if you run it through the rad first then the cooler you do not have a back pressure problem. it takes the same amount of time to drain 4 liters out of the pan, weather you disconnect at the line coming out of the tranny or the line out of the cooler.

 

Hi everyone . . . Dodge Forum comes through again! I have a 95' Dakota 2wd v6 w/auto transmission and am going to install a tow hitch. I was concerned about the effect of towing on the transmission. This thread answered my questions and concerns regarding additional cooling and if installing a supplemental trans. cooler is a big job. Thanks for the help!

 

I'm doing an aux tranny cooler this summer too, and I was wondering my best route, but this thread just answered my question. Good thing I searched before I started a new thread. Living here in winnipeg, manitoba, where winters can hit -50 with the windchill sometime, I'm still gunna run mine through the rad cooler and then to the aux cooler. I had one on the other dakota I had sometime ago, and it does make a big difference. Plus my trannys starting to slip a bit and I can't afford a rebuild right now, so anything cheap to band-aid fix it works for me for now!

 

I read in this post and others concerning transmission coolers that the brand is not important. However, when I looked at the coolers available at RockAuto they have six models: light, medium and heavy duty in Ultra - Cool and Rapid - Cool and a trans. fluid fitting kit. I do not think I need the Rapid - Cool. For occasional towing of up to 2500# do I need the HD cooler and is the fitting kit necessary for all installations? Thanks.

 

In your case with the minus temps. I would run a cooler along with the radiator. But in my case where I have 100+ degrees all summer and temps as low as 40 degrees in the winter. The need of the radiator being in the equation is useless to me. My transmission fluid is always warm even when I haven't ran the truck in a few days.

And I've even seen some people down here use their A/C condensor as a trans-cooler. In which case they have a non functional A/C system anyways. I guess that works too huh.

 

I don't know if it's factory or not, but my Dak has a tranny cooler on it already. It looks factory and the previous owners never pulled trailers or hauled anything in it and never had it added so i dunno...Did the come from factory with aux coolers? I have a reciever hitch as well...Is it possible the cooler was added when the hitch was installed??

 

Sounds like you have the tow package! I got one too.

 

aw sweet I was hoping so...I plan on doing some light duty hauling and towing and was glad to see the cooler on there.

 

Transmission coolers are a real plus. You really can’t go wrong by putting one in. A lot of transmission shops will bypass the radiator altogether if the vehicle they are working on is subject to building up restrictions in the radiator. Fortunately our trucks aren’t in that category but they still can use more cooling capacity.

There are two basic designs, tube and fin, and plate and fin. The plate and fin is more efficient because it circulates the fluid through narrower passages with more cooling fins. The tube and fin runs the fluid through larger circular tubes with less fins for cooling. I’m old fashion and like the tube and fin because I think it has less of a chance of clogging and causing problems and it can still cool adequately. They’re cheap and should run from $30 (light duty)-$70 (heavy duty 25,000 lbs) depending on how much cooling capacity you want.

In Winnipeg you won’t want to overdo it. I was born there and lived there until I was about 24. I live in Austin, TX know but I still remember putting on my moccasins and heading to school (that was in the 60’s and most everyone wore them). If you put a heavy duty tranny cooler on I think you’d run to cool in the winter.

 

Thanks for the advice. I was gunna say that it sounds pretty safe to say that a light duty cooler in combination with the factory rad cooler will suffice.