Hi all. Sorry in advance for the long winded post.
So, I bought my 2001 v10 Ex to be the tow vehicle for my new travel trailer. We just came back from our first trip and, overall, I was pleased with how the truck performed. I have the ScanGaugeII mounted on the dash and the four gauge spots are populated with trans temp, cylinder head temp, gear ratio and torque output at the converter. (The gear ratio spot was a waste of info space, probably gunna change it.) We are in the Monterey Bay/central CA coast area and our trip took us to San Diego and Santa Barbara.

Trans temps stayed between 165 and 185 on flats and the small rolling hills on 101. However climbing the steeper grades going north out of Santa Barbara to Cachuma Lake on 154 I hit 220. It stayed at 220 very briefly, maybe a couple seconds and then started dropping. There was another point as we were going south on 101 and just hitting the northern edge of LA, and we were in stop-and-go traffic going up a pretty steep hill, and the trans temp climbed to 215.

I'm going to upgrade the trans cooler and I'm considering the popular 6.0L cooler upgrade or possibly the trans cooler kit that Mishimoto sells for the 7.3. I like the Mishimoto kit because it come with hoses that are 1/2 on the cooler side and 3/8's on the trans side, so it would be plug-and-play as far as the hoses go (no brass size adapters to splice in, less places for leaks to occur). From the reading I have done I understand the 6.0L OEM cooler is guaranteed to fit and the only mods needed are for the different size hoses.

My question is - has anyone installed the Mishimoto kit in their v10 and know for sure it fits? From what I have read, the cooler Mishimoto sells for the 7.3 is the same as the one they sell for the 6.0. The only difference is the 7.3 cooler comes with those hoses and the 6.0 doesn't, as they aren't needed - the lines in the 6.0 are already 1/2. So logic would say that if the Mishimoto cooler for the 7.3 is the same as the one for the 6.0, and the Ford OEM 6.0 cooler fits the v10, the Mishimoto should also fit the v10. I am just hoping to find someone with real life experience who knows it fits/works. I have an email in to Mishimoto's help desk as well and I'm waiting to hear back.

Finally, I know Mishimoto makes a quality product, but what's everyone's take on if the price jump is worth it over a Ford OEM cooler for the 6.0, given the convenience of the hoses I don't have to modify? I get thats a really subjective question and everyone will have their own opinion. I just kinda want to see the conversation around it.

Cheers all

 

Heard back from Mishimoto help desk, here's what the email said-

We have not had that vehicle available to test fitment.

I can see that they use different part numbers from the factory but they are a similar design especially for trucks build after 2/25/01

If you have one built after that date it is possible that it would fit.

Thanks,
Tim Martin
Mishimoto Automotive

According to my door jamb sticker my Ex was built 06/01. Soo....Mishimoto's might/would probably fit. I can't really imagine it not fitting, to be honest.

 

I have no experience with the Mishimoto, so can't add anything other than the 6.0 cooler works fine for cooling the V10 tranny under load. As for the inconvenience of hose size, it's a matter of few mins. to order the 3/8”- ½” Barbed Splice Fittings, some 1/2'' hose and a couple more hose clamps. Not an insurmountable obstacle.


Assuming you've read this info from Mark?

Whatever you decide, take pics and make a 'how-to' for the next guy.

 

Yup! I have read a lot of info in the past week or so. I know I am not overheating the trans but I'm also planning a trip from central CA to central OH in the middle of June in the hottest part of the summer and would rather have more cooling power - even if it's just for the peace of mind. And yes I 100% agree with you that the different hose sizes is absolutely not an insurmountable obstacle. Couole extra minutes of work at most. I guess if I am being honest there's just something about the Mishimoto hoses that appeals to my idiosyncratic OCD, haha.

I will for sure do a write up in this thread after I make a decision and get the parts ordered!

 

I installed the Dorman 6.0 cooler on my V-10 EX and it was a direct fit for the cooler and the brass barbed fittings and clamps didn't bother me at all. Been a few years now and several thousand heavy towing miles with 20/30 degree cooler temps and no issues at all with the 12K TT on the hitch. Mine was for peace of mind also, the highest ATF temps that I saw with the stock cooler were 205/210 and only briefly a handful of times.

