trans cooler

so I remember reading a post that talked about the stock external transmission cooler (on a 2005) was ot adequate for trailer towing. well, I decided to try to fix the oil leak at the cooler hard line to rubber hose joint (below and between the front of the engine and the radiator). for what ever reason, one of the hoses was pushed back away from the hard line about 3/8". well. I replaced the hose completely, and safety wired the (worm style) clamps so it could not loosen on its own. and after I was finished with the repair, I thought i would look into the idea of the cooler being not adequate. I don't think the cooler is to small. but to me, it does not look like it gets enough air flow to be 100% efficient either. I'm going to try to do something with the front bumper (as soon as I get caught up on other necessary chores), so that I can mount a couple of pair of extra lights up front. and at that time, I am going to look into drilling several 1 to 1 1/2" holes in the vertical face of the front bumper to get extra air to the cooler. I'm not sure if that will work or not, because I can not get a good look at all of the parts that make up the front bumper. my eyesight is not what it used to be, and I have no clue what lies under the bumper cover. I seriously hate those things(the cover). IMHO, the cars from the 1920's had it right, using a chrome plated leaf spring as a bumper!

The heavy duty cooling package consists of a viscous fan & shroud + electric fan.
The electric fan on it's own isn't the best senereo come summer.
More air coming in the front will help a lot. Without hood louvers allowing air to escape,temps can get stupid under the hood.
Wouldn't it be nice to mount something like this? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIzIqA1ryV8QIVRAytBh0boglHEAQYBSABEgKuP_D_BwE

I've noticed it does seem to be an airflow problem. The only time my trans gets above 210F is when I'm driving slow or stopped.

I've noticed the trans seems to stay a little cooler if the A/C is on so the electric fan is on constantly. I think a bigger cooler would make up for the poor air flow. Kinda wish I had added a bigger cooler years ago. I hate to think how hot my trans has gotten before I had the HD fan and trans temp gauge. Ive never had the 'trans temp' light come on though. Ive always managed the shifting, hardly ever just let it shift on its own.

I added hood vents/louvers and a Derale 10 plate stacked transmission oil cooler in the opening under the bumper in series with the OEM cooler. This helped some when towing, but recently I installed a PML deep sump finned aluminum oil pan and it made a HUGE difference in transmission fluid temperatures. Took 9 quarts of ATF to refill new oil pan! Dropped temperatures 40 degrees in hot summer temperatures while towing. (I have a Glowshift Gauge) See 3 pictures below.

Nice ^ ! Louvers look great.
I've had the PML aluminum pan installed for over 10 years. No more trans temp lights since.
One thing to consider is adding a transmission skid plate!

Main reason is if you were to strike the aluminum pan, it wont dent like the stamped steel pan, it could crack.

The OEM skid was about $60.
Not sure if they are still available, might be able to find one at bone yard or use a skid row product.

Hmm, maybe I'll get the PML pan instead of adding another trans cooler...

WWDiesel said:

I added hood vents/louvers and a Derale 10 plate stacked transmission oil cooler in the opening under the bumper in series with the OEM cooler. This helped some when towing, but recently I installed a PML deep sump finned aluminum oil pan and it made a HUGE difference in transmission fluid temperatures. Took 9 quarts of ATF to refill new oil pan! Dropped temperatures 40 degrees in hot summer temperatures while towing. (I have a Glowshift Gauge) See 3 pictures below.

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hmmmm, my liberty came with full skid plates front to back (engine, transmission, transfer case, and fuel tank). and to be honest, im not sure that pan would 1) fit, and 2) get enough air flow to cool the pan to make a difference. my skid plate does not look like the one in the photo below. its a solid (no holes other than for bolts) aprox 1/8" steel plate. maybe its home made? i still have yet to install a temp gauge (i have it, im just not sure where to mount the electric sender). so unless the trans temp light comes on (if it even works?), i won't know its to hot until there is a problem. i guess its a good thing i don't tow my flat bed trailer very often.

Just remember to keep the mud hosed off the fins! Learned this the hard way years ago.

I really appreciate this thread! I don’t do any towing, but spend a lot of time in high temperatures. (I’m thinking ow the stretch of I80 west bound to Salt Lake City and the parking lot called I70 out of Denver westbound) Not to hijack, but from what I’m reading the hood louvres are a good idea overall?

There is a stiffer black plastic piece under the bumper cover that's in contact with the top of the bumper cover in some places that should be strong enough for lights. If you measure from the center of the jeep outwards 6", 11", and 15" there are both layers of plastic. Also measure 3" out from the small vertical lip at the back of the top of the bumper liner (lip is hidden by the grill). Check underneath for fastener access before you drill.

I'm not sure drilling big holes in the front of the bumper will get any more air where you want it. There are two metal bumps bolted on the front of the jeep below the plastic bumper parts you might run into. I think they cover airbag sensors.

LabRat said:

Just remember to keep the mud hosed off the fins! Learned this the hard way years ago.

I really appreciate this thread! I don’t do any towing, but spend a lot of time in high temperatures. (I’m thinking ow the stretch of I80 west bound to Salt Lake City and the parking lot called I70 out of Denver westbound) Not to hijack, but from what I’m reading the hood louvres are a good idea overall?

