The topic that will not go away....

7:20 mark....

https://youtu.be/xPzUsbvUfRw?t=440

 

Due to someone inquiring about a heater core by pass my curiousity was raised a bit and I began to look around a bit under the hood. Best I can tell the engine coolant flows through the heater core prior to the "puck" which leads me to believe that the engineers actually decided that the heater core could be somewhat of a transmission cooler due to some heat exchange taking place in the cab either from heating or cooling the cab. Then said slightly cooler than engine temp coolant would flow to the "puck" and cool the transmission oil before returning to the water pump. Is it worth a damn? IMO, no! So, I do have an auxillary cooler. However, I can see some attempt made by the engineering team to reduce the transmission temps. Yes, the coolant going from heater core to the "puck" would also aid in transmission warm up when cold, hence "cooler/warmer" terminology.

 

Just plain cheapness. Cant believe they say temps well exceeding 200 degrees is in spec.

 

They want to sell parts and make jobs. If you build washing machines that never break you will be bankrupt. Simple logic.

 

I dont see the logic in producing a truck that I need to add accessory parts to do what it is made to do. My trucks will work or currently work and when I see "Transmision cooler" on the window sticker I dont feel like I should have to hunt it down before my purchase.

 

Most will work fine during warranty period as they are used as light trucks to haul groceries and tow a 1800lb boat and trailer 6 times a year. Problem is for people like me who want a truck to last 25 years. Solution is modify the damn thing by paying now vs. paying later. So, pay now it is.

 

I guess Im just salty that my suspension money is going to a trans cooler. Really the Trans cooler and lack of factory underseat storage is my only complaint.

 

I'm still undecided on the transmission cooler, at least for now. In the other thread about transmission temperatures, people with the factory cooler were posting their temps and they were no different than what I am getting without the factory cooler. Those with aftermarket coolers are getting quite a bit cooler temps, I have noticed.

For now I think I'll just let it ride for the duration of my 10 year warranty. If I do have any issues in that period, I'll let warranty fix it then add the cooler.

 

I would wager that the reason for the heater core being first to get the hot water is more so the interior of the vehicle will warm faster when outside temps are cold. Passenger comfort before tranny concerns.

 

Right now I am your example... hauling a 2000lb tent trailer 4x per year. If I get bigger trailer, I would do the cooler.

 

Of course, but still stands to reason for the then cooled coolant to flow to the puck next to aid in cooling the trans.

 

I recently bought a 2019, and I'm wondering about the longevity of the transmission as well. I tow a 19ft center console boat, and a small camper regularly. Usually, at least twice a month I'm towing the boat. I've had no issues that I'm aware of, yet. No warning lights have come on, and no issues with loss of power.

I do plan to change out the tranny fluid regularly, at least every 60000 miles. Maybe even sooner. I think if it was a really bad problem with the trucks not having the external cooler we would be seeing more complaints about failures. I really don't think Toyota would risk the reputation of their trucks, but I could be very wrong.

 

and here I thought this was going to be another gas mileage thread.

 

Best thing to do with a Cummins is a Dodge delete.

https://youtube.com/shorts/qt6Idozhqes?feature=share

 

So turn the heater on full blast while towing


Puck’s primary purpose is to reduce warm up time but can provide cooling protection in extreme thermal event. Toyota isn’t wrong for labeling the puck cooler… technically speaking. However, it can be misleading from the average consumer’s prospective.

 

That guy's a little too pro-Ford for me but his videos are entertaining.

 

This is in line with my assessment as well.

The coolant that goes to the puck comes off the heater core outlet. Measuring a few different times the coolant is about 205F. It was easily the hottest part of the coolant stream. The bottom of the radiator was 130F.

I experimented with this. I bought a heater core from a 1980's vintage suburban. It was large and had similar inlet and outlet hose sizes. I put the heater core downstream of the heater core, in series with puck.

I put the heater core zip tied to front of truck (temporary). I ran it up and down freeway at 78 mph with some full throttle runs. At best it knocked down about 5-6 degrees.

What I learned is that despite the ease of putting a cooler on 'coolant' side it has to be the size of a mini radiator.

To get additional cooling from the puck, by decreasing coolant temp, the coolant temp has to get much much cooler (like say the 130F in bottom of radiator).

The Tundra puck is basically the same thing as an 'in tank' transmission cooler but inverted if you will.

Given the small surface area in the puck, you'd really have to cool off the coolant really really far to have a major impact on transmission fluid temps. It'd have to be at least 130 F. This drives up the size of the cooler.

Mishimoto and other such companies make all manner of radiators and coolers (heat exchangers). But a large one will run in the $400-600 range and still require some fabrication for installation.

 

Does anyone know the specific engineer(s) or team/group/BU that is responsible for removing the aux trans cooler?

I’d like to write a letter to Toyota’s BoD and call out the team responsible for this nonsense. Increasing the MSRP by $500 to cover this part is a no brainer. We have data that proves the 19-21 trans temps are too damn high, even for mall crawlers.

 

He's another one who's too pro Ford whose videos I like.

 

Call their 800 #. Won’t do any good. There have been a few people who insisted they’d make Toyota do a recall. None of it went anywhere.

 

Jeez. This is going to go on forever isn’t it? Sell your new one. Buy an old one. Problem solved.