I've read that the facory trans cooler on the 2003 F-350 6.8L/4R100 may not be adequate in hotter climates such as the SoCal desert area especially when towing heavier loads....7K-10K. Ambient temps in my area are typically 90-100F from May-Sept.

I installed a TruCool Max 4739 on my E40D and it worked great. Since my truck had no factory trans cooler, it was installed after radiator. I also replaced radiator as trans cooler portion was partially clogged and restricting trans fluid flow back to trans.

What has proven to be a GREAT trans cooler for this year truck/trans?
Is it the 26 row 6.0L diesel truck cooler?
Is it the TruCool Max cooler by LONG?

I know a new 6.0L cooler is about $400, but it is what it is.

If I were to go 6.0L, what mods are needed to install?
1. Is it installed after the current OEM cooler?
2. Is installed in place of current OEM cooler?

If TruMax 4739 cooler, same two questions

Thanks!

 

I had an '02 F250 7.3, never had a problem till we got our 35' 5th wheel and ran a long uphill climb in central Utah...... HOT!!! trans. So I looked at the 6.0 cooler, way too expensive and ended up buying a BIG after market trans cooler. I don't remember the actual GVWR but it was over 20,000 lbs. I installed it on the 2 uprights right behind the grille and in series with the little tiny stock cooler and never had another overheat issue.

 

Which cooler AND Fluid restriction are my concerns.

If added to existing cooler this becomes an ADDITIONAL restriction.
Is it best to REPLACE OEM cooler with the new cooler?

 

The 6.0L is the best cooler you can fit in the truck. The TruCool Max is good, too, but not as good.

The 6.0L cooler came in either 31 row or 26 row. Either one works fine. It mounts to the same mounts that your current cooler is mounted to. DO NOT put another cooler in series, scrap the current cooler.

The only mods to install a 6.0L cooler is you need to go to the hardware store and get barbed adapters to go from 3/8" line to 1/2" line. Other than that it is a straight bolt in.

I don't know what it takes to install the TruCool Max.

Mishimoto now makes a replacement for the 6.0L cooler. I understand they make a version with 3/8" fittings so it would be a straight bolt in with zero modifications.

Dorman also makes a 6.0L cooler, and it's a lot less than $400.

 

Thanks again, Mark!

The Mushimoto is $350 see item below...

https://www.mishimoto.com/ford-power...ler-03-07.html

 

I have the Dorman 918-216 version (Amazon $191) of the 5R110 cooler and it has been working fine.
It mounts in place of the original V10 cooler.
Even though the 5R110 cooler is twice as large as the original V10 cooler the 1/2" tubing used in its' construction reduces flow restriction.
Line pressure is increased enough I run a 3rd cooler (1/2" port stacked plate) and a filter with a net result of higher return pressure than the original V10 cooler by itself.

 

save your money and get the dorman 6.0L cooler. you'll be fine with it. I did this mod a year ago. the stock cooler works fine but why not upgrade and have that extra sense of security. I use to tow a 31ft toy box all over socal with my v10 ccsb without any problems

 

Look around on Google, I bought my updated 26row 6.0 cooler from a Ford dealer for under 350 shipped. Now I've only had it one summer and it is also the first time I had a real trans gauge and my truck never went above 160 degrees all last summer. I am only in New Jersey so it's not like the Sahara desert. During the winter the trans wouldn't go above 100 degrees so I had to out a piece of rubber roof material in front of the cooler so I could get the temps up to about 150ish

 

Any info on the Dorman replacement for the 6.0L?

I saw a YouTube video where a guy cut one in half and also cut a OEM Ford 6.0L in half and compared the two......Ford was thicker where it needed to be and Dorman was very thin where it did NOT need to be thin.

Thoughts?

 

Anybody have the Ford OEM part number for the later model 26 row 6.0L trans cooler?

Thanks!

 

You might want to check out the B&M SuperCooler 70274.
If you're handy it comes with mounting straps and takes just a few bolts to mount.
It's the 3rd cooler on my setup.
It has 1/2" NPT ports so you can use brass street elbows and hose barb fittings to get a nice install.
It costs $135, 11"x11"x1-1/2", rated at 29,200 BTU, and pressure tested to 200 PSI.
I can't find a BTU rating for the Dorman or Ford coolers.

 

I guess they are not listening.

DO NOT put another cooler in series, scrap the current cooler.

 

I did scrap the original cooler and installed the Dorman 5R110 cooler.
Increasing the cooler size runs the risk of increasing line pressure to the point the cooler bypass circuit will open on a 4R100.
The 5R110 cooler works well because even though it's over twice the size of the original V10 cooler the tubing used in it's construction is 1/2".
The line pressure is reduced considerably with the 5R110 cooler.
The Tru Cool Max transmission coolers use 3/8" tubing so if one is installed that is much larger than stock the line pressure should be measured.
The Tru Cool Max engine oil cooler looks a lot like a B&M cooler.
Coolers with 1/2" lines were only used for engine oil cooling, but with newer heavy duty transmissions they need larger coolers, too.

 

Summit has it for $109.31. I do not recommend this cooler. It's 8 inches by 11 inches. That's what I call tiny. That is also why it is so much less expensive.

I predict you'll have problems running this as a third cooler. That's too much restriction and I'll bet you are right on the edge of forcing the bypass to open. If it does open your cooling goes to zero.

 

Summit sells the 70274 cooler for $133, it's 11"x11" with 1/2" NPT ports - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/b...FUuVfgod4n0NQw
The stacked plate design cooler is thicker and creates large amounts of surface area compared to the stock V10 cooler.
I had originally installed an 8"x11" 3rd stacked plate cooler which had 3/8" ports and yes it did result in higher line pressures.
I used a pair of pressure gauges to measure the line pressure before and after the coolers.
The 5R110 cooler with the 1/2" tube construction reduced the line pressures compared to the stock V10 cooler.
The final result with the 5R110 Dorman cooler/11"x11" B&M 70274 flat plate 1/2" port cooler and a filter was the line pressures are lower than just the stock V10 cooler by itself.
So my testing shows it should work and after 15k of towing it's doing great.
Any idea what the BTU rating is for the 5R110 or V10 coolers?