Transmission cooler missing…I know I know

so you have radiator for engine cooler, in front of radiator is the condesor for AC, in front of it on GX570 is a vertical cooler I am confident is for transmission.


Looks like Mike Sweers was pimped out by mgmt since he is the Toyota Chief engineer and agree to no cooler..........

 

This is based in the same time period as 3000 miles oil changes, we don’t do that anymore bc the fluids have gotten better

 

well, the Setrab cooler alone retails around $200. Part of what you get with the kit is top notch stuff. Sure a $50-75 cooler will probably work and hopefully has the quality to last. For sure, getting a cheaper cooler and skipping the Toyota hoses and lines can save some dough

 

Theres nothing special about WS tranny fluid, it’s not even a full synthetic. It would be different if Toyota came out and said they had a new fluid that had special thermal properties, etc, but that’s not the case.You will not find it anywhere in writing that 250 deg transmission temps is not harmful to the life of a transmission…..no where!

 

Even with the $200 Setrab cooler that means one is still spending another $600+ in lines and what other top notch stuff? There are no moving parts in this install. It’s the factory part at the tranny and the connection of two lines flowing fluid to and from a finned core. How much quality is really needed for something like that. The hard lines sure can’t be needed as long as one doesn’t lay the rubber lines on the exhaust pipe or attached to a moving part.

 

Ok. Sorry for the misinterpretation.

 

I agree. I'm going to custom fab mine. That $1k option has ALOT of profit in it for such a simple part. Of course I'll get the OEM thermostat, but the rest can be aftermarket. It is not high tech here.

 

Keep us updated on your progress.

 

If you're towing heavy shit and overheating your trans it sounds like you may want to get a larger truck with a manual transmission. Problem solved.

 

If a cooler isn't needed, why was it installed previously and the thermostat even designed in the first place??? Hmmm. Maybe some of these armchair engineers can spew more nonsense.

 

I’ve had 5 5th gen 4 runners and they all felt like they were designed and built by people who truly gave a rip.

I feel the same in regards to Tundra relative to them.

 

you’d be surprised how much the thermostat is.

when I priced it myself i couldn’t see how there was hardly any profit.

 

The thermostat is $160 which isn’t bad at all, it’s the other $800 + in miscellaneous parts in the kits that’s over the top. There is nothing complex about installing one of these, i mean nothing. Remove plate between warmer and transmission and install thermostat, attach the two lines to the thermostat and clamp them, route the hoses up through the pass side of the engine compartment affixing them where possible and then plugging them into a any cooler up in front of the condenser, clamp the hoses there , do a fluid level add/check and your done. Ridiculous that Toyota skimped on something so crucial yet simple.

 

Besides my earlier theory regarding cost savings, I have another theory. Toyota probably did a focus group Marketing study that found that the majority of average Tundra owners either don't tow at all or tow very little weight (under 5k lbs.). So, it was a calculated risk that the heavily abused Tundra towing above specs most of the time, may fail at or after powertrain warranty expiration for very few (unhappy) people.
If anyone can show me the Toyota engineers explanation for why it was deleted after all those model years, I'd love to see it. Nothing rational about it. It's clearly something GM would do! And the new Tundra looks like the GMC too! Maybe some ex-GMC execs joined Toyota. What a thought!

 

For those with the Toyota factory installed cooler, do you monitor your temps? I'm curious as to what you guys are seeing. When I asked this question before in another thread, people were posting temps that were in the same ballpark of what I see in mine without the cooler, which was rather surprising. Those with aftermarket coolers were seeing considerably lower temps.

 

100%! Also from what I’ve seen you don’t have to tow heavy to see the high temperatures, there was one owner who had his transmission overheat pulling a 4,000 lb trailer, temp warnings on in the dash and everything, and of course it was in the mountain west. Hell guys are seeing 230 deg with no trailer, the whole thing is stupid!

 

I think they just got caught with their pants down, the freon change meant they couldn't use the condenser and required a modification on 19/20s. They expected the new generation to start 21 and figured most of those vehicles will not see warranty issues anyways and just concentrated on the 3rd gen, then people started figuring it out so they dropped the transmission cooler from the sticker, now the new trucks are coming out with a intercooler and a transmission cooler up front. Sure most 19/21 will last thru the warranty, but if you tow or off road, or just want your tranny running at more reasonable temps get a kit. Most people don't monitor their temps. I did, and saw 240+ just aggressive highway driving and 280, climbing on a forest service road. So I bought a kit. Monitor your tranny temps and if your comfortable with the temps you see, so be it. But wasn't a hard choice for me, should of been on the truck from the get go.

 

In other breaking news, several owners have reported the cam tower leaks.

And this thread will not be complete until someone complains about the "bean counters" doing the engineers doggie style.

 

Bingo!

 

Has anyone actually laid their eyes on, or even seen a picture of the new 22 "Cooler"?, I haven't been able to find one.

 

There are always gonna be the guys who think they need something that's been removed or never been there to begin with. To them I say go for it if it makes you feel better.

 

at 16.27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrIm4mircPU

 

Thats a pretty lame perspective. Those of us that have owned a dozen different trucks and pull things small and large buy trucks that have tow packages. To buy a truck that has a tow package and doesn’t have the most basic mechanical component to support the drivetrain when towing isn’t very smart. Seeing what the results are doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict what the outcome will be. We’re not talking about some dumb ass air intake here, we’re talking about overheating a $5,000 transmission on a brand new truck towing loads that are half the trucks advertised capability, and exceeding normal parameters for a transmissions operating temp even when not towing!

 

With all due respect, that wasn't a picture.

 

Actuarials are the debil.

 

And this thread has devolved into another bitch fest dick measuring contest like all the other cooler threads.


I applaud the consistency.

 

Have we actually seen more transmission failures without the cooler? Anyone with a 2019 have a series of failures?

 

These are tough trannys , your not going to see a failure in the first few years, but life expectancy will definitely be affected. Of course most of the people that just drive to work and haul groceries aren’t going to see the same effects as those that tow anything. The shitty part is that the premature failures will still most likely be at or beyond the 60,000 mile powertrain warranty’s expiration, so IMO if you plan to own the truck for a long time acting now is imperative.I traded in a POS 2021 Silverado on this Tundra and towing my 5,000 lb boat 700 miles all uphill from Texas to Colorado in 100 deg ambient temps I never saw the tranny exceed 197. That’s the optimum range for a transmissions temperature, at least GM got that right!

 

Lots of things can be true at once:

• The transmission is very stout.
• Removing the cooler saved Toyota money.
• It won’t be a problem within the warranty period for the vast majority of Tundra drivers.
• Part of the reason people buy Tundras is the legendary rock-solid reliability, and this move was a step in the opposite direction.

I heard somewhere that Toyota said that running higher temps is better for fuel economy. This seems like utter BS. Look at fuel economy for 2014-2018 and 2019-2021. There is ZERO difference—neither stated by Toyota nor observed by drivers.

This was my concern as well. Once you get the warning light at 300°F, you’re well past the acceptable range for the internal seals, etc. in the transmission.

 

Toyota has been running the puck only setup in the 4.6 without towing package for forever and those trans have been fine.

Get the cooler if you want don’t get the cooler if you want. At this point it’s all a matter of preference as there are no significant trans failures since removing the cooler