Transmission and Oil Coolers - Getting Ready for Summer

[Patrick]

Hi guys, I have heard on occasion people installing extra oil and transmission coolers in their offroad vehicle, especially to cope with the summer heat.

Are either or both a "must have", "nice to have", or "unnecessary" upgrade? I'm in an FJ Cruiser but feel free to comment on other cars too to get the discussion started.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Patrick

[Luke K P]

ive got an extra transmission cooler fan in the pajero, as otherwise the trans overheats when in D mode.

'manual mode' seems to not have the issue but i have the fan nonetheless.

[Frederic]

Haven’t heard of any Toyotas suffering from overheating. Some vehicles are indeed prone to it:

1. Gen4 Pajero and especially LWB are a bit sensitive to overheating transmission. Driving in tiptronic / manual helps.

2. Some American models from what I recollect. Not sure if true.

3. Older Jeeps like TJ, XJ, and JK, they run pretty hot. 
 

My recommendation is to keep an eye on the temperature gauges throughout the drive. If you don’t see any significant temp increase then you’re fine as is.