There are dozens of things that can reduce the life of your car’s transmission, from poor driving habits to inadequate service intervals. But the leading cause of damage to automatic transmissions is heat.
Increasing Transmission Lifespan
The transmission cooler is designed to help extract heat from the transmission: Transmission fluid runs through the cooler, releasing heat to the coolant in the radiator. That coolant, in turn, releases heat to the air passing over the fins. The cooled transmission fluid then returns to the transmission, to keep it running cooler.
For most normal driving, the factory cooler is adequate to help keep everything safe. But under extreme circumstances you may need more cooling capacity than the factory cooler can provide to help extend transmission life.
What kind of circumstances? Towing, for one. If you have a camper, trailer, or boat, towing it will increase the heat in your transmission dramatically.
Another source of excess heat involves where you drive. On generally flat roads, the factory trans cooler should be fine. But if you do a lot of driving on extreme grades, such as through the mountains, your transmission will be working overtime. And if you’re towing a trailer at the same time, well, that could be the kiss of death for your transmission.
Use A Transmission Cooler To Reduce The Heat
In those cases, your best bet is to have an auxiliary transmission cooler added to the system. An auxiliary cooler is like a little radiator that mounts in front of the regular radiator. Transmission fluid gets piped through the cooler to remove more heat than the factory cooler can, and it’ll keep your transmission running cooler in even the most difficult terrain.
Your local Cottman center will be happy to discuss your driving situation, and they’ll let you know whether you should consider adding an auxiliary trans cooler to your car to help extend transmission life. And if you do need one, they can get the right one for your specific needs and install it for you.
Heat can be a killer for your transmission, but the folks at your nearby Cottman center can help protect you from that heat, and keep you on the road for miles and miles.