TruCool 40k installation

[schimme]

I'm driving a 2004 Yukon XL Denali in South America through the Andes. The cooling system is overloaded, so first step is swapping the tiny original for a big ATF cooler.

Question:

Keep ATF\water heat exchanger or connect the new cooler directly to the transmission lines?

 

[justirv]

I'm driving a 2004 Yukon XL Denali in South America through the Andes. The cooling system is overloaded, so first step is swapping the tiny original for a big ATF cooler.

Question:

Keep ATF\water heat exchanger or connect the new cooler directly to the transmission lines?

Many will say to keep stock routing to radiator first, to warm to minimum temp, then to atf cooler. I myself eliminated the rad from the circuit and piped (hosed) directly to and from the atf cooler, I don't want them mixing. After experiencing a blowout of a c-clip on the stock atf cooler lines at highway speeds, on a freshly rebuilt trans... I went with AN-6 stainless hose for the entire run. Since you are in a cold climate, you can install a thermostatic hydraulic fluid bypass to get to operating temp. A 40k tru-cool should take care of your issue. What's your fan setup?

 

[Doubeleive]

I'm driving a 2004 Yukon XL Denali in South America through the Andes. The cooling system is overloaded, so first step is swapping the tiny original for a big ATF cooler.

Question:

Keep ATF\water heat exchanger or connect the new cooler directly to the transmission lines?

clutch fan or electric?
unless you are beating it down pretty hard the factory cooling system should work well if it is working properly.
a tru cool will take a little load off of the coolant temp, but if it is really from the environment I would use extra electric fans, perhaps forward forced air type.
or if need be a rooftop mounted external add-on radiator & fans. not unlike you would see on the back of a rally or baja pickup. might not look "pretty" but it would work

 

[schimme]

Well, I'm still all factory setup with the clutch fan shit. I have added a 14" electric fan inside the shroud that pulls, this fixed the AC not staying cold in traffic and it helps a bit with cooling on slow uphill. But it's not enough.

Since you have already gone the route with bypassing the heat exchanger - how's your ATF temperature behaving from cold start (warmup)? Where's your normal riding temperature with this setup?

Many will say to keep stock routing to radiator first, to warm to minimum temp, then to atf cooler. I myself eliminated the rad from the circuit and piped (hosed) directly to and from the atf cooler, I don't want them mixing. After experiencing a blowout of a c-clip on the stock atf cooler lines at highway speeds, on a freshly rebuilt trans... I went with AN-6 stainless hose for the entire run. Since you are in a cold climate, you can install a thermostatic hydraulic fluid bypass to get to operating temp. A 40k tru-cool should take care of your issue. What's your fan setup?

 

[Doubeleive]

Well, I'm still all factory setup with the clutch fan shit. I have added a 14" electric fan inside the shroud that pulls, this fixed the AC not staying cold in traffic and it helps a bit with cooling on slow uphill. But it's not enough.

Since you have already gone the route with bypassing the heat exchanger - how's your ATF temperature behaving from cold start (warmup)? Where's your normal riding temperature with this setup?

your gmt800 transmission temp should be hanging around 180 almost always when warmed up, if it is going higher (not towing) then something is not right.

 

[justirv]

Well, I'm still all factory setup with the clutch fan shit. I have added a 14" electric fan inside the shroud that pulls, this fixed the AC not staying cold in traffic and it helps a bit with cooling on slow uphill. But it's not enough.

Since you have already gone the route with bypassing the heat exchanger - how's your ATF temperature behaving from cold start (warmup)? Where's your normal riding temperature with this setup?

The Derale thermo that I have bypasses below 175°, trans warms up fairly quickly in moderate temps, then stays around 180° and very consistent. I'm in a warm climate, but occasionally hit our local mountains with temps near 0° F. Performance (temp) is predictable and consistent. I updated my mech fan/clutch on my '02 Tahoe Z71 to 2011+ 7/9 blade oem fans with included shroud. Very happy with this setup.

 

[justirv]

The Derale thermo that I have bypasses below 175°, trans warms up fairly quickly in moderate temps, then stays around 180° and very consistent. I'm in a warm climate, but occasionally hit our local mountains with temps near 0° F. Performance (temp) is predictable and consistent. I updated my mech fan/clutch on my '02 Tahoe Z71 to 2011+ 7/9 blade oem fans with included shroud. Very happy with this setup.

Bonus, I got HP Tuners to add the fans, and now am going down the whole "tuning" rabbit-hole, slow, methodical, well-documented, archived base files, and an IT mindset on file naming convention . There are pre-configured wiring harnesses available here, or from reputable vendors.

 

[schimme]

your gmt800 transmission temp should be hanging around 180 almost always when warmed up, if it is going higher (not towing) then something is not right.

I'm in the Andes up to 4500m elevation. I'm driving inclines so steep and long, that it's 1st gear for 30min very often. My transmission is fully rebuilt and runs DEXRON 6, temp climbs up to 215 and stays there, no matter what. Under normal driving, yes, it sits at 170...180. But Water temperature climbs as well. So my first idea is to add a big ATF cooler to take some load from the water cooler, if it's still not enough I'll do aluminum water cooler next.

 

[DoubleDingo]

14,760 feet!? Yikes!

 

[DoubleDingo]

Yeah, long slow steep grade driving, you need additional cooling

 

[Doubeleive]

I'm in the Andes up to 4500m elevation. I'm driving inclines so steep and long, that it's 1st gear for 30min very often. My transmission is fully rebuilt and runs DEXRON 6, temp climbs up to 215 and stays there, no matter what. Under normal driving, yes, it sits at 170...180. But Water temperature climbs as well. So my first idea is to add a big ATF cooler to take some load from the water cooler, if it's still not enough I'll do aluminum water cooler next.

you can add the tru cool pretty easily, I would do it in-line with the existing system that should help drop it around 15 degrees, which is better than nothing.

 

[Doubeleive]

ya at 14,500 ft I would def be doing flex a lite or derail, etc high power dual fan setup, getting it there might take a while there $500 USD here

 

[schimme]

Crunching numbers shows that duel electric fans make roughly 5000cfm. The OEM clutch can will do the same, if not more on high rpm. I don't see me switching.

How about good vents? Any experience with those?