Installed a Setrab transmission cooling kit

Ordered a Setrab transmission cooler from Nick and installed it yesterday on my 2021 4x4 Crewmax. As we all know, the Tundra no longer comes with a factory transmission cooler. Yet - all the components still exist and the vehicle has proper mounting locations for the oil lines. Incredible that it's no longer an option.

Website:
https://genuinecoolingsystems.com/

Tundras.com thread with lots of Q&A:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/tundra-transmission-cooler-kit.60550/

My Pro Tips:
- The video at the website is overly long but informative nonetheless. Watch it before you start.
- The guy notes that installing the thermostat and plugging in the Toyota hose segments is a huge PITA and ends up assembling them separately. So I did the same and plugged in the hoses on my bench
- Based on that I decided to pre-assemble the Toyota hard lines and hoses as well. It was a good call, they are much tighter and would have been a nightmare to do under the truck!
- Figuring out how to install the hard lines is the most difficult part. Be patient and experiment, I ended up shoving forward and rotating 'clockwise' when view from the rear of the truck.
- Use a hair dryer to warm up the hoses before plugging them in
- Don't tighten the cooler side rails until everything is aligned between the cooler and bracket
- I didn't need to do anything with the horn wire, simply unbolted from old location and bolted in the new spot. Easy.
- When you install the cooler on the truck you're supposed to center the top left bolt since it interferes with a factory radiator mount. To avoid that situation I flipped the bolt backwards and have the nut facing out. Now the clearance issue is resolved.

It took me about 6 hours, now I could probably do it in two. The Setrab cooler is a high quality piece of equipment and the kit included everything needed. Decided to unpin the thermostat after a test drive since my transmission likes to 'warm up' and shifts smoother thereafter. Others like to leave it pinned in order to have max cooling at all times.

The Setrab


When assembled to the brackets
(Remember, don't tighten until all bolts are in place - that includes the little allen bolts)


Supplied hardware



Assembled thermostat and Toyota in/out hoses.
(Note: All hoses only need to be pushed past the first 'nub' ... I pushed past both but it's a PITA. You'll see what I mean when you get the kit)


Flipped the top left bolt on the cooler bracket in order to clear a factory radiator mount


Before hose connections


Final connections.

 

I wouldn't. My 2008 Tundra had the factory kit, was very happy with it. They serve the same purpose, no need for two coolers.

 

That looks nice.

19 didn’t have a factory one. @chasenicholas93 mentioned working on a kit for 07-18. I read this kit won’t fit ones with a factory cooler. I added one inline with my factory one on my 2010 and it helped when towing.

 

Thanks for the review and tips!

 

How many miles prior to install?

What temps were you seeing that made you want to add this?

What do you tow?

 

Good work

 

- About 1500 miles
- I have no idea. No intent to measure either. I wanted a cooler just like my 2008 Tundra had, that is all.
- An airstream 28 (25ft box), 6000lb dry weight

 

BrakeDust; Excellent post! Well done and very helpful.

You write: -
“Based on that I decided to pre-assemble the Toyota hard lines and hoses as well. It was a good call, they are much tighter and would have been a nightmare to do under the truck!”

So if I’m picturing this right you have the Thermostat connected to the short hoses (you wrote IN and OUT on them) connected to the hard lines connected to several feet of flexible hose all connected together?? So you snake this train of tube, parts and hoses from the rear of the truck towards the front. You feed this through turning the hard lines “clockwise” into position.

Thanks VERY much in advance for your help.

Dave

 

I did it in three steps:
1) Connected the long hoses to the hard lines and installed as a set (snaking the hoses through the install path is no big deal, finding out where the hard lines fit is the tricky part and no video or instruction set can explain it... )
2) Connected the short hoses to the thermostat and installed it
3) Connected the short hoses from the thermostat to the hard lines - very easy

Doing [1] and [2] in your garage is the part that saves frustration.

 

Thanks very much!!!

 

Ah gotcha, cheers

 

Great tips! I have this kit sitting in the garage waiting to be installed. Will definitely pre-assemble these parts before crawling under the truck.

 

Someone asked me for pics of the truck with the grille on. Here you go, can't really tell if there's a cooler or not.

 

Great tips and photos... glad to see the hill country can't escape all the Texas rains either....

