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GM Aux Trans Cooler Install

VinnieGTP

Full Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
304
Location
Las Cruces, NM
I ordered part #19244188 from GMPartsDirect and it came in today.  I'm not really worried about the install, it should be straight forward; I wanted to start this thread to give other interested members the opportunity to ask questions about why I chose to use this kit, the install and how it performs.

My Baseline - Driving to work in the morning on an 85* day my trans temp hit 206*  It's a gradual 1300' elevation climb.


Why did I decide to go this route over a larger aftermarket cooler?  This is the question I asked myself for weeks before going this direction.  This kit was $70 +S&H.  Shipping by itself was like $13 but I bought a bunch of stuff for my wife's Volt too so I could lessen the blow of shipping costs.  A custom install not only requires the cooler, but the lines and fittings.  For me, the transmission is a critical component esp when living in the middle of nowhere like I do.  I don't want to use barb fittings and rubber hose; I did this once and it worked just fine but I was always worried about the line dry rotting or a hose clamp and fitting failing.  When I built my GTP I used all AN fittings and hose and I loved not only the confidence it gave me in the strength of the parts but also how it looked, but it was somewhat expensive.  Making AN hoses to length isn't hard but you'll sacrifice a little blood in the process because making them without pricking your fingers is almost impossible.  The fittings and hose aren't cheap either.  The hard line-AN adapters were like $15 a piece if I remember correctly and you would need at least 2 of those, 2 NPT-AN fittings for the cooler, 4 AN hose fittings, and 10'ish of AN line.  Here is where my decision became easier.  For $70 I can get factory made hard lines, fittings, a cooler, and warranty honored by GM.  Worst case scenario is this cooler isn't large enough for towing in the heat of NM and I have to get the aftermarket cooler after all.  Money and time wasted?  NO WAY!  I already have the lines I need, headed to the spot I want them and I don't have to make any of the AN hoses or buy all those AN fittings.  I can adapt the hard line to the NPT threads of the aftermarket cooler I was considering, with just 2 fittings.

Morale of that rant?  The lines that come in this kit are worth the cost of the entire kit if you plan to put your cooler up front behind the grill anyway.  I'm willing to give the small GM one a try.
 
Makes sense to me.

I'd like hear how it works out for you.  I'm running a 3200 stall converter without any extra tranny cooling.  Your daily tranny temp is pretty much my 100* worst case, but I haven't done any mountain driving or towing since installing the converter and fear it would get plenty hot in either situation.
 
OK, initial thoughts after the install.  It's a PITA!  It wasn't the worst I've ever done, but it was a little tougher than I thought it would be.  There's a lot in the way.

Total time to include cleaning my air filter was about 3.5hrs from pulling out the ramps to scrubbing clean after I was finished.  If I were to do it again I think I could have it done in 2-2.5hrs.

First off, the instructions that come from GM are less than helpful.  There were no extra parts from GM or any that I need to supply outside of what came in the kit but if you've never worked with the GM transmission quick disconnect fittings it might be a good idea to pick one up from Autozone and play with it for a few minutes.  They are easy, but figuring out how to get the little clip on and off is much easier when it isn't on the truck.

The install steps as I remember them:

