mike l trans cooler

outcast

New member
Jan 27, 2014
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mo
So I was hauling hay the other day and my truck got hot 230 water and trans temp hot. So I figured it would probably good idea for a better trans cooler. My question is im thinking about buying mikes cooler but hooking it up with the factory cooler still up front too wouldn't that work pretty good goin through all the coolers. In the field pulling the trailer im not even getting out of 1st gear so there isnt getting alot of air flow so I was thinking about putting a fan in front of them to help with air flow what do u think?
 

Vrabel

TOYAHOLIC
May 22, 2008
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why don't you just ask mike if its a good idea?
Anyone can have an opinion, but nothing beats knowledge. ;)
 

hondarider552

Getting faster
May 28, 2008
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Under 30mph, the factory cooler is pretty useless, reason why the trans cooler goes through the radiator as well, the way he cooler is layed out, I doubt you could get a fan in there..
 

Mike L.

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It would be better to use the fan as a puller if you had the room. Fan in front of a cooler will restrict airflow if the fan is turned off. Fans have a short life span if they run all the time.
 

outcast

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Jan 27, 2014
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mo
Ok thanks mike thats what I was thinking and thats the only time ive had a problem so I was thinking maybe putting a fan on it when im just moving hay and pull it off when I dont need it. And what do u think about raising the cooler up a little bit to get better air flow?
 

Mike L.

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Ok thanks mike thats what I was thinking and thats the only time ive had a problem so I was thinking maybe putting a fan on it when im just moving hay and pull it off when I dont need it. And what do u think about raising the cooler up a little bit to get better air flow?

Try mounting it upside down. I don't believe it does any good, but it's cheap to try.
 

Ruffneckred

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May 4, 2014
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I have a push fan mounted in front of the stack, as I sit idling most of the day. Just a switch under the hood that I turn on when it is warm out. I still didn't like the temps I was seeing, so I recently made an air blower out of some 1/4" copper tubing, pinched the end shut and drilled five small holes near the end. Put a bend in it to get it between the radiator and intercooler and blew all sorts of crap out of there. Design does have some flaws, as the "wand" wanted to rotate because of the compression fitting. Real test begins tomorrow when my hitch starts.
 

juddski88

Freedom Diesel
Jul 1, 2008
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I haven't done a side by side comparison to the Setrab cooler, but I can tell you that if you are looking for less restriction and cooler temps for a great price, Mishimoto offers a few options. They are not direct bolt-on options, but they work well. They even offer a dual pass cooler that has worked great for me. If you want to add a fan or two, Summit has a plethora of them.
 

Mike L.

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I haven't done a side by side comparison to the Setrab cooler, but I can tell you that if you are looking for less restriction and cooler temps for a great price, Mishimoto offers a few options. They are not direct bolt-on options, but they work well. They even offer a dual pass cooler that has worked great for me. If you want to add a fan or two, Summit has a plethora of them.

This was very helpful.:rolleyes:
 

mechman3

no such thing as too fast
Jan 7, 2015
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Saratoga Springs, Utah
I am curious if all of these coolers work with the OEM, or do you set them up to bypass the radiator? I would think that bypassing the radiator would be beneficial since the engine is going to maintain about 190F or so. What temp is best best for the tranny?
 

moparkxracer

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2010
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I would think that the radiator has two tasks, heating the fluid up to temp hen keeping it cool to a point. Would be nice to know the ideal temp with a bracket of too cold and too hot as said above.
 

Awenta

Active member
Sep 28, 2014
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CT
Below 30mph there isn't enough airflow for the cooler to be efficient on its own. That's why it goes through the radiator

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

outcast

New member
Jan 27, 2014
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mo
I see a BD Xtruded double stacked cooler with fan on a lot of the online diesel stores and i think that is the route im goin to take. With it having a fan it will help out with my low speeds that im having problems with.
 

juddski88

Freedom Diesel
Jul 1, 2008
4,655
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Chesterfield, Mass.
My personal opinion is that if your trans is running so hot, even after a better Aux cooler and fans, synthetic fluid, new filters, etc, there is an operational issue. You shouldn't need to consider deleting the heat exchange circuit in the radiator to fix an overtemp issue with the Allison.
 

Mike L.

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Aug 12, 2006
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My personal opinion is that if your trans is running so hot, even after a better Aux cooler and fans, synthetic fluid, new filters, etc, there is an operational issue. You shouldn't need to consider deleting the heat exchange circuit in the radiator to fix an overtemp issue with the Allison.

Ford eliminated the heat exchanger circuit in '99 on the diesels and they paid dearly for it. They all overheated .
Back in 1984 I installed coolers on 5 brand new hotel buses and bypassed the radiator. Within 3 weeks the fluid turned brown. These buses were airport shuttles and never went faster than 35 MPH. The heat exchanger in the radiator cooler much better alone than the air to oil cooler.
I then re-routed the lines back to the radiator and back through the air cooler and solved the problem. Lesson learned.
I have since fixed many overheating problems that had the exchanger bypassed by re routing the lines back through.
 

malibu795

misspeelleerr
Apr 28, 2007
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Clean cooling stack, replace fan clutch(Hayden 2886). Sheild tranny lines from exhaust down pipe. Upgrade tranny lines from bent steel to hoses, like fleece performance versions
Will make bign difference in temps.
Even at full weight 36,000lb in stop n go under 30mph both engine and tranny coolant stay under 200°
All that stuff I listed is cheaper than the mike l cooler that has been mentioned....
Not saying mike l cooler is bad at all. Just saying there is stuff that can be done before that will improve current stuff