2019+ External Transmission Cooler

My thought is such a poll taken now will provide little information relative the cooler changes, since the cooler changes were only effective in 2019 MY. A poll taken now is likely to show few, if any 2019 failures, due to low mileage, and a false conclusion there is no problem could be drawn. However, two or three years from now when this original poll thread has been long forgotten and warranties are fading away, I would not be surprised (FWIW) to see a little anomaly tick up for 2019s.

Toyota has made some changes that seem to revise their earlier thinking regarding transmission fluid temperatures. For owners that can't see Toyota's test data, maintaining that same Toyota reliability is a concern when fluid temperatures are running 30 deg hotter than before. Trying to anticipate any future problems, and what action to take, may not be bad topics for discussion.

Until a poll is done three years from now, and presence or absence of a problem is confirmed, my recommendations are still the same:
(1) Definitely get the means to monitor your transmission fluid temperature while towing.
(2) Have regular fluid analysis tests done to evaluate fluid degradation, and to determine reasonable change interval if sticking with WS.
(3) Do a full transmission drain procedure, refilling with a full synthetic fluid (unless you fear the risk of warranty issues).
(4) If your temp monitoring shows fluid temps routinely exceeding "allowable temperature"* for the fluid, consider adding an auxiliary cooler with all the attendant warranty risk questions.

*Useful information provided about this "allowable temperature" by recent threads on auxiliary coolers and full synthetic fluid is:
(1) Valvoline MaxLife full synthetic begins to degrade above 280 deg F, and degradation rate increases as fluid temperature increases.
(2) Toyota WS is a synthetic blend, and degradation temp is unknown, but lower than full synthetic.
(3) I believe someone posted here that the high fluid temperature alarm goes off at 300 degrees F; you do the math.

 

https://yourcovers.com/transpan_11151.php

 

I'm no engineer and it may show in my question... but, has anyone considered welding a heat sink to their transmission pan? If does not have to be a massive heat sink, just something with enough fins to offer a measurable cooling effect.

 

@Dodger46

 

Oohwee were rolling in 4th gear now with no overheating I love this discussion a lot of good points thrown around.

Allison transmission is bad ass comes with an internal and external filter with cooler big bad beast we have them in all of our heavy equipment from garbage trucks to fire trucks

I will continue my research I will get under my truck and investigate what’s their one day but keep it going guys we stay civil and it will be fun informative never to late to learn something new.

 

Do you have this pan installed?

 

No but on my list. PML is a family owned business that has specialized in owns for quite some time and finally came out with one for the Tundra Aisin tranny.

 

Are y'all sayin' that the '19 doesn't even have a tranny cooler line going to the radiator tank...a la the way it's been done on vehicles since the beginning of time?

 

Uh...In a word, yes. More detail here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/2019-5-7-trans-cooler-location.33216/

 

I have all the parts to retro my 19. Now just waiting for the warranty to run out.

 

Can you provide part numbers? Will this make it the same setup as a 2018?

 

I can when I get back to a PC as it is too time consuming on my phone. But it is the thermostat from a 18 and then pipes and hoses from a 08 so I can run a standalone cooler. The 18s dont have a standalone, they are integrated into the AC condensor, still better than the 19s but not as good as the 08s.

I am not going to run the OEM cooler, I prefer TruCools. I will mount it like the 08s are mounted, in front of the condensor.

 

Or you can go through my older posts and I have the part #s in one of them.

 

Parts at the transmission are the same from 2008 to 2018 (5.7L, AB60E/F). In fact, on Toyota parts website, if you select 2019>Tundra>SR5> 5.7L>Cooling System>Trans Oil Cooler, you get this page. Skip down to the bottom of the page for the thermostat and other related parts. You'll need the o-rings (4) and maybe longer bolts, but @Roman will have to help you with that:

https://parts.toyotaofcoolsprings.c...-5-7l-v8-gas/cooling-system--trans-oil-cooler

You'll still need the long hard lines to the front, a cooler, and fittings to adapt cooler to hard lines. Apparently the small diameter short lines (painted black) @pickeledpigsfeet has are for exhaust system heat...there must be converter or something hot close at that point.

