Oil cooler and more

Hi, hope everyone is having a great Monday. So I've got some questions about adding an aftermarket oil cooler.

This is a long post so get comfortable in your chair.

1. Is it worth it? (Mechanically not financially) I live in the Florida Panhandle and it's been over 90° probably every day this summer and I know that Toyota has an oil cooler from the factory built into the cooling system and I'm wondering if that is plenty. Would the few degrees of cooling for the oil really make that much difference in prolonging engine life? Also, I drive doing deliveries in town with stop-and-go traffic at 55 miles per hour max. Would this additional oil cooler help with any wear and tear that might happen? Or would the difference just be negligible? I think it probably comes down to just me deciding if I like it to have extra piece of mind and if that's the only benefit of it. Just not sure. And I really like having custom mods so that my truck is a little different than everybody else's.

2. If I decide to do it, would I need a remote mount oil filter assembly to make it happen?

3. How much lower could I reasonably expect the temps to be?

And then on a side note, whenever I do my oil changes I use a larger filter, Mobil M1 - 301a. This bumps my oil capacity up I think close to a quart so that my oil change take 7.75 quarts. And I went to Walmart to get the filter because it's the cheapest in town at $10 and somebody had taken a $3.88 Fram filter and stuck it in the Mobil box and I can tell without even opening it that it was not right because the weight of it is probably half to two-thirds of the Mobil filter and I'd never really compared them but when you hold it in your hand you can tell that the Mobil filter has so much more filtration media inside. So that makes me feel good to know that I've got an oil filter with so much filtration capacity. When I do my oil changes I use Mobil 1 high-mileage full synthetic extended protection oil. And I change it every 15,000 miles. When I checked it this last time I was less than half a quart low after 15K miles and the color of the oil was a little bit darker than honey or syrup.

And I'm considering using an STP engine flush product this oil change. And I've seen some that say that you should take off the oil pan to remove any heavy sludge that comes out of the oil. But our oil pan is a pain in the ass to take off and I'm really not interested in doing that. Should I avoid using this product in case it might plug up oil galleries? When I changed my valve cover gaskets the top of the heads were pretty darn clean on the passenger side and only a medium amount of like a golden color deposit on the part of the cylinder head that's closest to the firewall.

I appreciate your feedback!!

 

My .02

I would go tranny cooler before oil cooler and get rigorous about tranny fluid if I was doing deliveries, make sure your cooling system is clean and clear internally and tight, with good thermostat performance. And I would drop the oil interval drastically.

 

Thank you. That's worth a lot more than $0.02. So I did the timing belt and water pump and new coolant hoses and thermostat about 30,000 miles ago and I got a new radiator about 50,000 miles ago and I have not found any leaks in the cooling system is always filled right to the top so that's good to go. I got a new transmission filter but have not put it in yet so I think I'm going to spend my money there first. Thank you very much.

 

And what trans fluid should I use?

 

Only use what the manual specifies.

 

As others have said, I would start with a trans cooler first. The cooling system on our trucks can't necessarily be 'upgraded.'. Make sure you coolant is new and if you haven't done it already, water pump, thermostat and new coolant.

I decided to put a bigger transmission cooler in my truck after seeing what my trans temps were going up in the mountains. There was times it was pushing over 200* and I wasn't towing anything. I put in a Hayden 679 and Derale 13011 inline thermostat/bypass. The bypass keeps the transmission cooler blocked off till the fluid hits 186*. After that, it opens and dumps the fluid into the cooler and the temps drop within seconds, literally. My transmission temps never go above 188*, no matter what temps is outside. The plus side of having the bypass is that it also allows the transmission to get to temp faster and keeps the temps more regulated. It normally sits right about 160*-170* now unless it's extremely hot and I am pushing it hard. For fluid, I've always use Valvoline Maxlife ATF. It's cheap and can be found almost anywhere.

Hayden now offers a trans cooler with a built in by pass so it pretty much is a direct swap. There is a TON of info in this thread here (https://www.tundras.com/threads/upgraded-trans-cooler.48516/) and here is the links to the Hayden units that have the built in bypass.

https://www.haydenauto.com/en/produ...oil-coolers/patented-internal-by-pass-coolers
https://www.haydenauto.com/en/produ...oil-coolers/patented-internal-by-pass-coolers

 

I second this!

 

@SouthPaw, question my man. It looks like that Hayden 699 is the internal bypass, it’s listed as like a 10k gvwr, vs the 679 which is like a 30k gvwr unit. You think that would make a difference in cooling on these trucks? Granted mine doesn’t tow at all. My Cummins pills tow duties. I more a less looking to keep the trans cool while 4wheeling

 

I would be concerned the 30k unit will never let your transmission fluid get to operating temp, but I don't know how their bypasses work. Or what other driving you do, or how cold your winters are. Do your homework.

 

@10 blue trucks, southeast Tn so we don’t get super cold here but we take some cold spells. That 679 unit (30k) southpaw and a couple others are running it with an exterior bypass. My understanding from the trans Cooler thread on here is that the bypass stays closed until the trans hits operating temp and then opens dumping fluid into the cooler to maintain temperatures. The tundras seem to get pretty warm slow rolling off-road

pretty interesting read if your interested:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/upgraded-trans-cooler.48516/

Been shopping these things for awhile just slow pulling the trigger. I’d like to get both trucks straight though, my Cummins gets pretty warm while towing. The G-56 manual with its aluminum case picks up every bit of heat coming off the 5 inch exhaust.

 

My Hayden is a 30k gvwr cooler and it works wonders. With the internal bypass, it lets your transmission get to temp but cools it a lot faster than the smaller units once it hits 186*. Once it’s cool again, the bypass closes and let’s your transmission get to temp. It keeps your temps very stable.

See my post above. It’s basically a thermostat. It opens at a certain temperature (I believe 185*) and closes once it’s below that. It’s the perfect setup as it allows your trans to get to optimal temp quickly while not letting the fluid get too hot. I live in Colorado and with setup, it gets warm quick. I have a 8-10 min drive to my gym and in that short jog, the trans was already at 135*. After my workout and my trans warmer than a cold start, the way home it would get to 160*.

 

Our Tundra's have a decent oil capacity at about 6.5 quarts, that helps. Changing your oil a little more frequently and/or using a high quality oil will be all you need for prolonged engine life with regard to oil. An easy way to slightly increase the oil capacity is run a bigger oil filter... https://www.tundras.com/threads/1st-gen-tundras-info-dump.52214/#post-1373077
Temps in my general driving area reach well above 100° 3-4 months of the year, it's a harsh climate and I tow a trailer every now and then with my stock engine. If you want to be sure you're getting the protection you need, you can send oil samples for analysis to get the most thorough info for your specific situation.

 

Thanks. I am currently using the mobil M1 - 301A oil filter and it usually takes me about 7 and 1/2 to 7.75 quarts. I use Mobil 1 full synthetic high mileage extended protection oil at intervals that were about fifteen thousand but I have since reduced that down to 7500. I was trying to get more distance out of my oil and it's not really worth the risk.

And I just sent a sample of my oil to Blackstone Labs so whenever that comes back I'll post the results on here. Thanks everyone.

 

So I have decided I'm going to upgrade my trans cooler with a larger aftermarket one. Should I get one that comes with a fan? And if I do what should I get for the on off range for the temperature control switch?

 

No fan needed, I wouldn't waste my time/money with one.