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Tow Vehicle Transmission Cooler????


spinxt

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How many of you out there have transmission coolers on your tow vehicles (either factory installed or aftermarket?)? I have a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo with the HO 250hp 3.2 V6. I'm considering wether I should put a transmission cooler on it or not (it does not have one installed from the factory). I generally tow the boat about 15 miles (mostly flat w/ one steep hill leading down to the river). The truck has no problem pulling the boat (Response LX) and doesn't seem to do a lot of up/down shifting (I run it in "3"; not "D" when towing.

What do you all think?

Chris

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How many of you out there have transmission coolers on your tow vehicles (either factory installed or aftermarket?)? I have a 2002 Isuzu Rodeo with the HO 250hp 3.2 V6. I'm considering wether I should put a transmission cooler on it or not (it does not have one installed from the factory). I generally tow the boat about 15 miles (mostly flat w/ one steep hill leading down to the river). The truck has no problem pulling the boat (Response LX) and doesn't seem to do a lot of up/down shifting (I run it in "3"; not "D" when towing.

What do you all think?

Chris

a transmission cooler can't hurt but I seriously doubt you need one for the situation you described.

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Since your uphill climb is at the start of your trip home, you are starting out with cool fluid, so I don't see a need either.

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agree with all so far, there is no need for that knowing the distance that you are traveling. Save your money for those expensive toys that we all want!!! New ski, ropes, handles, ect;

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Our '01 Sport-Trac came with it OEM. I feel much better with it towing across the state of Texas every weekend with that itty bitty V6 cuz we're right at the tow rating.

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Our '01 Sport-Trac came with it OEM. I feel much better with it towing across the state of Texas every weekend with that itty bitty V6 cuz we're right at the tow rating.

did you get all the rain that we all saw on the news this weekend where you are in texas? Looked like you could have launched the BU anywhere around that area with 16 inches of rain.

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Our '01 Sport-Trac came with it OEM. I feel much better with it towing across the state of Texas every weekend with that itty bitty V6 cuz we're right at the tow rating.

That is going to catch up with you eventually. I pulled my first boat with a V6 Toyota and it did great for a few years. One day I was pulling the boat up the ramp and heard a not very nice grinding sound. The other new sounds coming out of the transmission after spending $3000 to get the tranny rebuilt. It had a factory tow package on it, but we were right at the tow rating for the vehicle.

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Okay, let me add this.....on occasion (e.g. this August and probably once a summer) I will go on a long tow. About 300 miles across Pennsylvania to Deep Creek Lake in Maryland......does that change the opinons? I'm not worried aobut the cost of the cooler....they are relatively inexpensive....however the installation is more what bugs me. I don't want to get stiffed at the dearler/ U-haul or the like.

Chris

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It's really easy to install and a no-brainer as to whether it will benefit. Heat kills transmissions, and you wouldn't believe how hot the fluid gets, even without towing. Your car is not a robust tow vehicle, so it's really doing heavy duty work by pulling your boat. I installed one on my old V6 4Runner (it had a small one already, under the radiator, so this was installed in series)- towed nearly 10k miles with it and the trans still shifted like new. Mostly short trips with a few long trips every year. I was very pleased to see my 06 4Runner with the V8 came with a sizable trans cooler from the factory already installed!

Edited by M3Fan
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