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The one thing I do after any 4-wheeling especially if mud is involved is to got to a coin operated car wash hose down the underside. It is amazing what mud can get into!

For some reason Jeeps run hot (at least here in AZ) so venting is helpful. So is popping the hood every time you have a chance to pull over and stop. I did that on my old ZJ. I cut a hole in the hood right above the exhaust manifold, installed a more open grill, and added a water wetter product to the radiator. I would also run the heater full blast in order to dissipate heat when 4-wheeling or towing a trailer during the daytime in central Arizona in the summer. Sitting in a hot car isn't much fun, but overheating 50 miles from nowhere is even less fun.

FWIW, Phoenix is in the middle of a run of 110+F days right now. That means the pavement is around 160F. Get stuck in gridlock traffic and the temp gauge is going to go up.

I no longer live in Phoenix.

i think louvers are a great idea for getting rid of heat. i'm just not to sure about water (and salt mist infiltration on warm winter days) getting all over all the electronics of modern era vehicles. if i can come up with a
(good and easy) way to move all of the electronics along the drivers side so air can get past them, i would put louvers on the top sides of both front fenders. that way hot air could get out, and rain would not be pouring into the engine compartment. the passenger side would be no problem. but at this point at least, im not really interested in having louvers only on one side. i really do not understand why the factories do not make an exit for hot air under the hood. unless all that hot air somehow helps lower emissions.

XWrench3 said:

i think louvers are a great idea for getting rid of heat. i'm just not to sure about water (and salt mist infiltration on warm winter days) getting all over all the electronics of modern era vehicles. if i can come up with a
(good and easy) way to move all of the electronics along the drivers side so air can get past them, i would put louvers on the top sides of both front fenders. that way hot air could get out, and rain would not be pouring into the engine compartment. the passenger side would be no problem. but at this point at least, im not really interested in having louvers only on one side. i really do not understand why the factories do not make an exit for hot air under the hood. unless all that hot air somehow helps lower emissions.

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I've been looking around at them...funny...when they are sold for "cars" or "trucks" or "jeeps" they are aluminum or ABS plastic and around 100$ or more...and yet the exact same items in stainless steel are sold as "marine", "boat" or "AC" louvers/vents for a quarter of the price...

XWrench3 said:

i think louvers are a great idea for getting rid of heat. i'm just not to sure about water (and salt mist infiltration on warm winter days) getting all over all the electronics of modern era vehicles. if i can come up with a
(good and easy) way to move all of the electronics along the drivers side so air can get past them, i would put louvers on the top sides of both front fenders. that way hot air could get out, and rain would not be pouring into the engine compartment. the passenger side would be no problem. but at this point at least, im not really interested in having louvers only on one side. i really do not understand why the factories do not make an exit for hot air under the hood. unless all that hot air somehow helps lower emissions.

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I've been running Pontiac GTP louvers on the 04 since 06 or so, it is all about placement
They do great and let out a lot of hot air

LabRat said:

I've been looking around at them...funny...when they are sold for "cars" or "trucks" or "jeeps" they are aluminum or ABS plastic and around 100$ or more...and yet the exact same items in stainless steel are sold as "marine", "boat" or "AC" louvers/vents for a quarter of the price...

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Pontiac GTP hood louvers, just picked up another set for 40 bucks, first set I bought years ago was 10 !! LOL

tommudd said:

Pontiac GTP hood louvers, just picked up another set for 40 bucks, first set I bought years ago was 10 !! LOL

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Yeah! I spent last night webstalking you rigs…and then a few more hours trying to track down some!

LabRat said:

Yeah! I spent last night webstalking you rigs…and then a few more hours trying to track down some!

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How can I web stalk to?

As to the pan, for those that aren't aware, the big benefit of a deep aluminum transmission pan is cooling. It adds more fluid into the transmission and the aluminum vs. steel will cool the fluid in the pan much more when driving, see the heat fins on it?

Those two things (extra fluid and aluminum) add a good amount of extra cooling into the trans.

As to the louvers, if you don't want to cut the hood, just do what we old school car builders used to do when the hood didn't fit over the "new" motor we put in 'er.
Shim the back of the hood on the hinge with a spacer and new bolt and remove the rear gasket at the back of the hood, that will let hot air out from under the hood, even when stopped.

And in the winter it will help defrost the windshield if you leave it like that, or you could remove the shims and replace the gasket to be back to normal for colder temps.

Anyone got a link for the trans pan? I didnt see any for the liberty on their site....

mduclow said:

As to the pan, for those that aren't aware, the big benefit of a deep aluminum transmission pan is cooling. It adds more fluid into the transmission and the aluminum vs. steel will cool the fluid in the pan much more when driving, see the heat fins on it?

Those two things (extra fluid and aluminum) add a good amount of extra cooling into the trans.

As to the louvers, if you don't want to cut the hood, just do what we old school car builders used to do when the hood didn't fit over the "new" motor we put in 'er.
Shim the back of the hood on the hinge with a spacer and new bolt and remove the rear gasket at the back of the hood, that will let hot air out from under the hood, even when stopped.

And in the winter it will help defrost the windshield if you leave it like that, or you could remove the shims and replace the gasket to be back to normal for colder temps.

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Yep. Shimmed hinges is a VW SOP.