Bed mounted trans coolers

Bbuchanan11

Active member
Sep 9, 2011
318
177
43
Sarver, PA
I have the trans out of my truck and I know metal went through the coolers.. my question is if I would put 2 derale coolers with fans in the bed would I be able to street drive the truck and race it if I got rid of the factory exchanger in the rad and cooler?
 

Bdsankey

Vendor
Vendor/Sponsor
Feb 1, 2018
4,179
1,289
113
Larsen, Wisconsin
If you size the coolers properly there would be no reason you couldn't BUT keep in mind the box gets almost zero airflow whereas the front mounted trans cooler does a crazy amount of cooling at speed.
 

Bbuchanan11

Active member
Sep 9, 2011
318
177
43
Sarver, PA
I know a guy that has a transmission shop near me that has a hot flush machine guess I’ll just have to flat bed the truck to him.. I have a custom made intercooler that’s 4.5 inches thick and things are very tight between it the radiator and the trans cooler I was thinking maybe I could clean things up by putting the coolers in the bed but I guess I’ll just get the rad cleaned out and buy a new cooler.
 

2004LB7

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2010
7,001
2,155
113
Norcal
I say give it a try. not many have done it. save your parts and don't permanently alternate anything that can't be put back to normal. if it works out then you will have a great system. if not then none of us lost any time or money, only you 😛
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bdsankey

Bdsankey

Vendor
Vendor/Sponsor
Feb 1, 2018
4,179
1,289
113
Larsen, Wisconsin
I know a guy that has a transmission shop near me that has a hot flush machine guess I’ll just have to flat bed the truck to him.. I have a custom made intercooler that’s 4.5 inches thick and things are very tight between it the radiator and the trans cooler I was thinking maybe I could clean things up by putting the coolers in the bed but I guess I’ll just get the rad cleaned out and buy a new cooler.

I say give it a try. not many have done it. save your parts and don't permanently alternate anything that can't be put back to normal. if it works out then you will have a great system. if not then none of us lost any time or money, only you 😛
You certainly can give it a shot, personally Fluidyne would be my source for a cooler/fan setup as they do a very good job with their stuff. I am going to be mounting my 4L80e trans cooler in the bed but I also don't have a box floor to create a vacuum effect. I also plan to add some ducting to help move air if need be but this also is a full blown race truck that will see the street just for race week.
 

Chevy1925

don't know sh!t about IFS
Staff member
Oct 21, 2009
21,690
5,847
113
Phoenix Az
id run it with just the radiator heat exchanger first and add an external cooler later if needed. keep coolant temps down and trans will stay cooler but keep an eye on them.