MOVING: Upgrade the Tranny Cooler by friday.

[protomind]

I am moving to another state about 700 miles away and I plan on towing a rented trailer with all of my stuff to my new home. I want to make sure the truck makes it.
I have a 94 limited I just purchased with 86k miles on it. The truck appears to have been extremely well taken care of. I am going to give a full and complete tune up including replacing all of the fluids in the vehicle.

I am very paranoid about the transmission giving out, so I am thinking about installing additional trans cooling, the truck already has the towing package and a small trans cooler in front of the radiator. Instead of adding an additional cooler I was thinking of replacing that one with a larger one from the junk yard. What do you think? Any tips? Is there a known radiator that will bolt right in? Do I need to be concerned with blocking my radiator if the upgraded one is too big? is it worth it?

 

[dirtyXplorer]

IMO, I would start with a trans temperature gauge. A larger cooler is good for towing but you might not even need one.

 

[JDraper]

Don't even think twice about doing it..just do it! I'd recommend this one. Flex-A-Lite Transmission Cooler . I ran one on my '01 Explorer (alongside the factory small cooler) while doing a lot of rock climbing/mudding and never had a problem with it. You're never going to "over cool" the transmission with a setup like that. The Explorer transmission is susceptible to heat damage, and offroading and large tires just add to the problem. Install is pretty easy, just have an extra quart or two of tranny fluid around when you do it.

 

[SVTcobra04]

i can feel my transmission slipping and struggling like hell after going through really thick mud..... def getting a trans cooler with a fan sometime soon....dunno where ill mount it though that it wont get covered with mud....

 

[protomind]

@dirtyXplorer
I will be towing a trailer with my belongings when I move next week, so that is I want to add the cooler. I also would like to add a temp guage as you have mentioned.
Jdraper- i will check that out.

No one thinks I should remove the stock cooler and replace with a larger one?

 

[JDraper]

@dirtyXplorer
...
No one thinks I should remove the stock cooler and replace with a larger one?

You could do that. Either way it's better than how it came from the factory.

 

[ricco750]

I am moving to another state about 700 miles away and I plan on towing a rented trailer with all of my stuff to my new home. I want to make sure the truck makes it.
I have a 94 limited I just purchased with 86k miles on it. The truck appears to have been extremely well taken care of. I am going to give a full and complete tune up including replacing all of the fluids in the vehicle.

I am very paranoid about the transmission giving out, so I am thinking about installing additional trans cooling, the truck already has the towing package and a small trans cooler in front of the radiator. Instead of adding an additional cooler I was thinking of replacing that one with a larger one from the junk yard. What do you think? Any tips? Is there a known radiator that will bolt right in? Do I need to be concerned with blocking my radiator if the upgraded one is too big? is it worth it?

I have the stock cooler for towing, and it has served me well when dragging a U-Haul 12X6 from Atlanta to where I live now...and if you've ever been through Chattanooga, you know there are some serious hills there. My A4LD has 241,000 and works like new. Just be SURE you tow in Drive, NOT OD!

 

[protomind]

My move was totally delayed due to some b*llsh#t. I am going to go ahead and install a second trans cooler as it seems easier then removing and installing a larger one.

I am worried however about changing the fluid since i can not drop and drain it all without a flush which i should not do.

What do you think about changing it like 3 times to get rid of most of the old fluid. I realize that if I do a pan drop and refill I will only actually replace about half of the fluid. i figure that if I do the process a few times then the fluid will be almost all new.

Also can I run mercon V? isnt that the synthetic type? I would prefer sythetic for obvious reasons.