OEM Transmission Cooler

Hey Guys,
I recently purchase a 2020 Sequoia TRD Pro and after reading thru 10k pages of debates , do I need one or not ?? I decided to add a transmission cooler. The reason I post here is that I test fitted on my 2010 Tundra and it fits perfectly as well.

Please understand that this is not to start another debate or arguments about Toyota decision on removing the transmission cooler.
This is my own thinking and doing it and I think that for some people that tows a lots,, may be an option.
First I bought the thermostat from the dealer and installed a Hayden high capacity cooler , about 12'x12" overall. I run two rods top to bottom and installed the cooler about 3" in front of the A/C radiator. This pretty much what everyone is doing on the net.

My truck have 315/70/17" tires and I runned the truck with the thermostat pinned.
With the Hayden cooler transmission temps where around 165 degree when running on the highway at 70 miles and engine coolant at around 192-193 degree.

One day I was looking at the LC 200 and I see that is equipped with a trans cooler on the right, passenger, side.

I decided to order an oem transmission cooler,, pre 2010 and try it. I found one with front and rear shrouds, on internet for $300 shipped. You can get them for half that price but without the shrouds. Frankly after see how the shrouds direct the airflow from under the upper bumper and passing by the condenser?? is a no brainer. Needs to have the shrouds. Also it clears for more air in front of condenser.
The install was a little pain because I did not want to remove the bumper and it took me about two hours of slow going.
Now, at about the same outside temperature and speed as driven before,, it shows about 135-137 degree, again with the thermostat pinned. The engine coolant runs few degree lower also. I wonder if the aftermarket was obstructing a little bit the air flow.
Going up on big hills or little mountain,, the temperature at the torque converter would climb 10-15 or 20 degree but the pan temperature never moved more then 5 degree.
I will remove the pin in few days and I will try to see what is the effect.
Now ,, I been asked two Toyota master techs and one of them a good friend of mine, if there is any negative to these. All I could get from them is ,,
If you run short drives where the oil is not getting hot enough to eliminate any potential condensation ??? you may have some issues. But , there is nothing that says from Toyota, what temperature is ideal. They both stated and believe, that, the new higher temps that these trucks are running are more for fuel economy.

Here is a pic of what it looks like and please feel free to let me know what you think. I always learn something in this forum.

Thank you

 

How much did your mpg drop when you added the cooler? I don’t recall seeing any epa sticker mpg improvements on the 19/20/21 Tundra which came without a supplemental cooler as the earlier models had.

 

Great looking sequoia! Are you towing with it?

 

Hi OP -
Can you please elaborate a little bit more on this statement?

"Frankly after see how the shrouds direct the airflow from under the upper bumper and passing by the condenser?? is a no brainer. Needs to have the shrouds. Also it clears for more air in front of condenser."

Post some closeup picture.

 

I did not see any change in mileage. I get an average 15 mpg almost 99% of the times, unless I hit a head wind for loger periods.

No towing yet but will definitively see towing in summer .

I will take some pics tomorrow but this is how it looks from the front. The two inlets on the left side are directing the air from the lover grille up into the radiator.
On the second pic you can see the rear shrouds that directs the air passing to the left of the condenser and to the left side of the engine.

 

It seems this transmission with a cooler not towing wants to stay around 180-195. 130s is too low.

 

Here are some additional pics.
I had to deliver in the morning a small tractor to the dealer for the service. Unfortunately I was rushing and completely forgot the phone and wallet home.
The trip was about 30 miles with few bigger Catskills mountains. The trailer is an Aluma , about 1500 lbs and the tractor a Kubota B2650 with a cab , about 3000 lbs.
In the way out I drove with pin out and let the truck do is work as it came from the manufacture.
Within few minutes the trans reach the same temperature as the engine coolant at about 190 degree I was maintaining an average 55mph speed.
When I hit the first mountain about 6 degree for about a mile,, the torque converter went to about 235, the pan to about 220 and engine coolant climbed to about 195. I was paying attention if I could hear additional increase in fan speed or something but nothing happen or at list did not hear anything.
At around 220 at the pan, the thermostat opened and the the temperature dropped to about 200-205 at the pan where it stayed for the rest of the trip where the converter kept dancing between 205 and 230 degree. I had no other big climb after but I strongly believe that if I had the converter would climb more.

In the way back with no trailer the pan was staying at around 185 where the converter was bouncing between 185 downhill and 220 uphill.