Drive up on ramps
!!!!!!!!SET THE PARKING BRAKE AND CHOCK THE REAR WHEELS!!!!!!!!
Open the hood
Remove the airbox so you have easier access to the top cooler line in the radiator
Remove the bolts from the top of the front grill. 6 10mm bolts might be smaller - Some videos on YouTube say to remove the whole front clip.  Ain't no one got time for that!
Remove the skid plate from under the front end. 4 15mm bolts
Look for a rectangular shaped access hole behind the grill on the passanger side where the lines will pass through.  I tried my hardest to get the lines to route through it but I couldn't. You'll see there is a larger rectangular that it is a part of.  I ended up expanding the hole around the edges of the larger rectangle to get the lines up to the cooler.  You can cut this hole now and save a LOT of frustration or you can try to get your lines through the factory sized holw, good luck!
Remove the bolt from the radiator right below the top trans line 10mm
Remove the 2 plastic trans line clips.  One is right below the pulleys and the other is further back behind the axle
Remove the top hard line from a metal clip.  You'll see the locations of these clips in teh GM instructions.
Remove the nuts form the forward most heat shield above the exhaust catback flange and slide the shield to the rear of the truck - 6 10mm? nuts
Support the cross member under the trans mount with a jack and remove the 4 main cross member bolts.  4 21mm nuts and bolts
Lower the cross member about 1.5 - 2".  I could not get my hand to the trans lines fitting on the trans without lowering the transmission.  You'll be working with the upper line and fitting.
Here's where the PITA ass starts.
You might want to have a small sandwich bag and tape handy to tape around the line after you remove it to catch the fluid from the line.
Remove the small clip from the top fitting at the transmission.  Tape bag around end or let fluid run out, up to you.
Remove the small clip from the top radiator fitting
Go get a beverage and let the fluid flow into the bag, a oil catch pan, or onto the floor
Remove the factory line.  You'll have to rotate it a few times to get it out.  I removed it pulling from the front.
Connect the shorter of the new lines to the upper hole in the radiator and route the line to the rectangle hole where it will attach to the new cooler.  It routes above the tube where the skid plate was bolted to and to the drivers side of the wire loom thats right there that heads up to the engine somewhere.  The attached clip and bolt designate the end that goes in that hole.
I removed the clip and bolt from the line and bolted it to the radiator and then snap the line back into the clip
Install the longer line to the transmission.  This wil take some effort.  Be sire not to bend the hard line.  Do not attach the retaining clips removed earlier yet.
The rear of the line should be installed into the fitting on the transmission.
Jack the cross member back up and install the 4 21mm nuts and bolts.
Reinstall the heat shield with the 6 nuts
Route the forward end of the tube to the location of the cooler along side of the other line you installed.
Use the lid of the airbox to hold the front grill open so you can get your arms behind it to install the cooler.
Remove the clips from teh quick fittings on the cooler.
Slip the cooler behind the grill and use the 2 supplied 10mm bolts to attach to the 2 holes already in the cross brace right there.
Insert trans line ends into the cooler and secure with the small clips.
Install the supplies plastic clip into the predrilled hole where the 2 lines come together and go up into the front grill area.
Install the other plastic clips int eh factory locations
Snap the new line into the metal clip near the middle point of the line.  See instructions from GM to remember where these are.
Reinstall the skid plate with the 4 15mm bolts
Reinstall the 6 10mm bolts in the top of the front grill
Reinstall your airbox
Start the truck and check for leaks
Close hood
Remove wheel chocks
Pull truck off the ramps
 
My service manager is really cool.  I drove it straight to the dealership to buy a quart of trans fluid to top off the fluid level and my service manager called for a tech to do a "Lube Level Check" and got me topped off free of charge.

Bonus, I noticed my front passenger inner axle seal was leaking while I was under there so I was able to tell my service manager and he ordered the part to be ready for the next time I bring it in for service.  I love having the GMPP warranty!
 
Nice write-up!

I've never worked on the tranny lines on a 2nd-gen, but I have struggled with those tranny line clips on first-gens.  I've finally gotten sort of good at it LOL!

Please let us know what it does to lower your tranny temp!  :B:
 
OK, my wife took my truck to work this morning so I could work on her Volt so I don't have the temp of what it was when she got to work, we work at the same place.

I finished up her car and drove out to swap vehicles with her so I could drive the Av over the mountain and see how it does.

Driving up the front side of the mountain I normally hit 2-teens by the time I get to the top.  Today I hit 162*!  I made my way down the majority of the back side and made a u-turn at White Sands Missile Range and headed back up and over.  The back side is a lot more gradual of a climb and usually has me 220+ by the time I get up to the top if I keep it at 65MPH.  Let me paint the picture for you.  I had the cruise set at 65MPH and the climb from WSMR to the top of the pass is ~6 miles; plenty of time to build up heat, esp when its 90* outside.  I started at 160* and made the 1300' climb at 65MPH in 3rd gear and hardly hit 170* at the top and it hit 172* right after I started down hill again, settling at 160* as I continued down the hill back home.

The last time I made the trip over the pass that direction I was towing a heavy car trailer with a set of couches and a dresser on it and I couldn't do more than 45MPH and the trans temp ht 236* by the time I got to the top. 

I'm VERY impressed with this little cooler so far and wish it was on there when I bought the truck.
 
Sounds very good - I see a mod for me in the future.

I presume they've got a different part number for the first gen AVs.

I used to travel out that way quite a bit working for the Navy.  Sounds like you're in Las Cruces.  Nice town.  I recall having a nice wine margarita with dinner once in Las Cruces.  Don't recall ever spending the night there - was always in El Paso or at the WSMR BOQ.  Probably been at least 15 years since I've been to the southern part of WSMR.  Was at the northern part, near the Trinity site, about 5 years or so ago.  Flew in and out of Albuquerque on that trip.
 
Could you post some pics of where it is installed? My truck came with a transmission cooler but it's integrated in the radiator. I assume this is something else. Did any trucks come with this from factory?

I was looking at other aftermarkets, but if the performance of the GM one is this good, why not?  All the others seem to require some screwing around to make it fit.  Maybe this one is a bit better.

