Adding Factory Trans Oil Cooler

[studigggs]

Why get the little 1/2 ton cooler? I purchased a 1 ton cooler.

Got it for $65 ish ( ACDelco 89022577 GM Original Equipment Automatic Transmission Auxiliary Fluid Cooler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C9TRWG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7TUfCb3DF43YV)

That's on my nbs esky. Install should be essentially the same. The bracket would be the only variable but that's pretty simple to do.

In the pictures I've seen, the big cooler gets pretty close to the center support. I dont like the way that looks and I dont want to move the cooler to a new location which would require custom hoses and brackets. I dont like the look of custom hoses and brackets.

 

[Kbsink]

Adding Factory trans oil cooler to trucks that never had it.

Parts:
Cooler (1): 15990593 - Amazon
Cooler Line (1): 15982923 - RockAuto
Cooler Line (1): 15990062 - RockAuto
Cooler Quick Connect: GM 15718023 - Amazon
Nylon Hose Clip (2): 15738800 - eBay
Bracket, Lower (1): 15974696 - eBay
Bracket, Upper (1): ?????? - eBay
M6 "J-Nut" (4) - Local Hardware Store
M6 x 1" Body Bolt (8) - Local Hardware Store

My '90 has never had a factor aux trans cooler. Just the radiator inset, so wanted to keep my original 4L60 a little cooler. I dont really like the look of aftermarket coolers with rubber hose or soft lines running around, so thought I would retrofit an OEM version. All parts are freely available online (RockAuto, eBay, Amazon) EXCEPT for the upper cooler bracket. I don't know if my Google-foo is lacking or what, but I could not find a part number for this bracket. The stubby version (15968707) is available new for cheap, but in order to use this OEM cooler, you'll need the long-length bracket. This bracket took me a while to track down and I ended up having to PM an eBay seller to see if they could pull it off a parts truck they had listed. The one I received had some surface rust, so I wire brushed and painted it. Turned out nice enough. A parts yard is your best bet for this bracket I'm guessing. Another wonky thing is that the cooler lines dont fit into the quick connects that come on the cooler. If you use this parts list, you'll need to swap out the fittings that come on part number 15990593 for the quick connect fittings listed above. This is likely because I had multiple model years of parts, but I did use GM websites to get parts for a '94, so don't know what happened here. It all worked out in the end though. Once you get the parts, install was quick. Remove the parking lights, remove grill, remove the upper transmission cooler line at the radiator and upper transmission port. Install the bracket and cooler with the M6 body bolts, cut the old line in pieces to aid removal and feed the new lines in from the front. Start and run, fix the leak, add about 2 quarts of Dexron and enjoy. Temp difference? No idea, but likely cooler than without.

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I know this is an old topic but is there any chance you can show how you plumped in the older connections to the radiator?

 

[Boots97]

Late to the party but awesome swap man! Glad you've used OEM coolers and hard lines. I've had a very bad experience with an aftermarket transmission cooler and soft lines that led to my transmission being wiped out. One day I'd either like to get a 1 ton cooler or a cooler from a 6.0l Ford Powerstroke and swap it into my truck.

Edit: I know that the Ford Powerstroke Transmission Cooler has soft lines connected to it and that's the biggest turn off to me. I'm still tempted though bc the cooler is massive and I know that the cooler a 4L60E can stay, the better.

 

[Kens1990K2500]

I, too, have a 1990 truck that only came from the factory with the in-radiator trans cooler. When I bought my truck three years ago, it had a plow, and an aftermarket auxiliary transmission cooler. I removed the plow because I was going to sell it, and I removed the auxiliary cooler because it looked beat-up, and had rubber lines with questionable connections. I ended up replacing my transmission cooler lines with a set of stainless steel, pre-bent lines from Inline Tube (good quality!), which go directly from the tranny to the radiator.

Well, I never ended up selling the plow, so I decided to re-install it for this winter. So, I will also need to install another auxiliary trans cooler, and found this thread.

Two years apparently makes a big difference in parts availability, since I was not able to find the OEM trans cooler you used, in stock anywhere. I ended up ordering a Tru-Cool M7B.

I did find the part number for the lower mounting bracket, but no sellers had an actual photo of it so I could verify that it matches the one you have. I decided I will just fabricate my own brackets out of thicker aluminum.

But, the part that is really frustrating is the lines and fittings. I did order one of the lines you used (from radiator to aux cooler) but I'm not sure it will work out for me (good thing Amazon has free returns). I think I will end up making my own lines out of 5/16" copper-nickel and using flare fittings/adapters, and maybe sleeving them with rubber hose where they might rub against the radiator support. I'm probably going to avoid the newer style snap-in connectors; they have so many different part #s, it's making my head spin. Like I said, I'll probably use a flare connection, which I trust more anyway.

I wanted to add a trans fluid temp gage, but there is really no good place to put it that doesn't involve cutting into my stainless steel lines that I already replaced (which I don't want to do) or using a ton of odd fittings, so I think I may just skip the gage, since it will add another layer of complication to an already complicated project (not complicated in theory, just complicated in terms of gathering the right combo of parts/fittings/etc.).

I may post a separate write up once I get through this nightmare. You made yours look easy, and it's a clean looking install.