Not today but yesterday....
My '04 'Burb is a Tow Pig, and we spend most of the Summer pulling a 3500# trailer up and down Colorado's 11,000'+ passes. The trans tends to get a little warm, even with the factory trans cooler, so I finally decided to put on a bigger one.
For those who haven't seen it, here's what the factory trans cooler that comes with the "heavy duty tow package" on the 1500 Suburban looks like:
Not only is the "cooler" pretty small, it is almost completely hidden by the "bow tie" emblem on the grill, which means it gets very little air flow.
The old cooler came off pretty easy except for the lines. the lines are held in by little c-clips. I pulled the clips out but still couldn't get the lines to come out - may have been corroded or just stuck from 15 years of being in there. No worries, since I have no intention of re-using the cooler anyway, I just got a pipe cutter and cut them (note: Do NOT use a hacksaw as that could put little flakes of metal in your transmission!)
From a YouTube video I got the idea of just flipping the crossmember underneath the factory cooler to mount the new one. Worked like a charm! I also had to relocate the temp sensor for the outside temp display on the rear view mirror. Foam ear plugs are in the trans lines to keep debris from getting in there while I work.
Trans cooler bolted into place. I was able to attach it to the stock A-frame everywhere but on the top passenger side (left as you are are looking at the picture.) However, the kit comes with hardware including the steel strap that I used, so it's connected at all 4 corners. I used bolts for the lower connections and self-tapping screws for the upper connection.
Last step was to install the lines.
Because I don't want to risk kinks in the lines that could interrupt the flow of trans fluid to/from the transmission, I'm going to use some heavy plastic conduit over the trans fluid lines to keep their rounded shape. It will also protect the lines from damage. That will probably be done this week because our first camping trip is a week from this weekend.
You can see by the photos how much bigger the new trans cooler is. It should really help when we are climbing those high passes.
For those interested, this is the YouTube video that helped me out:
