Derale Series 8000 Plate-Fin Transmission Cooler Kit w/Barb Inlets - Class III - Efficient

by: Jesse04/16/2024

I did not test my transmission temps before installing this cooler, so it's very possible that it is helping -- just not enough. 4Runners are not great towing vehicles to begin with, so it's probably not this product's fault. It's fine on flats and gentle inclines, but on long steep inclines I still find myself hitting 260 degrees towing a ~3,000 lb teardrop. If you're towing with a 5th gen 4runner I would look into something bigger or one of the options with a fan.1767781

by: Jay03/16/2024

Works fine and wasn't difficult to install. I didn't take the bumper cover off. Worked from top and below.
Fashioned an aluminum brace.1748781

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Thanks for shipping so fast. the response time was impressive!

Below is a picture of the install of my Derale trans cooler (13503) installed in my 2010 Jeep Liberty.

I did not install with the inlet/outlet on the bottom due to thinking that with a plate and fin type cooler air might get trapped in other end. I mounted it horizontal and put the inlet flow on the bottom to assure that any air gets purged. Odd thing about this trans is that there is a bypass valve on the lines that is thermally operated. The flow to the coolers is bypassed until a specific oil temp is reached. Then flow is allowed to go to the cooler(s). This is done because the trans cooler is completely independent of the radiator. There is no thermal exchange between the trans fluid and the engine coolant. With the transmission fluid bypass valve in operation it is not possible to reduce trans temp below a preset level (or nearer ambient temp) because the thermostat valve simply turns off flow to the cooler(s).
In a conventional setup the coolant flows all the time and there is no by-pass. Trans fluid is kept from dropping in temp by the engine coolant which will actually put heat into the trans coolant if the engine coolant is warmer. Chrysler has no thermal exchange with the engine coolant so they thermostatically control flow to keep the trans from operation at a too low temp.
In short, in my vehicle I can’t reduce the trans temp below the thermostat setting, But I can assure that the temp of the trans can never be too hot.

I also mounted the trans cooler on brackets I made. I was uncomfortable pushing the rods thru the radiator and the air conditioning and factory trans cooler. The added mass of the Derale trans cooler may have been a little too much clamped onto the radiator. I tapped into the original hose with a 3/8 double barb fitting and double clamped all connections.

Also below is a exploded parts view showing the by pass valve on the trans lines which directs trans fluid back to the trans and by passes the cooler(s) until the trans gets to a specific temp. It is item #3.97702

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John G.

9/2/2014

still working great!

Don W.

10/25/2014

Nice discussion John, thx. Did you have over heating problems prior to cooler install. I have a 2011 Liberty that overheats any time I use it off road on hills in the summer....the Jeep dealer told me that they all do this...I wonder if its actually the bypass thermostat?

John G.

10/28/2014

Hi Don, My Jeep has never overheated either engine or trans. I have never heard of them being prone to overheating either. If you suspect the inline thermostat on the coolant line I think that would be easy to check simply by feeling the lines and seeing if the line is returning hot trans fluid without going up front to shed some heat. I added the cooler because I put a trailer hitch on and just wanted to make sure that the trans would stay in the proper operating temp range. Are there a lot of bugsdebris in the trans or engine radiators? Is the thermostat cycling properly? Any pinched hoses? If the engine coolant is too hot it may be a pinched hose. Check the temp of the inlet hose versus outlet hose while the engine is running. If the return line is at the same temp as the outlet hose the radiator is not shedding the heat adequately. Cooling problems can be a little tricky but a little detective work can usually solve it.

Part seems to be okay. The hose is to short. Now I have to wait a few days to receive more hose to finish installation. etrailer should add more hose than the length that comes with it. On many applications this cannot be intalled effectively with the amount of hose in the kit. This is even mentioned in the video that etrailer provide.1478244

Lee

12/4/2023

Still holding up. No issues.

My teenage son and I installed this on our 2010 Suburban in about 2hrs. This was to supplement the tiny, stock external cooler. The video was very helpful. We did not have to cut the plastic as in the video. There was enough room for the hoses and fittings with no kinks. The transmission was running hot, 190-200 degrees with no trailer and up to 220 degrees with a trailer on level ground. The transmission never got above 155 degrees, with no trailer, after this cooler. I can't wait to tow now. I am confident the temps will stay at or below 200. This is just what I needed for my lifted Suburban and travel trailer.1676000

by: Kevin07/10/2023

This does not fit a 16 Pilot Touring. The only option is the OEM trans cooler (500.00).1619002

Jenny N.

7/17/2023

I know that installing transmission coolers can be difficult. I wanted to ask how yours was not a fit on the 2016 Honda Pilot Touring? I also wanted to confirm that your engine size and what speed transmission that you have?

Kevin

8/10/2023

Because I have the touring model with the 9 speed transmission.

Jenny N.

8/10/2023

I do see now what happened. The transmission coolers that we carry are meant to work with the 6 speed versus the 9 speed transmission.

by: Pete11/29/2018

2003 Toyota Tacoma

Transmission cooler installed on 2003 Tacoma RWD.
The Transmission Cooler was easy to install. No problems whatsoever.
I chose to mount it behind & left of the license plate.586169

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Pete W.

11/30/2019

I like the peace of mind it gives me. Even though I only pull a small utility trailer. I expect it will add to the transmission longevity

by: Brian11/10/2018

2007 Chrysler 300

This cooler is working perfectly. It gives me piece of mind when I'm towing my old travel trailer. I didn't use the plastic ties that come with the product but instead mounted it with aluminum frame material from the hardware store. I was disappointed that the kit did not come with the adapter I needed to install it onto the transmission fluid lines on my Chrysler 300. I had to obtain the fitting from a salvage yard. The instructions were helpful.581702

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I always enjoy my experience buying from etrailer. Troy my sales associate was very knowledgeable about the product and ensured I had all the parts i needed to complete my install. On most online sales transaction the sales associate is done when the order is placed, not so at etrailer, troy followed up with me to ensure i got all the products i bought.

Installation was easy as etrailer has very good videos, makes me look like a pro, in my case I utilized the video on the chevy suburban to provide the basics for my silverado installation. The difference between the two is the silverado front grill snaps out and i did not have to drop the entire front cap. ALso had to fashion a mount for the cooler to support it to the A post. I just used two bolts and locknuts together with the two pieces of the bendable metal mounts (D13002). see photo.

I took my trailer out this past weekend to test out the cooler. My transmission runs at least 20 degrees cooler while towing my 8000lb 5th wheel trailer. Max temps were at 160 deg. with air temps at 91 degrees, and high humidity in florida, typically this would be in the low 180’s rolling at 60 mph. transmission felt smoother while changing. I have a performance tune on my truck. Accelerating off the on ramps did make the transmission temp rise above 160 to around 165 then it fell back to around the 160 mark. It started raining heavily and the outside temps dropped to the 80’s and the transmission temp dropped to the 140’s.
Normal driving around town with no hitched load in stop and go traffic with outside temps hovering around 95 with high humidity (feeling more like 103). here in tallahasse my transmission runs at around 140. I just checked my owners manual and my transmission oil and filter is past due for changing. i will get that done and see if anything changes. all in all this product works for me.
Thanks etrailer!!!539245

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The D13503 transmission cooler was a fairly straightforward DIY installation on a 2010 (3rd gen) Honda Odyssey. Watch a video or two on etrailer.com and you should be able to figure everything out. Two issues came up. First, it is not trivial to get the hose pushed securely onto the nipples of the cooler or the vehicle. Readers should thoroughly lube the inside of the hose and the outside of the nipple. (I suppose a tight fit is good, just be prepared to apply force and be patient!) Second -- and this is why the product only gets 4 stars from me -- the head of one of the plastic mounting rods broke off. No extras are supplied, so I figured out a zip-tie solution. It leaves me nervous about the strength of the remaining three, but the installation seems secure for now.

Potential DIYers should also note that you are likely to break some of the body panel retainers (aka "clips") during disassembly of your vehicle's front end. (Not surprising on my 95,000 mile van; they were brittle.) Be prepared and locate a source for replacements ahead of time.

Overall, this product seems well-designed, is offered at a great price from etrailer, and has the potential to lengthen the life of your transmission even when not towing. 348570

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The cooler is well built and the included hardware are high quality. I installed it on a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder with CVT. I have the factory external cooler but in a Texas summer, it just wasn't enough. I added this cooler in line. My reasoning: the factory cooler has a thermostat bypass valve (the little metal box the transmission lines go into), so to allow the heater and bypass valve to work without constantly cycling. here is how I connected everything. Hot fluid comes from the transmission to the factory cooler via the top hose. It then goes through the factory cooler or bypasses via the valve depending on fluid temp. It comes out the bottom line which I ran to the top nozzle on the Derale cooler. You can see where I drilled 2 3/4" holes in the plastic for the lines to go through. The bottom line goes to the return line on the radiator, and cool fluid returns to the transmission (The factory hose is just long enough to reach the new cooler where I positioned and mounted the new cooler, otherwise I would have had to buy extra hose). The mounting straps that come with the new cooler are plenty strong, judging by how much I had to fight the hoses. Also, I mounted the new cooler to the air conditioner condenser, the condenser is held on with 2 bolts, and unbolting you can get just enough clearance to reach behind it to tighten the straps. So the straps don't go all the way through to the radiator, so I didn't have to remove the electric fan. The hoses are loosely zip tied to each other, so they don't touch the air dryer. Some people say it doesn't matter how you position the external radiators but this is false. Radiators are design to take in the warmer fluid on the top and the fluid cools as it goes down (heat rises, cold falls). This allows for better circulation on systems that don't have an active fluid pump. This is also the most efficient configuration and since the transmission breather sits on the top size of the engine, it also reduces the chance of air sitting in the system. I didn't find any good installation videos or reviews that really explained how they installed their cooler. So I hope, along with my photos, this helps some of you.1197391

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Finally finished the installation. The adapter didn't work for my application. I found an etrailer video that used Derale Snap-In Radiator Adapter Fitting for GM
Item # D13035. Ordered the adapter for my 2007 Jeep Compass. That did the trick. The mounting steps with the kit were ok but I only managed to put in 3 of the 4. However the oil cooler is secure and won't budge. I'll update if needed but the install was a success. 706597

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I installed this on a 2017 Honda pilot. I didn't like the mount option shown in the video that covers 3/4 of the cooler by direct mounting to the back of the bumper beam. I used two M6 x 1 x 20mm, one M6 x 1 x 30mm bolts, one M6 x 1 lock nut, two washers, one 1/2" nylon spacer, one 10" piece of zinc plated steel, and multiple zip ties to fabricate a mount using the existing mounting locations in front of the radiator. I also notched one corner of the mounting flange to allow it to clear a portion of the air dam. With this mounting location, nearly all of the cooler is exposed to clean air at the front.772553

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Decent kit overall. I have 2 issues... #1 Installation video and instructions glaze over the fact that in most vehicles there is only about 1/2 inch of room in between A.C. condensor (even after loosening bolts) and radiator making it extremely difficult to install using the included push rods. It took me forever and was a complete pain. #2 for my vehicle a 2006 Jeep grand cherokee, I apparently needed a special "GM" adapter even though my vehicle is not made by General Motors and nothing said I needed this special adapter until I took everything apart and found out whateber insta-adapt came with the kit was not going to work. I had to wait several days until I received the adapter to complete the install, again frusterating and not communicated to the buyer. 448106

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by: Ben. B06/30/2016

2004 Honda Odyssey

Installed the transmission cooler before our 15 hour trip to Florida from Kentucky. Previously had overheating problems with the transmission on long trips. The transmission never overheated during our latest trip with this new transmission cooler installed. Cooler came with everything available, with the exception of tools, to complete the installation. I will install another one if we upgrade to a later model Honda.

