeared, but I saw where they were going, and discovered the cooler when I pulled the top plastic shroud off.
All factory stuff too. On my crossmember there's a little finned cooler that's the P/S cooler. I'd doubt that they'd change anything between the 6 and 8 cylinder engines.

Oddly too, according to the '04 sales brochure, I'm supposed to have an engine oil cooler that I've never found.

E.B. Cornburner said:

Hmmm...
I know on mine I have the Class III tow group (large reciever hitch) and my tranny cooler is where I described, between the radiator and condenser. Not visible from the outside or underneath. Once when I was looking for it I actually had to trace the lines from the tranny up to the front, and they kind of disappeared, but I saw where they were going, and discovered the cooler when I pulled the top plastic shroud off.
All factory stuff too. On my crossmember there's a little finned cooler that's the P/S cooler. I'd doubt that they'd change anything between the 6 and 8 cylinder engines.

Oddly too, according to the '04 sales brochure, I'm supposed to have an engine oil cooler that I've never found.

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sorry, I misunderstood the post.. You're probably right about that not being the tranny cooler.. I'll look under the plastic to see if my cooler is there..

E.B. Cornburner said:

That one mounted on the lower crossmember isn't the tranny cooler...It's the power steering fluid cooler. You can't see the tranny cooler unless you remove that top shroud piece that I mentioned. This is the first vehicle I've ever owned that didn't have the tranny cooler exposed to the coolest air stream...Instead it's getting somewhat warm air coming thru the A/C condenser. Kind of stupid if you ask me.

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the lines go back to the transmission

EXPLORER04 said:

the lines go back to the transmission

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Ok, now things are getting wierd...

You're saying your tranny cooler is right out in the open? Do you have a power steering cooler located where I described? Where in relation to the P/S cooler (if equipped) is the tranny cooler located?

Edit: Wierder yet is my Mitchell collision book shows an auxillary electric cooling fan sandwiched between the condenser and radiator, yet I've never known any Gen III to have something like this. It shows it for both engines. It also shows the engine oil cooler that I'm supposed to have, but do not. It's integrated into the oil filter adaptor and has a couple coolant lines going to/from it. Nothing like that on mine!

E.B. Cornburner said:

Hmmm...
I know on mine I have the Class III tow group (large reciever hitch) and my tranny cooler is where I described, between the radiator and condenser. Not visible from the outside or underneath. Once when I was looking for it I actually had to trace the lines from the tranny up to the front, and they kind of disappeared, but I saw where they were going, and discovered the cooler when I pulled the top plastic shroud off.
All factory stuff too. On my crossmember there's a little finned cooler that's the P/S cooler. I'd doubt that they'd change anything between the 6 and 8 cylinder engines.

Oddly too, according to the '04 sales brochure, I'm supposed to have an engine oil cooler that I've never found.

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I have the Class II and have the tranny cooler in the exact same area that you do. I am assuming that it is the same size that are on all of the other X's.

helmsa said:

I have the Class II and have the tranny cooler in the exact same area that you do. I am assuming that it is the same size that are on all of the other X's.

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Class II and a trans cooler?? Now i gotta check my mounty because I'm hoping i have one.

And E.B., is it possible the trans cooler location is different between the V6 and the V8. Also, the 4.0L comes with an electric fan while the 4.6L doesnt; stupid if you ask me.

Mine has no electric fan to speak of.

E.B. Cornburner said:

Mine has no electric fan to speak of.

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Do you think that we would have clearance inside there for installation of an electric fan? Or for installation of a slightly larger cooler & electric fan combo? Just a thought because we keep hearing about people here who are cooking their trannies, what little bits can we do to improve what we have.

I don't know if it makes a difference or not in the discussion of who has a cooler and who doesn't, but my Class II w/ cooler is on an '04 XLT 4.0L. I also did some research on FAST PARTS NETWORK yesterday, and it appears that both the 4.0L and the 4.6L use the same cooler (no mention of electric fan replacement). Also, it does list the oil cooler there, but don't remember details...look under "cooling".