It seems like the 2nd gen trucks are harder to do this mod as well.  Those 1st genners got it easy.
 
I can get a pic. Yes, it was available from the factory and all of us have the standard cooler in the radiator. You'll be able to see this one if you have it straight through the grill. It'll be about 12" wide and 6" tall with 2 silver tubes going into it. Can't miss it.
 
You get a good bug graveyard shot of it at 2:36 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oM5ep42740&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
IMG_20130816_105250_545_zps1304b363.jpg
 
VinnieGTP said:
You get a good bug graveyard shot of it at 2:36 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oM5ep42740&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Ahhh... so on that particular Suburban they have the OEM built in radiator cooler, the GM aftermarket cooler and they are adding yet another Derali cooler?  That seems like a bit of overkill.

Mine doesn't have anything but the one in the rad.

I had watched that video before, and was considering the Derali cooler, until I read your thread.  I'm planning to tow about 7000lbs through the mountains (occasionally), with a Magnuson supercharger on order.
 
Exactly!

With towing 7000lbs  through a mountain you might need more than the GM cooler but it's a great place to start.
 
I traded my 05 Avy for a 2010 Silverado, missed the Avy so much I traded the 2010 for an 2011 Avy 2 weeks ago.  Love the write up about the cooler.  I contacted GM Parts Direct and they said they don't list that cooler for my 11. Just wondering if that kit will work on the 6 speeds?  Thanks for the help.
 
Called the Dealer today, talked to the parts dept, they ran my VIN and since my truck didn't come with a TOC they couldn't pull up any information on one.  He said I would have to get a VIN off another truck so he could look up the parts.  :beating: I've had this happen a couple of times with different vendors.  I guess since it is an OEM part when they run the VIN and it doesn't come up as a replacement part option they don't know what to do. So when I went to Rock Auto and started looking up the parts, in the description it said it would work with both transmissions and it was a part of cooler kit #19244188, so I guess I will order the kit tonight and see what happens.

 
I've run into a minor issue with this little project.  After installing the magnacharger, its intercooler radiator hogs the entire space.  It is gigantic.  I don't think I can slip in any aftermarket transmission cooler.  I may need to find a new place to put it. :E:
 
Do you have the new hard lines installed yet?  You'll just have to modify your install, really not a big deal as long as you can still get the heat exchanger installed in a spot where it will have sufficient airflow.

 
VinnieGTP said:
Do you have the new hard lines installed yet?  You'll just have to modify your install, really not a big deal as long as you can still get the heat exchanger installed in a spot where it will have sufficient airflow.

Sorry - I may have mislead you.  I haven't selected a cooler yet.  After towing for the first time and seeing the crazy temps, I started back into the research again.  My first stumbling block is the massive intercooler rad in the way. 

Can you say more about these hard lines?  Where do they begin and end?  Based on the snippet from the video, it looks like they go from the internal radiator cooler to the front bottom of the primary radiator. 

If this was to fit on mine it would need to be on the far left or far right side.  Alternatively I could put it underneath.  If I have to move it that drastically though, I'm not sure if the hard lines are in my best interest.
 
OK, if you haven't done the GM one yet I'd advise against putting yourself through that much trouble since you need a custom install anyway.

Check these out, they both get great reviews all over the WWW and I plan to upgrade to one of these once I start towing more regular.  THe GM one is doing great for my daily driving habits but I can see it getting overworked when towing a large load, which reminds me I'm supposed to do soon.

I'd actually go one of these routes, they are able to be installed just about anywhere because of the fans:

B&M - Has a thermostat built in - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CIIE1W/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Derale - Needs external thermostat - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XONU88/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Thermostat for Derale - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XOQIBE/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The thermostat controls when the fan turns on and off.

You would disconnect to top hard line from the radiator and plumb the external cooler between the hard line and the radiator.  I believe the youtube videos show this method as well.
 
Awesome.  Thanks for that.

I took a look at lunch today, and there are THREE radiators hiding in there.  I'm not sure if I'm just seeing things, or if there are actually three.  The one in the front is the intercooler, the second one is what I assume to be the primary radiator, then there is a third tucked in behind on the far left.  I tried to take pictures to showcase this.

I was actually thinking about cutting out my license plate holder and putting a grille in there.  Since we don't require front plates here in Alberta, I could actually use that nice flat spot to tuck an intercooler in.  Maybe a crazy idea, but maybe brilliant!

In the first picture you can see how big the intercooler is. Second picture is middle looking left.  You can see the intercooler rad on the right, plus two more to the left.  Third picture is from the left side looking towards middle.  Again the intercooler rad flange is on the far right.  So what is the rad in the back??

 

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