There is a big difference between pin in or out. At list 45-50 degree less at the pan and I am tented to believe that Toyota would like to see these transmission operating at a little higher temperatures then 135 degree on a 55 degree day.
In my eyes the oem cooler is very efficient due to his location and is a good insurance for those that tow a lot.
The converter is the part that takes all the heat, will always go up or down and he is been cooled directly from the pan.
The key here is to have the right thermostat that would keep the pan temperatures as consisting as possible.
No matter how well you design something,, the laws of physics tell us that consistency is the key to longevity.

 

Thanks very much @virgilus11. Now I understand and see what you were talking about. The shrouds from the bottom sure will redirect more air toward the cooler.

 

Hey guys,
A little update. After leaving the thermostat pined , now in the middle of the winter , I see that the temps will drop to about 118 on the highway. I decided to add a secondary thermostat and fix this. 118 is definitively too low for any fluid and I was afraid of condensation accumulation in winter.
I went ahead and ordered a thermostat from Improved Racing. The way this thermostat works is that it keeps the transmission at minimum 165 degree ( few degree more or less) all the times.
So, the oem thermostat is peened all the times, the fluid goes to the new thermostat and comes back to the pan till the fluid reach around 167-168 degree.
At this time the thermostat opens and allow the oil thru the cooler then sends it back to the pan. Frankly, this is the best configuration that you can have if you are trying to keep the fluid under control.
I test drove it in few different conditions and I have few pics for you to see.

 

Few more pics on the highway at different speeds

 

Was the Land Cruiser you looked at a 2020? Because if it was that means Toyota thinks it’s necessary. If they truly thought it wasn’t required they would have removed it from their flagship reliable vehicle

 

Yes, the 200.
I am pretty sure Toyota have more then one reason why they installed a trans cooler on the 200 but not on the Sequoia or Tundra. My bet is that, without a cooler the transmission would be fried pretty fast in the Australian, African heat or anywhere else in the world where the 200 is been pushed harder but in America these trucks are not really abused and they think that will work without a cooler.
I spent a good hour at the dealer with one of my buddy's trying to figure out the parts list and see if they have done anything different with the transmission and if there is any difference in the parts between the 2018 to 2020. We could not find anything that was different except that the lines from the transmission to the condenser are missing and the 2020 condenser, where the trans cooler was before, have a different part number now. The condenser have only two pipe connected to vs four before. The top part is gone.

On the 2020 they show a transmission cooler if you look at the parts but in reality that round part is a transmission oil warmer on the 2018 model and on the 2020 Sequoia doesn't even exist. I see that the 2021 Tundra without the tow package have them posted as transmission cooler.
I could not find a different part, cooler, that goes to the transmission on the 2020 models, Tundra or Sequoia with the towing package.
The good part is that, with a little research,, we can have the cooler installed and an aftermarket thermostat that would do the job.

 

Thank you for that write up. I bought a 2020 tundra and had the transmission kit from Nick installed on the truck. I always went back and forth on it with the benchmark being that if they kept the cooler on the land cruiser then it was a money decision.

And I get it because a lot of people now don’t use half tons like they used to. But at least keep it with the towing package. But maybe it’s better this way that the profit goes to local members instead of Toyota.

 

We are planning a 4,000 mile round trip (ND to FL) with our 21' Sequioa Limited later this month. Have a couple stops planned along the way. First family "vacation" in 8 years haha! We will be towing our 5x8 enclosed travel trailer, with cargo and trailer - the whole setup should weigh right around 1500 - 1800 lbs is all. No cooler on ours, will invest in a better setup to monitor the temps and report back how it does. Currently its -30 here without the windchill....so not really worried about warmer temps until maybe south of Nashville TN...

 

Congratulation on your first trip. The one thing that I found out with an enclosed trailer, over the years, is that is not really not the weight that holds you back. Is the air that you displace as you move down the road.
Like you said, I would probably buy a Scangauge 2 and take the trailer for a short ride on some steep hills so you can see where tranny temperatures are.

 

Thanks. 100% agree, I used to pull a 7x14 enclosed trailer every day when I first started my construction business. Profile is a huge factor indeed!
The trailer we will be towing with the sequoia is just a baby 5x8 low pro v front. Have a scangauge2 in my Amazon cart as we speak! PS sweet sequoia man, love that army green color!

 

Thank you

 

1500-1800 lbs isn’t anything for these trucks. The sequoia should be big enough to push the air over the trailer, but your gas mileage will definitely take a hit.

