I will be doing alot of towing this summer with our camper (5,800lbs fully loaded)and im just trying to be extra careful. I already replaced the trans once at 28,000 miles, they found a ton of metal shavings in the pan and the dealer had no reason to give me when i asked what caused it? Not sure if it was do to overheating? My warranty is almost out so i want to try and prevent any other major problems from happening.. About a month before the stock trans was replaced i installed a trans temp gauge and it was running at 190-210 degrees while towing. I haven't towed yet with the new trans but so far it hasn't gone above 165 degrees. I figure if i change the stock cooler with a good aftermarket cooler i shouldn't have any worries? Any suggestions??

 

First off, what year, engine, and body style are you driving?

Second... I mean, it can't hurt to upgrade the transmission cooler. I can only imagine what would have caused your tranny to fail when mines still going strong over 205,000. Bad egg maybe? Excessive heat on metal can cause the metal to weaken, causing gears to flex/warp, which can cause improper rubbing, gnashing, or grinding of gear teeth. I would suppose that's where the shrapnel came from (though at only 28,000 miles, that's still pretty hard to believe.)

I would say just as important as the cooler is having good, clean trans fluid and a solid filter. Maybe the trans isn't doing a good job of moving fluid through the stock cooler.

 

Stop. Don't buy anything yet.
I just bought an imperial cooler (built by Hayden). I mounted it to my A.C. condensor, cut holes in my air dam to run the hose to the existing cooler. Then I had the problem of finding the right fittings. The fitting that came with the kit did not work. I bought the extra fitting kit the instructions said to buy (1983 and newer with steel line push in connector and plastic retainer, 11/16 hex nut). Sounded like what I was looking at on my truck. Didn't work. Looked at Advance Auto's web site and another kit came up that matched my truck. Just got done trying it and it does not work. I called the tech line and was told that there is no aux cooler recommended for an F150 2004 - 2010. The flow drops too much if an aux cooler is added and can actually do more harm than good. So now I am out 65$ for the cooler, 7$ for the first set of fittings, 15$ for the other set, plus extra hose, and two hours trying to install a cooler that is supposed to install in 30 minutes.
I was really wanting the extra piece of mind with a cooler, now I guess I will just hope the trans holds up. I am pulling 6600 dry. 31' bumper pull camper. I would say just to change fluid more often and watch your speed.