Has anyone installed a Raptor transmission cooler?

[TrailDamage]

Anyone looked into or done an install of the transmission cooler on the Raptor? I like the idea of separating the coolant from the transmission fluid as much as possible. I know the fluid to fluid heat exchanger works decent but once things get hot they’re not getting cooler that way, the radiator simply is over capacity at that point.

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[Ducati1098]

For what you’d spend on all the stuff to add a Braptor cooler, this is a far better alternative:

https://www.full-race.com/csf-2021-ford-bronco-2-7l-external-transmission-oil-cooler-kit

 

[TrailDamage]

For what you’d spend on all the stuff to add a Braptor cooler, this is a far better alternative:

https://www.full-race.com/csf-2021-ford-bronco-2-7l-external-transmission-oil-cooler-kit

That looks nice and I do like how it cleans up the space below a little bit but it does seem pretty steep. I was quoted $580 in parts for the OEM setup

 

[BlueWaffle]

Anyone looked into or done an install of the transmission cooler on the Raptor? I like the idea of separating the coolant from the transmission fluid as much as possible. I know the fluid to fluid heat exchanger works decent but once things get hot they’re not getting cooler that way, the radiator simply is over capacity at that point.

Running the atf through the rad has the benefit of heating up the trans quicker in cold weather. (This might not pertain to you) Under normal driving conditions MOST of the wear on the transmission happens while driving on it until it's reached it's minimum ideal temperature.. TOO COOL of fluid is nearly as hard on equipment as fluid that's over temp.

There's also much more coolant in the rad than there is ATF.. so unless whatever youre doing is outside the range of which the factory engine coolant system can handle and the coolant itself is getting into its own danger zone... It should have no problems keeping trans temps in check.

If your getting the coolant hot enough where it's putting heat INTO the atf rather than REMOVING heat from it... Yeah... you need more fan or a bigger rad. Your best/simplest bet for an initial step would be to replace the stock fan with one that moves more air OR install an auxiliary fan that you could have triggered automatically by a thermistor switch or just run yourself a switch for the extra fan into the cab for you to turn on whenever necessary.

 

[Ducati1098]

That looks nice and I do like how it cleans up the space below a little bit but it does seem pretty steep. I was quoted $580 in parts for the OEM setup

That’s a pretty good price. Because MSRP is ~$865 just for the larger parts needed (lines and cooler) without any other necessary hardware.

 

[TrailDamage]

Running the atf through the rad has the benefit of heating up the trans quicker in cold weather. (This might not pertain to you) Under normal driving conditions MOST of the wear on the transmission happens while driving on it until it's reached it's minimum ideal temperature.. TOO COOL of fluid is nearly as hard on equipment as fluid that's over temp.

There's also much more coolant in the rad than there is ATF.. so unless whatever youre doing is outside the range of which the factory engine coolant system can handle and the coolant itself is getting into its own danger zone... It should have no problems keeping trans temps in check.

If your getting the coolant hot enough where it's putting heat INTO the atf rather than REMOVING heat from it... Yeah... you need more fan or a bigger rad. Your best/simplest bet for an initial step would be to replace the stock fan with one that moves more air OR install an auxiliary fan that you could have triggered automatically by a thermistor switch or just run yourself a switch for the extra fan into the cab for you to turn on whenever necessary.

This is the reason why I’d go with the Raptor parts because it has the thermostatic valve to allow fluid to flow to the air to fluid cooler once it’s warm enough. I’ve seen 230° on the coolant and 245° on the transmission a few times and that’s a bit high for my liking even knowing that’s within operating range. It’s not really that the coolant is putting heat into the ATF, it’s that the transmission is putting heat into the coolant. Why add heat when it’s not needed. The 2.7 is a great engine but it already has a lot of coolant load with the turbos. Yes an aux fan would be nice as well but this would be my third time doing this kind of conversion and the difference in peak operating temps was noticeable. The Bronco seems the easiest by far to do it on compared to F-150’s as well so I figured someone out here has thought about it given the overland focus of the Bronco. I just want to provide some longevity to the system and the vehicle.

 

[BlueWaffle]

This is the reason why I’d go with the Raptor parts because it has the thermostatic valve to allow fluid to flow to the air to fluid cooler once it’s warm enough. I’ve seen 230° on the coolant and 245° on the transmission a few times and that’s a bit high for my liking even knowing that’s within operating range. It’s not really that the coolant is putting heat into the ATF, it’s that the transmission is putting heat into the coolant. Why add heat when it’s not needed. The 2.7 is a great engine but it already has a lot of coolant load with the turbos. Yes an aux fan would be nice as well but this would be my third time doing this kind of conversion and the difference in peak operating temps was noticeable. The Bronco seems the easiest by far to do it on compared to F-150’s as well so I figured someone out here has thought about it given the overland focus of the Bronco. I just want to provide some longevity to the system and the vehicle.

