95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners

Bypass the OE tranny cooler?

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Old 10-18-2007 | 09:11 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by aowRS
Does anyone know the price of an OE radiator straight from Toyota (Grapevine, etc.)? I have an '01 with 134,000 miles and wonder if this may be a smart preventative maintenance item as I intend to still keep the truck for many years.

Andreas
I happen to have a collision parts list for the 2001 Taco. For the 5VZ auto the radiator (part#164100C042) goes for $536.35 retail, and it shows book rate of 1.2 hours if your paying someone else the labor. You could get it cheaper ($386.17) from an online dealer like Bob Bridge Toyota:
https://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/partscat.html
Old 10-18-2007 | 09:24 AM
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Wow. I'm getting up there mileagewise and I think I might need to do this soon.

What's everyone's opinion on the rubber cooler lines? Would they need replacement after certain points?

I have the Hayden 678 in my 4Runner right now, is it capable enough to handle all of the cooling?
Old 10-18-2007 | 09:49 AM
  #23  
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Originally Posted by mt_goat
I happen to have a collision parts list for the 2001 Taco. For the 5VZ auto the radiator (part#164100C042) goes for $536.35 retail, and it shows book rate of 1.2 hours if your paying someone else the labor. You could get it cheaper ($386.17) from an online dealer like Bob Bridge Toyota:
https://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/partscat.html
Thank you!

Andreas
Old 10-18-2007 | 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Crazychopstick

I have the Hayden 678 in my 4Runner right now, is it capable enough to handle all of the cooling?
Probably, do you have it in front of a fan so it gets air if you're going slow like in bumper to bumper traffic.

My radiator cooler has been totally bypassed now and replaced with one of these coolers model #4454 :
http://www.importperformancetrans.com/coolers.shtml Note they have a built-in bypass for cold temps.

My tranny temps run around 160-190 F with the hottest I've seen it 205 F on a 100 degree day after a long drive. My coolant temps run hotter than that so there is no way the radiator cooler would be helping in my case anyway.

Last edited by mt_goat; 10-18-2007 at 09:57 AM.
Old 10-18-2007 | 12:10 PM
  #25  
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The radiators from the dealer are horribly expensive even at a discount. Usually a local auto body shop can help you out with finding a less expensive OEM replacement.
Old 10-18-2007 | 12:31 PM
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Maybe I overlooked it but it seems that all the core failures are on V6's and not 4cyl's... Right?

I'm wondering the if the radiators are similar between the two engines?
Old 10-18-2007 | 07:41 PM
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The 3rd generation 4Runner 4 cylinders and the 96-00 6 cylinders use the same radiator for auto or manual (p/n16400-75180). The 01-02 V6s use p/n 16400-75181.

Last edited by element; 10-18-2007 at 07:53 PM.
Old 10-18-2007 | 08:09 PM
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Thanks for the pictures, Goat! Your installs look very clean. Looks like they came that way from the factory (or at least should have).
I like the twin coolers



I was looking through the album (snooping ) and saw what looked like a T that you might have fabbed for the cooler fan thermostat.



Where do you typically place it in the system? Some people at Tundra Solutions (sorry for their popup) were talking about placement on the return line just out side of the cooler showing temps that are very similar to ones shown when the sensor is mounted in the pan.
Old 10-18-2007 | 08:30 PM
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On my Tundra, I had the sensor mounted in the return line as well. Better to know the temp of the fluid going in because you already know the fluid coming out will be hot.
Old 10-18-2007 | 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by mt_goat
Probably, do you have it in front of a fan so it gets air if you're going slow like in bumper to bumper traffic.

My radiator cooler has been totally bypassed now and replaced with one of these coolers model #4454 :
http://www.importperformancetrans.com/coolers.shtml Note they have a built-in bypass for cold temps.

My tranny temps run around 160-190 F with the hottest I've seen it 205 F on a 100 degree day after a long drive. My coolant temps run hotter than that so there is no way the radiator cooler would be helping in my case anyway.
Yep, mine's mounted slightly in front of the radiator.

I ordered a Tru-Cool from ipt for my Tundra a while back and no matter how much I pushed it, it never got past 150.
Old 10-19-2007 | 04:52 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by element
Thanks for the pictures, Goat! Your installs look very clean. Looks like they came that way from the factory (or at least should have).
I like the twin coolers



I was looking through the album (snooping ) and saw what looked like a T that you might have fabbed for the cooler fan thermostat.



Where do you typically place it in the system? Some people at Tundra Solutions (sorry for their popup) were talking about placement on the return line just out side of the cooler showing temps that are very similar to ones shown when the sensor is mounted in the pan.
The twin coolers were over kill, I pulled one out and it still ran very cool. I'm just running one now.

