Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

[Grant Brown]

I have a 1994 Previa Van. It's the awd version with 4 wheel discs and weighs about 4000lb. I tow a 1500 lb boat. The van pulls the boat just fine and handles the weight well. I am concerned about the transmission and plan to get an oil cooler installed.

I was thinking about doing it myself and have a couple of questions.

Does the cooler go inline with the existing trans cooler in the rad or bypass it all together?

Does the transmission drain if you disconnect the lines or will it just lose a little oil?

Do you cut the lines or do the kits just bolt in?

Do you need a thermosatically controlled unit? I found one for $50 from a 1992 GMC Sierra K2500 3/4 Ton, 4WD which seems like overkill but that's better than not enough right?

The only time I've installed one was in a 1974 Ford Van when converting from standard trans to auto so I just installed in inline and it seemed to work fine.

 

[NYBo]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

An auxiliary cooler is always a good idea.

As long as the cooler in the radiator is okay, connect the external cooler in line with it. The directions for the cooler will tell you where to plumb it in. You usually don't have to cut the lines, but your Previa may use oddball fittings so you may have to do a little extra fabrication. You will lose some fluid but the pan won't drain if you keep the open end of the line above the pan.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

A tranny cooler is never a bad idea in my opinion. Easy enough to fit but as said you may need a few oddball fittings.
Hope you have better luck than I had with my Windstar !!!! just a junk transmission in them to begin with.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

There are two lines between the tranny and the radiator. One flows from the cooler in the radiator to the tranny and the other from the tranny back to the radiator. There are two schools of thought as to which line to install a cooler in. If you install it in the line where the hot fluid is going back to the cooler in the radiator, you would sort of pre-cool the fluid which means the radiator has less work to do and thus keeps the engine cooler. If you install it in the outlet line from the radiator, the added cooler further cools the fluid before it reaches the tranny. For heavy duty cooling requirements my feeling is it belongs in the line in which the fluid runs back TO the tranny. The only time you would really need a thermostatically controlled cooler or a bypass valve is if you lived up here in the tundra where winter temps can get in the -30F range. Overcooling can be nearly as bad as overheating.

 

[Grant Brown]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

The guy with the cooler from the 92 GMC 3/4 ton just emailed back and said he'd take $20 for it. Any thoughts?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

Before you go ahead with this, do you have room in front of the radiator for the cooler.

 

[indy440]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

I bought one new from the auto parts store for like 40 bucks. Its comes with fittings, hose, and little plastic things to attach it in front of the radiator. It works perfect and was easy to install.

 

[Grant Brown]

Re: Trans Cooler Toyota Previa Van

There's tons of room. I'm going to go with a new one from a store to get all the fittings/hardware.