mike l trans cooler

Slowmax

Build what others' won't
Aug 3, 2013
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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.

After piecing together my own setup just now online. I would steer clear of that BD product, for the fact they want that much and the fan barley moves any CFM. Or if you are looking for ease of install it looks to all be there, anyone have experience with BD customer service?
 

CaptPhil

Active member
Sep 10, 2011
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think im going to mount a trans cooler in the bed of the truck with a fan and not run it threw the radiator might be a bitch come winter time but I know it'll run cooler in the summer
It will not run cooler. During the winter it will, but not in the summer. I have two setrabs each with fans in the bed. I lost a fan last week and with one fan it will not keep fluid under 200°. It doesn't go out of control, but the temp just steadily climbs. I am planning on moving both coolers up front with fans and possibly going through the radiator again.

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Mike L.

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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

So you achieve these numbers with a stock cooler? I doubt it. Rubber cooler hoses will not help cool the trans. Shielding the lines from the exhaust will give you minimal temp drop. The 5 speed cooler sits in a dead air zone right in front of the fan clutch so that won't help much. GM moved the cooler out of the dead air zone in '06 to get more fan action.
I'm not pushing my cooler as I don't care if I sell another one again. I keep them in stock as a convenience for customers. Your suggestions in my opinion won't do much of anything.
 

DIESELMAFIAPER.LB7

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Jan 17, 2010
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It will not run cooler. During the winter it will, but not in the summer. I have two setrabs each with fans in the bed. I lost a fan last week and with one fan it will not keep fluid under 200°. It doesn't go out of control, but the temp just steadily climbs. I am planning on moving both coolers up front with fans and possibly going through the radiator again.

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Others have done it and kept temps at 160-180 where is yours at in The bed?
 

malibu795

misspeelleerr
Apr 28, 2007
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So you achieve these numbers with a stock cooler? I doubt it. Rubber cooler hoses will not help cool the trans. Shielding the lines from the exhaust will give you minimal temp drop. The 5 speed cooler sits in a dead air zone right in front of the fan clutch so that won't help much. GM moved the cooler out of the dead air zone in '06 to get more fan action.
I'm not pushing my cooler as I don't care if I sell another one again. I keep them in stock as a convenience for customers. Your suggestions in my opinion won't do much of anything.
I avg 70-80° above ambient temps when above 32°. When below i avg 90-100° fluid temps regardless how cold ambient temps are...
Transmission cooler is stock to the truck 07.5 LMM truck.
With with everything I posted installed/done. At idle with AC on.. If you like I'll hummor you later with a video when I get home tonight
Bone stock Trans with 232,000 on it now
10599384_10205453698235443_4400404867976528094_n.jpg
 
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juddski88

Freedom Diesel
Jul 1, 2008
4,656
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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.

I remember you telling me that a while ago. But as you know, and as we've talked about before, there are those that just naturally run hot it seems, whether it is caused by naturally hot ECT or a difference in the casting of the bellhousing, pump, or pump housing, or some other fluke reason... either way, there's a logical reason somewhere and it would be wiser to diagnose and fix that than to delete something as advantageous as the radiator heat exchanger. That was all I was trying to say. Agree with you 100 percent here.
 

CaptPhil

Active member
Sep 10, 2011
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Others have done it and kept temps at 160-180 where is yours at in The bed?
Front of the bed pulling air from the dead space between the cab and bed.

With two fans on it will keep the temps under control, but with only one it will not. Both fans the temp stays under 180.

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Verlon at ATP

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Mar 19, 2015
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I run the Mike L cooler on my lbz that I drag race. I used to have the temp get up to 220 when I was being hot lapped and I didn't like that. I put a flexalite auxiliary cooler with fan on the return side of the tranny line. Since then when I run the fan at the track, temps have never gone past 190 and cool off very quickly while down the return road and waiting for the next pass.
 

Utahski

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Oct 20, 2008
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I run the Mike L cooler on my lbz that I drag race. I used to have the temp get up to 220 when I was being hot lapped and I didn't like that. I put a flexalite auxiliary cooler with fan on the return side of the tranny line. Since then when I run the fan at the track, temps have never gone past 190 and cool off very quickly while down the return road and waiting for the next pass.

Mike's cooler dropped temps by about 20* on mine. But in real hot weather and at altitude I'd like more help. Which flexalite and fan did you get?
 

gamudslinger88

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Aug 26, 2011
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I'm curious if anyone has ever ran duel factory lbz coolers. Not running them in series but in tandem. Basically run the factory cooler in the factory location then install a second flipped above the first, run a Y at the inlet and another at the outlet. I am curious if you double the surface area and half the heat load if it would show a noticeable drop in temperature.
 

Mike L.

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Aug 12, 2006
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I'm curious if anyone has ever ran duel factory lbz coolers. Not running them in series but in tandem. Basically run the factory cooler in the factory location then install a second flipped above the first, run a Y at the inlet and another at the outlet. I am curious if you double the surface area and half the heat load if it would show a noticeable drop in temperature.

It might cause too much resistance to flow properly and run hotter. Give it a try.
 

lts1ow

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May 14, 2012
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Granted its from my car but I used to run parallel coolers.. one up front in cooling stack and one under car with fan. Switched to one up front and did not notice a change in temps. Built 80e.
 

Mike L.

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Aug 12, 2006
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I can tell you that running 2 heat exchangers on a supercharged car will run hotter temps because of resistance. The pump can not flow fast enough to overcome it. If the fluid stays too long in the cooler it will begin to heat the in coming fluid. Most factory cooler have pressure drop and that is detrimental to cooling.