Trans cooler

While I don't know the answer concerning aftermarket coolers, I believe the factory coolers increased in size depending on the engine/tranny while all connections remained the same. I had to replace one on my 4.8 with the 4L60, and I got a 5.3 cooler at a junk yard for $15 that was considerably bigger, and everything bolted right up perfectly. YMMV

Please don't take this the wrong way. But are you sure that is the trany cooler? Is it possible it is the power steering cooler? Sounds about the right size for that.

At any rate. they don't have to be really big to do what they need to do

5.3 4L60E. Just not real big. Going to install a temp sensor and gauge. Cheaper than getting a new cluster with the temp gauge in it.

Terryallan wrote:
Please don't take this the wrong way. But are you sure that is the trany cooler? Is it possible it is the power steering cooler? Sounds about the right size for that.

At any rate. they don't have to be really big to do what they need to do

I think the steering cooler is on the left side of the radiator. Very skinny and tall. Not very wide.

Hi,

You can look up DeRalle at JcWhitney.com

Then check for transmission coolers. They sell stacked plate and tube style coolers. The tube style has a 3/8" tubing going about 10 - 15 feet through the cooler, and the pressure drop can be 5-10 PSI, and of course the more pressure drop the less gallons per hour of fluid flow.

With a stacked plate cooler, the fluid can take 1 of many paths from the inlet side to the outlet side, and only travels 8 - 12" across the cooler, at a really slow speed, thus giving off more heat as it moves, and practically no pressure drop.

You can also buy a digital temperature gauge or find a product that can read the factory temperature gauge reading via the OPDII Port.

Some of the transmission coolers come with a fan, some do not.

Fred.

I'm not sure that the 1/2 tons had tranny coolers. Have you traced the lines back? My 2500HD has one but as mentioned, it's very small and I'm towing at close to max capacity of my truck and it's never got hot yet.
Temp gauge would be nice though.

Pictures would be good to see what you are dealing with.

The 1st (LB7) and 2nd gen (LLY) GM Duramaxes had smallish transmission coolers and I believe I saw one like was installed in my truck in a gasser. The OEM coolers were on the ragged edge of being too small (and lots of folks have heard about the overheating issue, but that is another story).

There is an Earl's Cooler that is a direct bolt in as far as the lines are concerned, but some bracketry needs to be made to attach it to the existing supports.

This is the Earl's Cooler that I used to replace the cooler on my 04.5 diesel (LLY Duramax). I will be putting a small puller fan behind it for those times when you get caught in a traffic jam (has happened 2 times now). When creeping in hot weather, the cooler works fine, but I want a little extra insurance.

This cooler is 2 times as big as the OEM cooler. I purchased this one from Summit Auto Racing. There are lots of coolers on the market that would do the job.

Definitely bigger than the one I have from the factory. I'm researching apps for temp reading. Wanting to do this cheap as I plan on keeping the truck 1 more year. I have apple products so iOS compatibility is a must.

gopherslayer wrote:
I'm researching apps for temp reading. .

I use Torque.

I use and Edge CTS - plugs in to the OBD2 port.