Transmission Cooler

Jasonsupafly · April 19, 2005

I have an 01 Z71 with the 5.3. I am wanting to add a trans cooler since I tow a little bit.. Dont reckon my truck came with one..Anyone know of a quality brand that I can look into ? How much would one cost , and are they difficult to install? Thanks in advance...

snoman · April 19, 2005

I have an 01 Z71 with the 5.3. I am wanting to add a trans cooler since I tow a little bit.. Dont reckon my truck came with one..Anyone know of a quality brand that I can look into ? How much would one cost , and are they difficult to install? Thanks in advance...

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Myself I like the tube type anf have been used them for over 25 years now without any problems. You can get them at Advanced Auto and do not go overboard on cooler size as something around 6 x 12 inches should work nicely for you. Install it in front of radiator stack and route oil thru tank cooler first then aux cooler. Take the top connetion from raditator tank and route output to aux cooler then route aux cooler ouput to the line you disconnected from the tank. The fittings needed will be included in kit.

Bill55AZ · April 20, 2005

First, I would think the Z71 would have a cooler. If so, it will be right in front of the radiaor, you can see it thru the grill.

I bought a factory cooler kit on Ebay, a dealer in Houston has a lot of that stuff.

The kit includes new cooler lines, but the more I looked at the long one that goes from cooler all the way to near the back of the trans, the more I realized that it is a very hard job just getting the old one out, much less the new one in.

So, using a tubing cutter, I cut the existing one just ahead of the engine, cut the new one at the same place, and used a stainless steel Swagelok 3/8" union/coupler. Saves a lot of time if you decide to go with the factory kit.

Jasonsupafly · April 21, 2005

I thought it would have come with the cooler too Bill, but I even had to have the frame mounted hitch put on because it didnt come with that either..It has never crossed my mind about a transmission cooler until reading some of these post in this forum. Guess it didnt come with the towing package..I didnt special order my truck,just picked one out from the dealers lot back in 01...

budhayes3 · April 21, 2005

I like my PermaCool 17,000 GVW cooler, got it from Summit for about $70-$80. Piece of cake to install. (the cooler came bare aluminum, I painted it flat black). The B&M 24,000 supercooler is also a very popular choice. Here's a pic of mine:

MS3DALE · April 21, 2005

I would go with the OEM one,GM part #12497071 which lists for $91.00 and gives you everything you need to mount and hook it up.

snoman · April 21, 2005

I would go with the OEM one,GM part #12497071 which lists for $91.00 and gives you everything you need to mount and hook it up.

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Nothing wrong with after market stuff and the one sized as pictured a few posts above is a lot cheaper at Advanced Auto by about 30 bucks or more. You can over cool oil so do not get carried away with size and think bigger is always better. .