Edit: I found the 2008-2010 stand alone cooler, but it is nearly $500 from Toyota and it still may not fit well into the Gen3 grille area. If anyone needs the part number, Roman can help you with that.

 

Thats good info. Here is a pic of the part #s. I ended up buying them off ebay and saved about $100 on all of it.

 

At this point I wonder if a deep pan will be the best option. I'm just looking for someone with a 2019+ who has done it before to see what temps they are seeing.

Thanks man, I'm wondering if the ECU will have to be reflashed to a different version as well to turn on the cooler? Also, does this require drilling holes in the radiator housing in the grill area to get the hoses through?

 

Intuitively, you will get some benefit simply by having more fluid volume to absorb the heat, and you will get slight improvement in heat dissipation from the stubby fins and larger pan surface area. There is no way to know if the aftermarket pan will substantially reduce fluid temps without someone buying it and trying it (not to mention reporting the results back here). To be credible, the owner needs to record accurate temps before the trial, install the aftermarket pan, then record the fluid temperatures afterwards. Without the "before" data, there may be strong pressure to "glorify" the results after sinking nearly $500 into an oil pan.

No ECU is touched; all about this transmission cooling system is strictly mechanical.

The holes that were there in the radiator bulkhead for the 2018 configuration will likely still be there. OEMs do not revise structural sheet metal components for a new configuration. However, I doubt those holes for the 2018 condenser heat exchanger will still make sense for installing an aftermarket fluid cooler. I imagine you will want them lower in the bulkhead and slightly larger to accept possibly imperfect tubing bends.

 

Sweet, thanks for the info. I am leaning towards the cooler if it is a easy install. Like Eddie said before, will this take away the capabilities of the warmer? Sorry for asking a bunch of questions.

 

Has anybody thought about adding just a small coolent radiator to the inlet side of the "warmer". I've noticed that the tranny temp mirrors the coolent temp going in pretty closely. It's not as intuitive to check actual coolent temp at the inlet. I measured with ir gun and the coolent was only a few degrees cooler than what the obd2 was reading for trans pan temp.

 

Not if you are able to install the thermostat, which prevents flow to the air-to-fluid cooler when the transmission is cold. Once the transmission is warmed up and generating plenty of heat, the thermostat opens about 194-230 degrees allowing fluid to be cooled up front. Additional heat that could not be removed by that pissant warmer/cooler will now be removed by the air-to-fluid cooler, and the thermostat will regulate the flow to that air-to-fluid cooler as needed.

 

I wouldn't mind installing this before my warranty is up if everything is bolt off and bolt on.

 

A couple of guys here have already bought parts for the retrofit. The only missing piece in my mind is having a competent individual size and spec an aftermarket cooler up front that will get the job done under the toughest towing environment.

 

Keep up these posts! I really appreciate hearing about all this.

 

It will be interesting to see if any dealerships offer to do this. Should not be big deal since many installed the SC mod. TRD could make a tidy add on accessory package of this.
bc

 

Toyota already deleted the drivers side a-pillar handle that we have to purchase separately, hopefully this is not the new profit scam being run, lol

 

They will also install lift kits with the possibility of warranty issues, so you would think some might. The difference is that lift kits, like the SC package, come prefabricated and complete with all required components. Unfortunately in this case, no one has put together a "kit" that dealers trust, and most dealers will know it won't be time effective for them to identify, order, and install shelf parts with no track record of success on 2019+. We've been feeling around in the dark just trying to replicate the past Toyota system.

I bet most dealers are not even aware that the transmission fluid cooling has changed...witness three technicians standing around a hood up 2019 trying to find the transmission fluid cooler. Toyota's literature and window sticker are clinging to the idea that there is still a transmission fluid cooler, but the current situation wouldn't be an "improvement" Toyota would want to talk about.

The TRD SC packages that maintained warranty were an incredible step for an OEM. It must have been some rising star executive with performance ideas that ever sold them on doing that.

 

I hope owners can apply enough pressure to get some standard retro fit approved under warranty.

 

Has anyone tried to contact the dealer for a retrofit install?

 

Early on, I did and they said it did not need one. Now that some time has passed and overheat warnings and higher temps have occurred, some dealers may listen.
bc