That "T" is for my trans temp gauge sensor, but you could do the samething for a fan controller sensor. I have it on the output line before the cooler so I see the hottest temp possible. I found the parts at Ace hardware, well except for the sensor that came with the Isspro gauge. http://www.egauges.com/vdo_mult3.asp...=EVA_R&Units=E

Last edited by mt_goat; 10-19-2007 at 04:53 AM.
Old 10-19-2007 | 09:23 PM
  #32  
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Thanks again for all of the information.
Old 12-14-2007 | 08:41 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Maj
Bypassing the stock cooler is not an issue heat-wise as long as you get an auxiliary cooler rated high enough for your application. However, the factory coolers are plumbed the way they are to maintain a minimum temp for the tranny fluid. That is also an argument for placing an aux cooler upstream of the factory cooler so that a minimum fluid temp is assured. So if you live in a cold climate and bypass the factory cooler you might be operating the tranny at below ideal fluid temp. What that translates into performance and tranny longevity-wise, I dunno.
Originally Posted by mt_goat
I can't really say this isn't a problem because I haven't run this setup in cold weather yet, but my 97 BMW 328i has the same setup from the factory (no radiator ATF cooler). I'll let you know this winter what my ATF temps are. My ATF cooling fan is set to come on when the ATF reaches 180 F with a Hayden 3647 controller.


The cooler I'm using also has a built-in bypass so cold ATF can go around the cooler:
http://www.importperformancetrans.com/coolers.shtml
I've now had a chance to test in some colder weather, its been staying around 32 F. On the highway my ATF temps are a little on the cool side, like around 115 F, going slower (city driving) it warms up to about 145 F. Not sure what temp is considered too cold. but I may look at putting a piece of cardboard or something in front of the cooler to block the air flow some if it gets real cold. No noticeable problems with the tranny so far.

Last edited by mt_goat; 12-14-2007 at 10:25 AM.
Old 12-14-2007 | 10:15 AM
  #34  
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Ok, so what is the general consensus here? Is this a part that NEEDS replacing? I don't tow much, and if I do, I never use OD.

Do we know what the recommended transmission operating temperatures are for our transmission?
Old 12-14-2007 | 03:56 PM
  #35  
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I blocked off half of the air flow to the cooler:


After driving for a while in the city (36 F today) it got up to 175 F (hot enough that the controller kicked the cooling fan on), don't want that. I guess I'll remove the air block unless it gets really cold.

Last edited by mt_goat; 10-26-2008 at 12:51 PM.
Old 12-04-2008 | 05:59 PM
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Do you guys think it would be better to install a new aftermarket rad or bypass the stock cooler? What did you guys end up doing?
Old 12-04-2008 | 06:27 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by 954rrmike
Do you guys think it would be better to install a new aftermarket rad or bypass the stock cooler? What did you guys end up doing?
I did both.
Old 12-04-2008 | 06:31 PM
  #38  
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Yeah the more I think about it that rad is a liability, it needs to go. Spectra premium makes quality rads that are reasionably priced.
Old 12-04-2008 | 10:51 PM
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There is a lot of talk about temps too low. I have no background to say what is or isn't a good temperature.

I guess my question is, do you drive the truck while the tranny is cold? It is zero out right now, even at that temp, the oil will still flow. Not the best, but zero is unusual.

I would think as long as the oil is flowing, you are golden which would be around freezing or so. Again, total speculation. ATF is a very lightweight oil and should flow very easily.

When I changed 10-40 Rotella synthetic in 20 degrees, that oil moved very...very slow.

As for the cooler, I ran it through the rad which is probably a mistake. I think it is worth changing to cooler only with monitor. You should run a thermostat on it if you were worried about it being too cold...couldn't you?
Old 12-05-2008 | 07:01 AM
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Very cold temps are why I think it may be useful to maintain circuit through the radiator cooler. I added an IPT cooler this fall, but didn't install a temp sensor. I can only guess that things are cooler.

We get morning temps in the negative 20s F range in the winter (maybe negative teens in the garage), so my feeling is that a little warmup from the radiator may be quite useful for tranny operations. As I recall, the hot supply goes into the cooler first and then the radiator, before returning. This should result in a slight warm up once the coolant temperature starts to rise.

Correction: The supply enters the radiator, then the trans cooler, before returning. So I probably don't get much preheating of cold tranny fluid, but maybe a little to take the edge off. No biggie as I've never really had a problem with cold weather shifting or pumping. I suspect the hydraulic pumping gets the fluid warmed up pretty quick, anyway.

MadCityRich
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265/75

Last edited by MadCityRich; 12-07-2008 at 02:28 PM.



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