[KK17]

So I’ve made a couple posts recently about transmission coolers, trans temps, towing and more lol.

Anyways I’ve had my transmission cooler installed for awhile now and recently picked up my camper (Little Guy Max) which has a dry weight of around 3100 and max weight can be 4100 but we only carry about 300 to 500 lbs. So we’re at about 3400 to 3600 lbs loaded - camper that is and more likely on the lighter end as we’re light packers. We’re camping, not living out of it lol.

We took our first trip here locally in the Smoky Mountains and for the most part the FJ handled perfectly. There were two hills where non locals couldn’t drive so we had to slow down which slowed us way down going up hill lol. I drove in 4th the whole time and was about 2600 rpm’s at 60-65 mph for most of the drive. A couple times I’d hit about 2800 to 3000 rpm’s when going 50-55 mph going up some hill climbs but this was only about 3 or 4 times.

So on to my trans temps via my Ultra Gauge MX 1.4. Most time my trans temps would stay around 188 to 205 - depending on speed, climbs, traffic and more. The few times I hit big hill climbs I’d hit 220 to 225 at the most.

Questions:

Do these transmission temps and rpm’s sound or look good?

And if I take trips westerly later down the road I suppose I’ll be good but just a bit more slower speeds and manual shifting when going up mountains and more in places like Colorado, Utah and Montana?

Thanks

 

[iwashmycar]

A lot of it depends where your gauge is set to take the reading from.

But it sounds good to me....maybe a touch high, but depends what cooler you did / outside temp / ect

 

[Iconic_]

The big question is where the reading is actually coming from. The pan or the torque converter?

 

[KK17]

A lot of it depends where your gauge is set to take the reading from.

But it sounds good to me....maybe a touch high, but depends what cooler you did / outside temp / ect

I did the B&M Hi-Tek Super Cooler (Large) 70264

B&M 70264 B&M Hi-Tek SuperCooler Large - 14,400 BTU Rating

Our B&M Hi-Tek SuperCoolers feature a stacked plate design which is up to 30% more efficient than tube and fin designs and have 15% less flow restriction resulting in maximum cooling efficiency. The cooler features built-in attachment points, making mounting the cooler a breeze and the cooler is...

www.holley.com

The cooler is designed with a bypass so the cooler does get bypassed until the transmission fluid reaches a certain temp which is then thinner and then travels through the cooler. If the fluid never gets hot enough then it just bypasses.
Maybe I should try a regular trans cooler without the bypass. Trans coolers are relatively cheap and once you install one then it’s just remove old and place in newer. Two hoses and four mounting points

I’m reading from both the Pan and Torque Converter. I can remember which is usually higher but that is the numbers I’m giving here. The other whichever of the two is lower was usually about between 15-20 degrees lower

Outside temp that day was 93-95 and I believe humidity was or right at 100%.

 

[KK17]

The big question is where the reading is actually coming from. The pan or the torque converter?

I can remember which of the two reads higher but that’s the number I’m providing. I can’t remember which typically reads higher the Pan or Torque Converter but I have both displayed on the main screen so I can watch both side by side. I know one always reads higher when pushing it but again the number I’m giving is whichever of those two is always higher under conditions.

 

[iwashmycar]

The bypass thing sounds a little strange. I get the idea, but seems like it wouldnt cool to its maximum....The fluid is pretty darned thin even when cool though so could be wrong.

I think a normal Hayden 679 would cool more.

 

[KK17]

The bypass thing sounds a little strange. I get the idea, but seems like it wouldnt cool to its maximum....The fluid is pretty darned thin even when cool though so could be wrong.

I think a normal Hayden 679 would cool more.

Yeah I’m leaning towards just snagging the Hayden 679.

 

[FJtest]

I can remember which of the two reads higher but that’s the number I’m providing. I can’t remember which typically reads higher the Pan or Torque Converter but I have both displayed on the main screen so I can watch both side by side. I know one always reads higher when pushing it but again the number I’m giving is whichever of those two is always higher under conditions.

The torque converter outlet temperature will always be higher than the pan temperature whenever the lockup clutch is not engaged because there will significant 'slip' and fluid shear occuring in the TC.

Conversely, when the clutch is engaged the pan and TC outlet temperatures will be identical.

Since you are displaying both pan and TC outlet temperatures, list BOTH of them here so we can see the ratio between pan and TC outlet temperatures when the lockup clutch is not engaged.

If your pan temperatures are somewhere around 30 degrees cooler than peak TC outlet temperature, then your cooler is doing exactly what it is intended to do.

Before I installed an auxiliary transmission cooler, when fully loaded for a 2 week camping trip, climbing steep grades would show peak TC outlet temperatures of almost 240 degrees. After installing the cooler, peak temps dropped by 30 degrees.

 

[KK17]

Ok I just took another camping trip and prior to going I decided that since a Hayden Transmission cooler is only $50 and only an hours worth of work to swap the B&M Super Cooler for the Hayden 679 I might as well try.

I went on the same roads and I was shocked at the difference. I’m not sure how many people have swapped transmission coolers but this was a positive swap for me.

When not climbing my transmission temps would be 170-175. When climbing average to medium grademy transmission temps would jump to 185 to 195. Only twice on big climbs did I see 203 max. And of course there was like a 20 degree temp difference between the TC Outlet and pan.

Previous B&M Super Cooler I would see transmission temps of 188 to 200 when not climbing and I would see 220 to 225 transmission temps when climbing.

 

[FMC]

I'm thinking about buying a little guy max and towing with my 2014 TTUE rated at 4700 lbs. Thoughts on tow ability?

 

[FMC]

Also, how do you like the little guy max?

 

[Vino]

I soo wanted that little guy max, I looked at those a lot, but my budget just wasn't there. That is a super nice trailer. We ended up with the Baxton Creek Free Solo Fam (Bushwacker Plus is the new name) I have am auto and the FJ was a little sluggish towing from Colorado to California.