Gotcha.. but yeah damn 245 on the trans is definitely right up there.. I wouldn't like that. Is that hot enough to be in the red bars on the gauge?

 

[TrailDamage]

Gotcha.. but yeah damn 245 on the trans is definitely right up there.. I wouldn't like that. Is that hot enough to be in the red bars on the gauge?

It was still yellow but getting very close. That was an extreme situation a lot of stop and go traffic in 105° heat with a little ATV trailer hooked up.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Those temps are very high for a relatively low load compared to field tested design temps 115-120F. Any grill or underbody accessories like enclosed or aftermarket body armor potentially blocking air flow?

Engine oil is 75% of cooling so a bigger oil cooler with fan support would be a good first step if reasonable solution avail.

AT generates massive heat and the ALU engine is a great heat sink so anything to upgrade ATF cooling fans and heat exchanger is probably easiest aside from getting decent hood venting.

Not a fan of heat exchangers on top of each other.

Obviously a vented hood would be simple and have a significant inpact on overall airflow especially underbody armor and grill area aftrmarket exist, and the first thing id do besides trans cooler. Slats or holes in underbody armor would help airflow a lot.

I can only imagine how much extreme heat is trapped from a full non OE underbody armor set up. Even OE must be brutal but at least you know they've tested it and had sensors and data logs down there.

 

[TrailDamage]

Those temps are very high for a relatively low load compared to field tested design temps 115-120F. Any grill or underbody accessories like enclosed or aftermarket body armor potentially blocking air flow?

Engine oil is 75% of cooling so a bigger oil cooler with fan support would be a good first step if reasonable solution avail.

AT generates massive heat and the ALU engine is a great heat sink so anything to upgrade ATF cooling fans and heat exchanger is probably easiest aside from getting decent hood venting.

Not a fan of heat exchangers on top of each other.

Obviously a vented hood would be simple and have a significant inpact on overall airflow especially underbody armor and grill area aftrmarket exist, and the first thing id do besides trans cooler. Slats or holes in underbody armor would help airflow a lot.

I can only imagine how much extreme heat is trapped from a full non OE underbody aromor set up. Even OE must be brutal but at least you know theyve tested it and had sensors and data logs down there.

I have been interested in doing the Raptor hood swap as well, more for looks but some functionality benefits too. It’s a very much stock Badlands still. Only thing I added was lights in the modular bumper corner pockets. I’ve thought about removing the grille shutters on mine just to allow free airflow. I know they can close for aero even if it’s hot. I did that with my F-150 when I installed the Raptor transmission cooler because I have a Whipple and it was the only way to fit it all behind the grille with the heat exchanger.

 

[Q1svt]

@TrailDamage here are two links where you can purchase components to your specifications

Setrab is an international OEM supplier
https://setrabusa.com/?country=US

Earls was purchased and part of Holley brands
https://www.holley.com/brands/earls/

Ford uses a heat exchanger cooler, getting away from that is good bad… you might need a thermostat to control when to cool.

 

[TrailDamage]

@TrailDamage here are two links where you can purchase components to your specifications

Setrab is an international OEM supplier
https://setrabusa.com/?country=US

Earls was purchased and part of Holley brands
https://www.holley.com/brands/earls/

Ford uses a heat exchanger cooler, getting away from that is good bad… you might need a thermostat to control when to cool.

Correct this is why I am doing the Raptor swap specifically. It includes a thermostat pictured here that opens the flow path to the grille mounted air to oil cooler when temps are warm enough.

 

[Q1svt]

the radiator simply is over capacity at that point.

… I didn’t see which engine you have, but I don’t think it the radiator… I got a 25 2.3l with a 92c thermostat… Ford uses an 82c in the mustang 5.0 …

 

[Q1svt]

Correct this is why I am doing the Raptor swap specifically. It includes a thermostat pictured here that opens the flow path to the grille mounted air to oil cooler when temps are warm enough.

Got a part number? I like to use OEM parts when I can. I was looking @ raptor components last week did not see that.

 

[TrailDamage]

Got a part number? I like to use OEM parts when I can. I was looking @ raptor components last week did not see that.

#7 Thermostat valve: NB3Z7R081C
#3 Lines from transmission to front: NB3Z7R081B
#8 Air to oil cooler: NB3Z7A095A
#7 Lines between thermostat and xbar mounted unit: NB3Z7B028B

Since you have a 2.3L you’ll also need that crossbar mounted fluid to fluid heat exchanger (#1 in diagram) and possibly different coolant lines because yours is mounted on the transmission directly. And you’ll of course need the various fittings/clips/brackets/bolts for all the various pieces above. Visual reference below for what I’m talking about.

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