Trans cooler

Dieselpwrdredneck

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I want to get off on the right foot with the new truck and start by helpin the transmission before any other mods
What are some good things to help prolong the life of the tranny? cooler? shift kit?

Thanks :thanks
Neal
 

Tail_Gunner

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A popular tranny cooler upgrade was to replace the smaller cooler that came with the 7.3 with a V-8/V-10 tranny cooler. With the intro of the 6.0, a yet larger tranny cooler was introduced and it will mount into a 7.3 truck. In either case, a certain amount of tweaking, modification or fabricating will be required to get the fluid lines to hook up to the taller cooler. I have a pic comparing the factory 7.3 cooler and the V-8/V-10 coolers HERE.

Auxillary coolers are also avalable and are a relatively easy install behind the grille.
 

patrickc

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The cooler you can get the operating temp of the transmission the better. I run an aftermarket cooler (w/fan) along with the stock cooler plus an aftermarket transmission pan. My transmission temp usually runs around 110 degrees summer or winter. An aftermarket torque converter which will allow less slippage will help the life tranny but they are fairly expensive. Another option is to upgrade/update the valve bodies inside the transmission which will change the shift points and shift firmness. There are lots of different kits out there depending on how far you want to go with it.
 

Dieselpwrdredneck

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i bought another tranny cooler tonite for $20 from my buddy i think it is just another stock one but it will work, hope the install wont be to hard

Neal
 

dpantazis

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the 7.3 cooler is a poor design- its more like a sump than a cooler.
click on my sig for pics of 6.0 cooler- its like 2x as big as the v10 cooler and almost 4x than the stock one.

instead of getting the shift kit, get a valve body upgrade from one of the vendors. its a shift kit and more.
dennis
 

aklim

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i bought another tranny cooler tonite for $20 from my buddy i think it is just another stock one but it will work, hope the install wont be to hard

Neal

I don't follow. Why do you need another stock unit? Don't you have one already? If you are going thru all that trouble, why not install a better one?
 

Tail_Gunner

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I don't follow. Why do you need another stock unit? Don't you have one already? If you are going thru all that trouble, why not install a better one?

It isn't the design of the stock unit, it's the size of it.

The early 99's had just the one cooler without additional the cooler inside the radiator that the 99.5's had. On top of that, the tranny cooler for the 7.3, was smaller than that of the V-8 gas engine, which is highly illogical to say the least. By upgrading from the stock cooler that came with the 7.3, to the one that came with the V-8 or V-10, you are increasing the cooling area by about 50%. Upgrading to the cooler that came with the 6.0, and you are increasing the cooling capacity by double or more.

I believe the general rule of thumb is: for every 10*F decrease of tranny fluid temp, you double the life of your tranny.
 

aklim

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It isn't the design of the stock unit, it's the size of it.

The early 99's had just the one cooler without additional the cooler inside the radiator that the 99.5's had. On top of that, the tranny cooler for the 7.3, was smaller than that of the V-8 gas engine, which is highly illogical to say the least. By upgrading from the stock cooler that came with the 7.3, to the one that came with the V-8 or V-10, you are increasing the cooling area by about 50%. Upgrading to the cooler that came with the 6.0, and you are increasing the cooling capacity by double or more.

I believe the general rule of thumb is: for every 10*F decrease of tranny fluid temp, you double the life of your tranny.

So they just went from the trans to the external cooler? I know mine goes from the trans to the radiator to the external cooler and then back. I changed to the 6.0 unit and got rid of my 7.3 one. I thought it was explained to me that the gas engines had higher RPM so they needed a bigger cooler. Fine. However that doesn't explain why the 6.0 got the bigger cooler then.
 

HTRDDSL

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Tail Gunner is right. It's the size of the cooler thats the problem. I installed a Diesel cooler from a 6.0 and it made a huge difference. The cooler you have has 3/8 inch lines and the 6.0 cooler has 1/2 inch lines. Thats easy to adapt and the cooler bolts right into the stock location.Same bolt holes.

I towed my 7000lb travel trailer last year up some decent hills in the peak of summer and the temp never got over 165 degrees.

Also I suggest you install an aftermarket tranny gauge. They're very easy to install and not expensive. That way you get a true reading of your temp.
 

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