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Installed this in a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. Fit is excellent. I wanted to remove the factory radiator connection as this is a common point of failure allowing coolent to enter the ATF. This is plumbed from the transmission to the factory cooler, then to this new cooler, then back to the transmission. The only thing extra I had to buy was a 3/8 double barb to connect to an existing hose. This cooler adds about half a quart of ATF to the system. I can't speak for any temp drops as I don't have a temp gauge installed yet.101344

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Installed in a 2015 GMC canyon. Seems to work fine will update when I get some towing miles logged. Used the D13035 adapter and the D13002 universal mount kit so I did NOT have to zip-tie to the condenser. Slight mod to snip off the tip to create an angle on the derale bracket then mounted it to the support bar upfront and screwed bottom into the radiator support801051

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by: Mark06/23/2022

It has been a year since I installed the 8000 series transmission cooler. It has lowered my transmission temperature 30 plus degrees. The install was easy.1316306

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This cooler was easy to install. I did not use the insta-dapter fitting that comes with the cooler. I used a 5/16 barbed coupler instead. One thing I should note is: the instructions state, "warm the vehicle and locate the cooler line and that one will be the return". In my case the radiator made the return line hotter after warming the vehicle for several minutes. I had factory Honda cooler instructions available at install. So return line location was a no brainer. Derale instructions had me second guessing my connections after install was compete. It's installed on a 2002 Honda Odyssey with a newly installed transmission at 70K. I had to remove the headlamp assembly in order to tip the condenser coil far enough to get my hand behind it.29861

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Excellent quality and build. I installed this in a 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche. I wanted a factory look installation so I mounted the bottom of the cooler in the factory bracket located mid way and made a bracket to mount the top of the cooler. I mounted it with the hoses downward so they will not be visible from the outside of the car. See pics for details on the brackets and mounting.176500

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This transmission cooler fit perfectly behind my grill. I mounted it on brackets in lieu of a direct mount on the radiator. I’m glad you recommended the GM adaptor hose fitting as my application would not work with the Insta-Dapt which was not compatible.
Works great towing my 4,000# trailer in this Florida heat. 524895

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by: Stephen07/08/2021

I researched installation instructions thru multiple resources [online sties]. Some info. was conflicting and needed clarification. I discovered that the cooler could be installed in any vertical position. Also the cooler should be connected on the return line to the transmission. The cooler unit works well and lowered my transmission temperature 15-20 deg.F. under tow and in hot desert climate. My 2017 GMC Sierra has an auto-shuttle valve on the transmission that opens at 190 deg. F. When towing the sweet spot operating temperature is 200-205 deg. F. I've got over 10,000 miles on the cooler and so far so good!1087037

Stephen D.

11/4/2022

The transmission cooler is performing as expected.

Installed the product today. My installation is pretty unique on the Jeep Liberty CRD. This vehicle has a pusher fan in front of the stack of heat exchangers (Condenser/Trans cooler, intercooler, radiator), so the "zip tie" installation is not an option. Also, the stock trans cooler, which is the bottom 1/4 of the A/C condenser, has a different type of fitting on it.

Product seems to work as intended. Hoses were a bit hard to get onto the barbs, even with a little transmission fluid as a lubricant.47086

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It was a pretty straight forward installation. I did have to remove the battery and tray as the factory spring hose clamps were positioned such that I could only get at them from the top, couldn't squeeze the clamps from a below angle. Thankfully I watched their video before ordering to see I needed another length of hose to finish the install. Took about 3 hours and seems to work well.568120

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works great doing the job it is designed for1761278