Auto transmission cooler

[Newboy]

Looking to buy a 3.0 td to tow a boat trailer of 1300kg. I was told towing with an auto box for long distance can boil the transmission fluid. Do Surf auto come with transmission cooler? If not, can they be fitted aftermarket?

Thanks in advance

[steved]

There is a cooler built into the bottom of the rad you should not need anything else.

[Gizmo]

should be ok...had no probs towing an Ifor twho horse trailer from Malvern to Bolton on the 3.0. Some have done mods..just do a search using transmission cooler or something of that nature

[Tallyman]

Sorry but I don't agree. The cooler built into the base of the rad is badly designed and restricts the flow of water back to the engine quite significantly as it covers the exit hole at the bottom. In very hot weather (I know that's not often here) if the transmission is under load and getting very hot the built in cooler cannot always cope with cooling the AFT fluid enough and you can get overheating problems, as the heat from the AFT fluid goes into the "cool" water going round the engine and helps to cause engine overheating. I had it on mine when towing up hill last year.

I fitted a 13 row oil cooler myself. It's quite straight forward to fit and the kit is around £120 with all pipes, fittings etc. Kenlowe do one or also try Speedflow in Clevedon, Som. I've not had any problems since fitting the kit when towing my 1400kgs caravan.

I'll put a link on here shortly to the write up I did last year.

Edit: here's the link...
http://www.yotasurf.co.uk/forums/sho...ight=Speedflow

[TonyN]

We've only got a 3.0 auto hot by vastly overloading it (see the 'Black Bullet alert" thread in general), I've not had any trouble towing sensible weights, even towing another Surf.

But a ATF cooler is harmless insurance and worth doing, but don't have any sleepless nights over not having it.

[dirtydog]

will anything do as long as it fits? is it a case of the cooler the better?
I guess you just plumb in line to the existing oil cooler?
Ta'

[TonyN]

will anything do as long as it fits? is it a case of the cooler the better?
I guess you just plumb in line to the existing oil cooler?
Ta'

I had a 9 row in my pickup, it was all that kept the autobox cool as I had a manual rad in it, 35" tyres on one end, and a Rover V8 the other. Never had any ATF smells from underneath.

[dirtydog]

I had a 9 row in my pickup, it was all that kept the autobox cool as I had a manual rad in it, 35" tyres on one end, and a Rover V8 the other. Never had any ATF smells from underneath.

Might think about doing an oil cooler if its cheap enough...

how much is an air con rad out of interest? any ideas? (underslung one)
maybe someone makes some brackets like the air filter box ones for the bash plate so its easy to clean underneath.

[Chillitt]

apparently air con rad is a bit big. the box has an optimum temprather than cooler the better. the oz site says run the oil cooler after the built in one, if you run with the air con rad put it in before the std one the the rad will 'take the chill off' as it were. however if you ditch the aircon, theres plenty of room under there for pretty much any oil cooler, and still have room to get to the rad. which is nice.

[TonyN]

I'd run it inline with the in-rad cooler, before it to get most of the heat out so it keeps the main rad cooler.

Any universal 9 or more row cooler will fit, behind the bumper is a good spot like Jotto did to his.

I got mine from Real Steel in Uxbridge, nice kit with all the fittings, but you can DIY it cheaper with just a cooler from somewhere like e-bay and sort the hose fittings out yourself.

[TonyN]

the oz site says run the oil cooler after the built in one,

Don't fancy that idea, you won't reduce the engine coolant temps at all by putting it this way round, I'd rather cool it first, then run it through the rad so your not heating up your coolant with really hot ATF fluid.

The big issue we had with the vastly overloaded trailer on thursday was when you hit a big hill, the coolant temp shot up dramatically as boiling hot AFT fluid was running through the rad right by the exit before the water goes back in the engine.

[Newboy]

I spend the last hour or so reading threads on coolers. Only some of you guys suffer from boiling transmission oil, while others towing similar weigh don't have problems.

I think I will get a Surf, tow it and see.

[dirtydog]

what size is Jottos cooler? I might try and get a 13 row... Im sure that willl fit"!

[Chillitt]

anybody had any dealings with http://www.autogearbox.com/ seems a good deal on coolers..
i've been told the caravan club do a cooler kit, but not being a member, i cant get to that bit of their website...