 

VirgilUS11 - - You mentioned purchasing an OEM cooler kit for your Sequoia online for $300. Can you please share where you found that?

 

It was from a place in Michigan if I remember well. You can find them everywhere but I don't see many with a shroud.
Just google 2010 Tundra transmission cooler and be patient if you want one with a shroud

 

I found the entire cooler assembly (2008 model) on the Toyota parts site. Parts total is about $1200. Attached is the screenshot. This is what Toyota should offer to install on any Tundra where the tranny cooler was listed on the window sticker, but did not install it at the factory.

 

Toyota did install an “Automatic Transmission Oil Cooler”. It’s just that their definition doesn’t fit this forums definition. Toyota never said it was efficient. That’s a whole other debate.

https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toyota__...12/3349034010.html?clickSource=relatedProduct

 

OP must have located a salvaged pre-owned take-off for $300.

For a Tundra, the total parts cost of an auxiliary cooler using a quality generic plate-and-fin exchanger can be reduced to about $400. That includes genuine Toyota parts, three quarts of WS fluid, a good aftermarket exchanger, use of hand-fabricated mounting brackets, and OEM style hose barb connections and clamps.

The long narrow configuration of the original OEM heat exchanger is what makes the shrouding necessary. I'm guessing the intent was to minimize blockage of the AC condenser by locating a long narrow heat exchanger as far to the left in the grille area as possible.

The problem with that is half the heat exchanger area is then below the bumper area which receives less dynamic air flow. The lower half of the exchanger is therefore shrouded, with an air duct scoop at the very bottom to pick up air flow from an opening in the lower bumper/valance area. Air through that duct fills the shroud, forcing air flow through the bottom of the exchanger. Without the shrouding, only the top half of the exchanger would be effective.

Use of a square exchanger plan mounted high in the grill area will eliminate the need for shrouding, and be considerably cheaper. Those taking the aftermarket exchanger approach have observed no problems with cooling or AC so far. More data will be provided by the upcoming summer towing season.

 

Before adding a B&M cooler to my 19 Tundra I looked into the older style that my 08 had but thought it wouldn't fit my 19. Anyways pretty sure Dorman made the cooler for Toyota here is a link but doesn't come with the shroud. I also see these on e bay.
https://www.dormanproducts.com/gsearch.aspx?year=2010&make=Toyota&model=Tundra&origin=YMM&parttype=Automatic+Transmission+Oil+Cooler

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=dorman+tundra+cooler&_sacat=0

 

Had the opportunity to collect some temp data on the 07-10 cooler vs. 10+. Both coolers pinned open, same conditions. 07-10 cooler performance was noticeably better, 130-140 degree temps on the low end(same as OP), 10+ was 150-160 degree temps on the low end. Seems like Toyota doesn’t want any heat in front of the ac condenser, unless it’s an ac condenser cooling fan. @virgilus11 It may vary, but 2018 and earlier ones I’ve looked through want 178F for the transmission to be normal operating temp.

 

I looked over the bills and I got the cooler for exactly $303 from Ebay. The cooler was a brand new and it shows a Toyota parts number . I am pretty sure that I got lucky. That does not include additional thermostat that I got fro LaGrange Toyota.
I believe that OEM located the cooler there because the air is passing thru and passing by the engine without much obstruction. Yes, without the shroud part of the cooler would not get that much flow
Maybe a square in front would help but based on my test ,when I had the aftermarket plate cooler, the temps where higher compared to the OEM cooler. 160 vs 130.
The problem that I see with oem cooler is that, there is no fan behind if you are going at slow speed where you don't get air thru.
So far I am very with this setup. The new thermostat allow the fluid to warm up pretty fast and it keeps it above 160 degree consistently.

 

What Toyota now calls the "oil cooler" on the 2019-2021 models is what used to be called the "oil warmer" designed to warm the tranny fluid with engine coolant on cold starts. My Toyota dealer master technician and Toyota Customer Experience rep has told me that the cooler was eliminated beginning with the 2019 model year because it was deemed "not necessary to keep tranny fluid in the target temp range even under max tow conditions". They also acknowledged the mistake made on the window sticker of my 2020, but refuse to install one. I am currently in the 3rd stage of dispute resolution (arbitration) with Toyota. We'll see how it goes.

 

How did the arbitration go. Did they install the cooler?

 

Perhaps.

Lies.

"You serious, Clark?"