 

I'm going to take your advice and install the in and out hoses on the thermostat. Is the orientation that you have them in the photo correct? That was my only concern with installing those first is not having them set in the correct position.

EDIT: I just laid everything out on the table to figure out the angle the hoses should be and it would seem that the paint marks on the hoses are an indicator and should be facing out, atleast on mine that made them align correctly with the metal hoses. I didnt snap the clamps down yet and they still spin easily if I need to adjust them. I put some atf inside them with a q-tip.

 

Is this level enough to start the install? My jack stands are at max.

 

The install doesnt requires the truck to be level, just the fluid check procedure, are you using stands to make the install easier? It can be done with out lifting the truck at all if you can fit under it. I level my truck by driving which ever end is low up onto a piece if wood and it usually enough.

 

Well it's been a few years since the install, truck has 75k miles on it (about 25k/year.) And today I noticed the hoses leaking! The bottom end of the inlet hose going to the cooler is a little cracked and there's fluid seeping out - enough to cause a large oily region a couple feet in diameter in my engine bay. Oil all over my rock guard, noticed when doing an oil change. The outlet hose from the cooler is also cracked but not leaking yet.

Ugh. Anyone know the diameter and type of those hoses? Need to buy some new ones and replace them. TIA.

 

Well I went to the website again and downloaded the install instructions! Turns out it's just 3/8" hose, they carry it at all auto parts stores eg. Oreilly:
https://www.oreillyauto.com/shop/b/...smission-cooler-hose--universal-/9f0f59375f37

The install manual had a handy pic of the joints that are leaking


Both cooler connections are cracked as well. Maybe it's the TX summer heat? Maybe the harsh cold snaps during winter? No puddles on my driveway yet so the leak is not severe but it's definitely annoying.

 

Your leaks were from here or from the cooler connections? Going to keep an eye on mine. It's surprising since he included a really high quality hose.

 

Leak was the 'upper' (cooler inlet) right in the area that's pictured. It's as if the ends of the hoses all dried out and split! I'll post pics when I work on it - not today since it's raining. All four hose ends have cracks.

 

I covered my hoses in the grill area with wire loom to keep the sun UV from deteriorating the rubber. Napa has some good quality Gates hose.

 

Hmm. Maybe I'll use electrical tape? Cracks are even on the part that doesn't see the sun.

 

Best guess is that the hose has some compatibility issues with the application. It could be the temperature, the oil type, or a bad batch/poorly manufactured. What is the brand?

 

They use Setrab/Susa hose as well. A little expensive per foot but rated for 300+ degree fluid temp (like the Gates). The more common stuff is rated for surprisingly low temps.

https://setrabusa.com/collections/p...usa-pushlite-performance-hose-pre-cut-lengths

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...u2gtTWB--QUVg2n8bx4aAlKREALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Making note of the age/cracking concern! Easy PM during one of the D&Fs.

 

If you have a local Parker Store near you, might be worth a trip. They are hose experts and sell quality hose for a very reasonable price.

 

My 2016 rarely sees over 200F when towing. I’m happy with the factory set up.

 

Got it done today! Bought some Gates hose from the local O'Reilly, was $56 OTD for 8 feet. Used about 6 feet.

I had imagined I'd need to do the work from below but it ended up being easier to reach down and do much of it from above. Just needed a short stool to give some more reach and I could get to everything, plus I had much better leverage.

Didn't get a ton of fluid out and I don't know how much had been lost when driving around. Decided to pump about 3/4 of a quart fresh ATF into the transmission fill hole and call it good! (I didn't have enough ATF to do a proper drain & fill - normally I use exactly 4 qts for that procedure and don't bother with any temperature testing - just drain 4 and fill with 4.)

Cracks at the bottom end by the hard lines


Cracks at the top end by the cooler



Used an old juice bottle to catch the ATF from the cooler when I cut the hoses


The old hose (250psi rated)


New hose (400psi rated)


Pulled out maybe 1/3qt (plus some went on the floor - oops!)

 

The old hose looks to be on the cheaper side, doesn’t have the reinforced cords in the outer sheath like your Gates replacement. Just my observation.

At my local Napa, this is a Gates hose and cheaper than Orielly by about half: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NBHH1956