To those of you who think its no big deal, the engine doesn't run hot anyway----- The number one job of the radiator is to cool the engine. The number two job is to cool the transmission. If your engine temp. gauge stays in the normal position it may be fine for the engine but what about the tranny. Say it's a very hot day and you are towing up hill. The engine is running with the thermostat wide open. All may look good on the engine temp. gauge but the poor tranny may be cooking, with a little larger radiator the tranny would run cooler too, and yes we also have a separate tranny cooler.

Have you ever been stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for hours (like at a wreck on an interstate) on a hot humid day, sure would be nice to keep the A/C on and never worry about overheating.

The bigger radiator may cure problems that are unforseen. It's not just a matter of getting what we paid for. It could be a matter of replacing a transmission. Everyone knows the biggest enemy of a tranny is heat.

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2000 F-150, XLT, SC, 5.4, 4X4, 355 LS, ORP, Black/Silver, class III, single CD, sliding glass, med. gray, keyless, elect. shift, engine date 8-18-99, Superchip. 2.02" corrected radiator-F75Z-8005-GA --- '93 Harley Fatboy Black & tons of chrome

 

Of course, those of us who tow on a regular basis typically also have an external trans cooler and a trans fluid temp gauge...

The trans fluid argument has some merit, but it's typically the size of the heat exchanger in the rad that's the limiting factor, not the overall radiator efficiency. For truly HD operation, an aux trans cooler, in line with the stock, is the way to go.

 

Anyone verify the presence of their tranny cooler? I want to go out and take a look, but I only see what appears to be the Power Steering cooler. But it was only a quick glance. Where would I find it?

 

The power steering cooler is on the driver's side and the tranny aux. cooler is on the passenger side. It's easiest to see it if you look from below/thru the bumper. You can barely see it thru the grill.

 

Hey Guys, I saw the post and have been doing a little research on this to add my 2 cents. I don't believe we have any external trans coolers unless we have the towing package. I might be wrong but I think that's the case. I don't have one other than the one in the radiator and that's not going to cut it again for the summers we have here. You have to think that in stop-n-go traffic on 95+ days that trans fluid can go up to 250 to 300 deg's. That's too hot and will sure help boil your radiator keeping everything too hot. I found a really "cool" aftermarket made by Derale that's got a fan and looks like it would even work for an oil cooler too. I talked to their rep. and it sounds like priced from $140 to $240 depending on kits. Kinda high but I KNOW this bad boy will do it!

 

Bubba.....

I totally Agree....100%. ITs not the engine to worry about its the tranny. On a 70' day, sitting in stop and go traffic...say 3 miles worth...trans temps can climb over 170 very quickly. I have installed a perma-cool fan on the trans-cooler. In stop and go traffic, this would maintain a temp, but not cool it down. That skinny radiator will cook the poor trans!!!

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2000 XLT Silver 5.4L SC 4X4 ORP 157"wb Ford Floormats, MudFlaps,Cabin Air Filter, lighted emblems, lighted interior door handles(all 4) Chrome Grill (4x2 style), Diamondplate bed caps, Pro-Tech tool box, Air Box mod, Muth Heated Signal Mirrors, Custom Gauge Pod-(water temp, trans temp)
Perma-cool 8" Electric Trans Cooler Fan, (2) Perma-cool 14" electrics, Superchip (flipchip), Map lights in overhead-rear pass, tinted windows, back up lights.

 

The tranny cooler specs read like this.
4.2/4.6 with 4R70W, no ext.cooler without, 14 plate ext. cooler with HD Elect./Cooling or Class III tow group.

5.4 with 4R70W, 14 plate ext. cooler without, 22 plate ext. cooler with.

5.4 with 4R100, no ext. cooler without, 14 plate ext. cooler with.

 

I have the 5.4 with class 3 TP. I took a look at my transmission cooler and it apears to have only 12 or 13 plates I know I am supposed to have the 22 plate cooler.
I am not sure how you determine which cooler has 14 plates or 22.And what are the dimensions of the coolers?

 

I only specs I have access to are what I posted and came from the 2001 online source book.

I did remember reading a post about the coolers and managed to find it. www.f150online.com/f150board/Forum10/HTML/003704.html

Scroll down to a post from Screwit.

 

01sport
Thanks for the imfo it looks like I have the right tranny cooler and the correct battery.