My 4.0L '02 XLT with Class II and tow package had trans cooler between radiator and condensor. I was able to replace hitch with Class III and replace the 4 pin flat with 7 pin Ford harness, and then install trailer break controller. All the relays for trailer breaks, battery, etc. were already there. I don't have the engine oil cooler. I've been using a ScanGauge for a few months and everything is 'relatively' cool. I set it up to monitor trans temp. I have been towing stuff since about 14000 miles and now have 132000 with no towing or tranny problems (yet).

Oh ya, when I tow I take it easy and probably the most weight has been about 3 to 3500 Lbs, but mostly in the 2 to 2500 Lbs range.

The only thing I've found burnt is my power steering fluid. But, the pump leaked since before 14000 miles and I finally replaced it this spring. Currently fluid is still nice and red.

After towing a boat ~30 miles earlier this month, I started having an issue where the transmission was hunting gears, but only if I tried to maintain speed without any load, such as in cruise control. My 2002 4.0L XLT has 112,000 miles and hadn't had a tranny service yet. I did a pan drop, drain & fill. The fluid was brown but 6 new quarts of Mercon V seems to have fixed the problem.

A friend is taking it on a road trip later this week and we he returns I plan to install a cooler/external filter/temp gauge. I haven't seen anyone mention doing an aftermarket pan upgrade, such as the one at Summit Racing (Performance Automatic PA27455KT), which would add a gallon of fluid plus a dipstick. I guess at $400 this probably isn't feasible for the daily commuter vehicle, although I would probably do it just to have the dipstick if nothing else.

EDIT: The PA27455KT doesn't work with our vehicle. From the manufacturer: "...the exhaust crossover pipe is very close to the OEM pan and will not clear the deep pan."

My '04 Ex came with the Class II and a trans cooler between radiator and condensor. I too replaced hitch with Class III and replace the 4 pin flat with 7 pin Ford harness, good to know that i can install trailer break controller too.
Mine is a March build in St Louis, there where two factories making these there might be (just guessing) slight variations and running changes during the model year. My '04 EB dosn't have an engine cover, yet I tought early model trucks in the year did.

When they changed over to the throttle-by-wire system in '04, they also changed the design of the intake plenum a little, and there's no engine cover to speak of. Previously, I'd seen a cover of some sort that covered part of the plenum and the throttle cables/linkage at the throttle body.

My 2003 V8 XLT did not have the factory tow package installed. I have since:
swapped the 3.55 for 3.90 gears
swapped the class2 bumper hitch for a class3 bumper hitch (which also changed the 4 pin to a 7 pin wiring plug on the bumper)

I too have been interested in the Aux Trans cooler issue. I have traced the transmission lines into one of the two large "radiators" in the front of the vehicle. According to Haynes, the front "radiator" is the AC condenser, the "trans-axle cooler" (what a name) is sandwiched between the condenser and the engine coolant radiator, and the other large unit is the radiator (closer to the engine). There is no discussion of "auxiliary transmission coolers" in the Haynes manual. In one of the posts in this website, there is a file posted that shows the max towing weights for "properly equipped" ford vehicles. This page also lists the factory upgrades when a vehicle was equipped with the factory towing package.

I will have to post when I get home. The file shows that explorers with the V8 engine did not have an auxiliary trans cooler installed, but V6 models had one installed. I have called the FORD dealer and received differing answers to the aux trans cooler discussion. That means to me, they have no idea.

Would it be prudent to have one installed if you are towing a large load often?

Yes.

Hope this helps and I will post what I find when I get home.

===EDIT===
here is the link for 2003 ford vehicles.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/rv_trailer_towing/2003/2003_default.asp

Load this into your web browser's URL bar. then select section 17 "Maximum Trailer Weights & Trailer Towing Packages". There is a lot of good information here.

Well, I bought my 2002 Explorer New in 2002 4X4 4.6 V8 Eddie Bauer. I didnt get the Trailer tow package(yeah yeah big mistake) so I was recently researching on what I need to do to upgrade it. Last year I replaced the Class II Hitch with a Class III I found at a junkyard. I thought the non-trailer package did not have a transmission cooler, but after I looked underneath it and took off the plastic cover that was on top of the radiator, and much to my surprise it has the transmission cooler installed. So is the tranny cooler on both the Trailer package and the non-trailer package trucks??