Derale Recommendations?
- Thread starter jaymar
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
voodu3
SILVER Star
I’ve got the PS cooler like @NLXTACY kit from Joey’s recommendation before he had the kits. I also have the Derale tranny cooler Derale 13403 Series 10000 Stacked Plate Transmission Oil Cooler 19 Row Amazon product ASIN B004XONRX6Both have worked flawlessly for the couple of years I’ve had them.
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks! Did you do an install thread on the tranny cooler, were there any mounting or routing issues to get it in place?
voodu3
SILVER Star
I’ll have to look. I know I didn’t do an install thread pretty sure I followed one on here. I’ll see if I can find. My better half has our LC or I’d send you some pics. it was fairly simple. I did it when I replaced my ac components.
Here is a link to another source of quality transmission oil coolers, I installed many of these on customers cars.
www.earls.com.au
Oil and Transmission Coolers - Earls Performance Plumbing
www.earls.com.au
- Thread starter
- #6
Any update on this...?
I’ve been running this since 2016. It’s bigger than Joey’s. 
Dirty Koala
SILVER Star
I have a Derale 15845 fluid cooler with dual fans on a custom bracket mouted to the driverside frame rail. I am running my engine oil through this and the fans are controlled via my switchpro, the setup works great.
- Thread starter
- #9
Cool.
Have you tracked temp diffs?- Thread starter
- #10
Have you measured temps before and after install, are you running giant tires or hydraulic winch? I ask because I've seen some concerns about non-paperclip coolers lowering temps TOO much in cooler climates. Not a concern in SoCal, but you're PNW...I’ve been running this since 2016. It’s bigger than Joey’s.
I haven’t put my temp gun on it in colder months because temps are less of a concern then but during summer, rock crawling on 37’s, hydroboosted brakes, and no hydro assist steering (yet) the steering box temp runs a solid 30-35 degrees cooler. Say 140 instead of 175. I’m glad you mentioned winter time temps, I’ll pay attention to that this winter. I wonder what temp would be considered too low?
- Thread starter
- #12
Wow. Any idea what the "ideal" temp is?
Came across this from Tools R Us:
"Derale 13262 ...
Our experience with this type of cooler. They tend to trap air, making bleeding difficult. Even with the output hose on the top fitting, have had to unbolt and hang vertically to get all of the air out. If you wheel, when the rig is stood up, the system can suck air. With a large, chamber type cooler like this, can hold an air bubble, displacing fluid, overflowing the reservoir, once back to flat, most of the air worked out, sometimes have to add fluid.
The next point, the fluid needs to get to operating temp, especially in cool weather how much cooling is needed? In our experience, not much, in all but the hottest weather, the stock paper clip works fine.
Our cooler of choice is small factory coolers harvested at the pick and pull. Coolers that flow well, flush everything through. From the derale line would pick something more like this: Amazon.com: Derale 13200 Power Steering Cooler Kit: Automotive "
Also (can't find it now, of course), one of the engineering-minded guys saying a potential issue in cold weather is (IIRC) that when parked, one side of the system rapidly cools and thickens, while the other (high-pressure, I'm guessing) remains hot and thin; they mix when the engine starts--and that's a problem.
Another I recall: in most situations, tube (paperclip) -types have higher-velocity flow and are thus more resistant to sludge buildup/blockage.
Not arguing against the Derale; I'm planning to install one. But I'm also planning to move north, so I'm trying to look at all the angles...
I also ran this same cooler on a trailer queen crawler I built before getting into an 80 series dating back to 2011. That rig had hydro assist as well hydro booster brakes so the system was even more circuitous than my current set up and between the two I’ve never experienced one problem.
Those living where winter is bitter cold can install an in-line oil thermostat to assure that over cooling is not an issue.
Dirty Koala
SILVER Star
Both Oil and Coolant temps stay cooler. I noticed about a 5-7 degree drop in coolant temps after adding the oil cooler. The oil temp gauge I have has a programmable color wheel, which I haven’t changed the factory start and end points for yet, but I can tell you that the gauge was typically in the middle of the Orange range before and now with the cooler is always in the green or low side of the orange...so definitely keeping the oil cooler.Cool.
I run the single pass Derale it's been doing fine for a few years and with out the black anodize and pre-made hose's it's a Fraction of the coast direct from Derale dual or single pass and multiple sizes.
That being said, I have experienced some of the issue Tools notes, Hard to bleed all the air out, overflowing the reservoir when wheeling.
I glad I saw this thread, I add the cooler at the same time I installed the Hydro assist and assumed most of the issue were Hydro related.
But now at I read this info from @ Tools R Us it seem
- Thread starter
- #16
Here's the thread I found that in:
Did you replace the OEM tranny cooler with the Derale 13403? Mine seems to have failed, and am having trouble finding anything on fitting size.
voodu3, can you post ice when you can please?
Last edited:
This is slick, have you posted any more details on the plumbing?
Dirty Koala
SILVER Star
There are some more details in my Bubbles build thread...link in signature
