Towing With 4.8 4 Speed

[chevyjb]

my temp went to 190f towing a 3500lb trailer no cooler

dealer says on my 09 1500ext cab 2wheel don't need cooler

another dealer says just put the reg gm cooler 19171483 on

cause to big of cooler will afect a/c and rad

 

is this true

[c4cruiser]

It's definitely a good idea to have a tranny cooler towing that weight. What distances are you towing?

 

Play it safe and get a good cooler. Doesn't have to be the GM cooler as there are excellent aftermarket coolers available that are the same physical size as the GM cooler and work as well if not better. Get a "stacked plate" design; it will provide the best cooling.

[rodram]

Take the safe route and get a transmission cooler....,

and when towing with a 4-speed auto trans leave the transmission selector in 3 or Drive.... do not use OverDrive or 4.

[chevyjb]

It's definitely a good idea to have a tranny cooler towing that weight. What distances are you towing?

 

Play it safe and get a good cooler. Doesn't have to be the GM cooler as there are excellent aftermarket coolers available that are the same physical size as the GM cooler and work as well if not better. Get a "stacked plate" design; it will provide the best cooling.

 

i do about 400 miles round trip to the local prov parks also the dealer said if it is not a gm part

i could void my warranty

[rodram]

if you are worried about voiding a warranty then get the GM transmission cooler installed like the one dealer suggested... even if the B&M plate style aftermarket one works a little better, you are still getting additional cooling, and that is good when you are towing...

 

..the one dealer may have said your 4.8L w/ 4/sp auto trans did not need a cooler, because other engine/trans combinations are actually more suitable for towing

 

I checked the other day about whether installation of an aftermarket cooler would void warranty on my very recent 'rebuild', and was told that it would not affect the warranty and would certainly provide additional assurance of continued protection of the transmission... but a 'rebuild' IS a different case than a new 2009 truck.

[jrrod2004]

An aftermarket part cannot automatically void the warranty if a factory part does not exist, in this case a tranny cooler. GM may say that if the trans fails and there is foreign materials in the fluid, they will blame the install or the actually tranny cooler BUT they burden is on them to prove it...

[J-man67]

Take the safe route and get a transmission cooler....,

and when towing with a 4-speed auto trans leave the transmission selector in 3 or Drive.... do not use OverDrive or 4.

 

Leave it in 3. Putting it in D will allow the truck to go into 4th/overdrive.

 

 

An aftermarket part cannot automatically void the warranty if a factory part does not exist, in this case a tranny cooler. GM may say that if the trans fails and there is foreign materials in the fluid, they will blame the install or the actually tranny cooler BUT they burden is on them to prove it...

 

Exactly. Just get the better aftermarket one and call it good.