The Ultimate Transmission Cooling Upgrade

Your transmission is basically a big hydraulic piece of equipment. It uses transmission fluid to perform every function of your transmission. It is no mystery, especially with the new GM Duramax and Ford Powerstroke 10 speed automatic transmissions, that the cooler your transmission fluid temperature, the longer your transmission will last. Many people don't know how to get lower trans fluid temps. But we at Power Forge Diesel in Yuma have the ultimate setup for the best transmission cooling system money can buy. When you hear this, your mind immediately goes to, “this is going to be expensive”. Let me ask, is a new transmission less expensive than these upgrades? We’ll let you be the judge.

Step 1: Banks Ram-Air Transmission Pan

We’ll go with the most affordable option first. There are many good transmission pans. And depending on your budget, you get what you pay for. The best option in our opinion (Power Forge Diesel in Yuma, Arizona), is a Banks Power Ram-Air transmission pan. Not only does it cool the best over every option out there, but it does it with the help of a patented air scoop that allows more cooling to the already superior design. This pan holds more fluid, and has the largest cooling surface of every transmission pan for your Powerstroke, Cummins, or Duramax. Gale Banks knows what he's doing when it comes to transmission tuning. This will run you in the $500 ball park range plus time for installation if you want us to install. Cheap insurance in our opinion.

Step 2: Mishimoto Transmission Cooler

The more expensive, but more effective way to keep your transmission cool, is to install a transmission cooler. A transmission cooler is basically a small radiator specifically for your transmission. There are a lot of good options out there for trans coolers, but Power Forge Diesel only recommends the Mishimoto trans cooler. It's normal to hear guys experiencing trans fluid temps 60 degrees cooler with just this installation. That is a huge decrease. Mishimoto has a lifetime warranty on their trans coolers so you can enjoy cooler trans fluid temps, longer trans life, and a lifetime warranty on the product causing these benefits.

Step 3: Amsoil ATF & Real World Testing

Transmission fluid also matters. We only recommend Amsoil ATF. There's a reason they are a gold standard in the industry and Banks Power themselves sells it directly from their website with a purchase of their transmission pans. I (Spencer, Power Forge Diesel) can personally attest to the durability of Amsoil ATF. In college, I bought a 2001 LB7 Duramax with the 5 speed Allison transmission. I owned 3 camper trailers that all weigh around 5k lbs up to 8k lbs. I rented these campers for 3 years in Yuma, Arizona during the winter time, and in Yellowstone, Wyoming during the summer months. This last year, I decided to install a trans cooler with a Banks trans pan and use Amsoil ATF, because the trans fluid that came out prior was in terrible shape. I put on 50 thousand miles of almost straight heavy towing hauling trailers in Montana/Wyoming/Utah mountain ranges, in heavy head winds, and extreme Arizona heat. I pushed this poor truck to its max. After this 50k mile torture test, I changed my transmission fluid, not only was the transmission fluid good, it was still red and had no burned clutch pack deposits in it. I believe I could have run that fluid for another 50k miles. This is why I believe in this setup. I ran this in extreme conditions, so I can reliably recommend these products I have written here.

Expert Installation in Yuma

A trans cooler is more laborious to install. The actual kit from Mishimoto will run the same $500 ball park, but it takes more install time and isn't something you should attempt with basic tools in your driveway. Come let us here at Power Forge Diesel in Yuma, Arizona, help your transmission last as long as it can with a Banks Power ram-air transmission pan and a Mishimoto transmission cooler, topped off with Amsoil ATF.