Title says it all - seen Riff Raffs price and almost fell off my chair - I usually roll his stuff but hell!!

 

Autozone has the Dorman one for $250
Dorman/Transmission Oil Cooler
Part Number: 918-216
Warranty: Limited Lifetime

Overnight and Two Day shipping are not available for PO Box, APO/FPO/DPO or US Territory addresses.

This product may be shipped directly by the vendor to any eligible US addresses, excluding APO/FPO/DPO or US Territory addresses.

$250.99
Ship to Home
(Special Order)
Store Pick Up
(Visit Store to Order)

 

Amazon has it for $197 and free shipping, Prime membership not required.

Stewart

 

I have installed both Dorman and the Ford ones like Clay sells. I haven't had issues with either but really liked the quality of the Ford units. The 26 row seems adequate, but for really heavy towing, maybe the 31 row unit is better.

 

I got mine from fordpartsfast ebay. About $167 with free shipping.

Dorman - OE Solutions 918-216 Transmission Oil Cooler | eBay

 

I have installed both Dorman and Ford. You can tell the quality difference with the Ford for sure. Mishimoto just released a new kit that seems very popular, but I haven't used one yet. My choice on a personal vehicle would be Ford or Mishimoto.

Mishimoto 7.3L 37 Row Transmission Cooler 99-03 - Riffraff Diesel Performance

Ford 6.0L Powerstroke Transmission Cooler 26 Row

 

Don't be misled by the row count - more is not always better! From everything I've read, you actually get more heat transfer from the newer 26 row design (as compared to the original 31 row design when the 6.0L first hit the streets).

That being said, if you tow heavy and need a little extra cooling, you want the 26 row design.

NOW... onto the Mishimoto design option.

First things first... surface area and core volume are only two characteristics which define real world performance for any cooler (heat exchanger). Differential pressure and internal flow characteristics (turbulence) are the other two large factors affecting performance. You often cannot get those details from an equipment manufacturer, but they can provide heat transfer rates. For Mishimoto's new units, we only have a few design details with a lot of inferred performance gains. The point is this... don't get all warm and fuzzy over row counts and volumes unless you can get a glimpse of real world performance data.

That said...

I'm seeing some disparities in the stats and specifications being reported for these Mishimoto units and how they compare to the stock Ford units in terms of dimensions, volumes, and impact on fluid temperatures. Some things are not adding up, even though the new units appear to be potentially real upgrades for those who really NEED the extra cooling.

Before I say any more about it, though, I'm going to call both Clay and Mishimoto to see if I can get clarification for a true side-by-side comparison of the stock units and the new Mishimoto options.

One more thing I want to add, and I alluded to it above... Input from Mark K (the retired Ford Transmission Engineer who is well known and respected on this site) has made it clear that you don't want to run your transmission too cool because there is an optimum temperature (fluid viscosity) which provides the best fluid flow characteristics within the transmission. As testimony to this fact, we (here in FTE) have at least one long thread dealing with the use of bypass valves to help manage this minimum temperature.

Consequently, no one should pursue any additional cooling just to stick out their chest and say "I have a bigger unit"! In other words, if you're not operating outside of the 4R100's design temperature range, we don't need extra cooling (this is not known without a trans temperature gauge telling us so). Therefore, unless you need, really NEED the extra cooling, the larger coolers are not just a waste of money, but they may actually decrease overall transmission life (to some undefinable degree).

If I can uncover and make sense out of more details on the Mishimoto comparison, I'll be glad to post it up for everyone's enjoyment and debate.

 

Sounds good!

 

I've now confirmed with Mishimoto (verbally) that the two models are actually identical in volume, surface area, row count, wall thickness, construction materials, and heat transfer rating (MMTC-F2D-03SL for the 6.0L and MMTC-F2D-99SL for the 7.3L). The 7.3 model is priced higher to cover the cost of included silicone tubing to adapt down to the smaller hard tube connections on the 7.3L transmission cooler lines.

As for comparison details between the Mishi and the Ford units, the values still do not add up. Back-calculating the new Mishi core volume from their reported data for the stock 9-row cooler on the 7.3 does NOT produce the same volume number as when doing the same calculation from the data they provide for the 31-row 6.0L cooler (1.377 quarts versus 1.919 quarts). The difference is over a pint of fluid volume which is 28%-40% different from either method, depending on which method is correct.

At the suggestion of their Customer Support personnel, I've submitted an email asking for clarification in writing from them. Whatever I come up with, I'll share.

Also, the Mishi cooler has not been tested very much on the 7.3L application. The Mishi reported performance gains when replacing the 9-row 7.3 cooler are simply a cut-and-paste of those for the 31-row 6.0 cooler. That said, the REAL performance gains when replacing the 9-row 7.3 cooler should be much higher than those for the 6.0L (assuming that the 4R100 pump pushes the same fluid flow rate as that for the SR110, and that may be a bad assumption). Hopefully, Mishi will share some real info so we can get a better picture of what could be expected.

 

I got a used Ford 6.0 cooler from Santa Clara Truck Wreckers for ~100. It dropped my transmission temperature by 50 degrees. Reach out to your local dismantler.

 

Mike, I believe that there is some concern for used coolers like that, that debris could be lodged inside the cooler, unable to be cleared, which could dislodge later in use and cause problems.

 

To the point you are making, Mark, I have been told that when Brian (BTS) builds a transmission, he refuses to use anything but a brand new cooler when the tranny goes back in the truck for the very reason you stated. You can either take a brand new one to him with your truck or let him use his buying power to supply the new cooler himself.

 

I'm getting scant details from Mishimoto, but getting a few all the same. Should have a final comparison table before the end of the week, if not sooner.

 

I also installed a used cooler but with a Magnafine 1/2" filter down stream from the cooler. I also have the Derale thermostat in the mix. Given sufficient time for everything to get up to temperature I run 160*/170* unless I am towing the fiver (~10 - 11K) in in the mountains in July. Then it will just kiss 195/200* on a long uphill pull.

 

I just put my big girl pants on and don't install one and throw the cash at the future rebuild.


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