 

I have no personal experience with the Mishimoto cooler. But I do have experience with the coolers and transmissions.

The mounts and cooler lines for the 7.3L and V10 are exactly the same. So if it fits the 7.3L it will fit the V10.

 

I have the Mishimoto and it fits my 2005 v10 with no issues. I went with the over sized Mishimoto because my winch blocks air flow across the lower portion of the cooler. The larger stock 6.0 cooler has Mark K's approval and that is probably as good an opinion as you will be able to get.

 

I also have no experience with the Mishimoto, but I did the 6.0 swap in my yard with zero issues. In my mind you just need to decide between convenience and money.

 

I put a mishimoto in mine. Fit perfect. No issues. Was cheaper than the OEM big one. Planning on the same for my pickup.

Side note, had an extra used big OEM unit, pitched it when I moved into the shop. Stupid, but didn't know I would own the pickup 3 weeks later.

 

Thanks very much for the reply Mark!! I've read enough to be aware of your expertise and really appreciate your input.

Awesome of you both to answer and stoked you had success installing the Mishimoto! Thanks!

That's about what it comes down to. Going to call a couple Ford parts deptsin my area tommorrow or Monday and get the going price for the 6.0 cooler and make a decision.

In case anyone was curious here was the reply I got from the Mishimoto help desk -

​​​​​​​Thank you for the email!
We have not had that vehicle available to test fitment.

I can see that they use different part numbers from the factory but they are a similar design especially for trucks built after 2/25/01.

If you have one build after that date it is possible that it would fit.

Thanks,
Tim Martin
Mishimoto Automotive

I checked my door jamb sticker and my build date is 6/01. But their answer is kinda irrelevant after Mark chimed in. Maybe if I go the Mishimoto route, I'll email them pics and let them know it's OK to say it fits both the 7.3 and the 6.8 haha

 

I ended up with the Mishimoto as well and it does fit just fine (as others have said). At the time that I made the switch I think the Dorman unit had really climbed in price or else I would have probably gone that route. Overall, a great upgrade!

 

Thanks to everyone letting me know the Mishimoto will fit! I keep trying to reply to each of you but my posts are restricted for moderator review before being published.

 

Thanks so much for the feedback!

 

Bringing back this thread to give an update - got the 26 row cooler from the 6.0 installed in the v10 yesterday. As expected all the mounting holes lined up. I did have to get some longer M6 bolts for the two lower mounts to accommodate the rubber bushings. The most challenging part of the job is getting creative with routing the hoses and avoiding kinks. The original hoses route out the top of the cooler, the 6.0 cooler routes the hoses out the bottom.

I followed this write-up/tutorial by Woodnthings8 to get the job done. It's an excellent resource. I can't remember where I found it, just stumbled across it while researching doing this project and saved the file - very grateful for this tutorial!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1emg...1mrsDjf0B/view

Here's some pics from the install--

Old cooler pulled out. Seeing the v10 14-row cooler in person, I cant believe the one in the 7.3 was even smaller.


Ford part number for the cooler



These reducers were 2 bucks each at Lowes. They worked - I cranked down the hose clamps and after running the engine for an hour, I have no leaks. But they seemed to slip in to the hoses a little too easily, as if they were just the tiniest hair too small. Anyway, I mounted them in an easy to access place if I get any leaks or just want to preemptively swap them out at a later date.


I wrapped all the rubber hoses with this to protect them from rubbing on any metal parts.


This is how I ended up routing the hose that exits on the left (driver side) of the cooler.


This is the hose that exits on the right. The cooler i bought from the dealer came with a short section of molded hose and I just let the hose take the path it wanted to based on how it was molded. Its not following the same path the hoses used to follow with the old cooler, but it isnt kinked and I secured it with zip ties to keep it from flopping around.

If anyone wants more pictures of anything just let me know. I still need to get the bumper back on today so for the time being it's easy to get under there and see things. Ran out of light last night.