Trans Cooler and Power Steering cooler/lines installed

jerflash

Original poster
Member
Aug 12, 2020
14
NYC
I purchased the quite nice 2008 Trailblazer LT last summer, 4.2L 4x4, 145,000 miles. Almost all options except for the sun roof and heated seats. 3.42 gears and the G80 locker

Got it for a great price, good shape over all but some oddities...

The previous owner says he was a "Mechanic" but I found a few questionable repairs. First of all the power steering cooler was replaced with just a tiny aluminum cooler ziptied to the inside for the front grill... must have rusted off. Also the cooler lines themselves turned out to be rusting as well. they had some pin holes that the just put a piece of split 3/8" hose over and about 10 clamps lol.

So I had to take the front bumper off to fix all that anyway so I decided to do a trans cooler as well.

The bumper comes off super easy and wrestling the new power steering cooler in there is not all bad.
PXL_20210217_165907236.jpg

what is quite hard is doing the lines themselves. fishing them though the wheel well and re connecting to the rack... cursing and a prybar help. Also a lift lol

After that was done, doing the trans cooler is cake. I saw a couple install kits that are super expensive but really, this is the way to go. Mounted on the driver side, behind the grill. plenty of air and secure.

PXL_20210217_165856283.jpg
PXL_20210217_165859004.jpg

Pretty easy stuff and I plan on towing my race car around a bit so worth it.

Any questions let me know

Oh and I also added Tow Hooks in the front off of an LS, people will tell you they don't work on the LT but as you can see they fit absolutely great in the front bumper.

PXL_20210217_170111315.jpg
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PXL_20210217_162334765.NIGHT.jpg
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Nice work. That is the usual size and placement for the aux tranny cooler on these trucks. That is also usually my first mod as well.

Is that a stock PS cooler replacement? I thought they were originally steel. That looks nice.

I had also replaced the stock cooler with a small aux tranny cooler on my 9-7x as it was much cheaper and easier to install.

I swear I think they use recycled Ferds to make these lines they rust so much.
 

TJBaker57

Member
Aug 16, 2015
2,897
Colorado
Having toasted a couple 4l60E I will suggest you use an OBD2 adapter and an app to monitor that trans during any towing. By the time the factory trouble codes set it is already too late and damage has been done! And that 3.42 gear ratio won't help.
 
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jerflash

Original poster
Member
Aug 12, 2020
14
NYC
Having toasted a couple 4l60E I will suggest you use an OBD2 adapter and an app to monitor that trans during any towing. By the time the factory trouble codes set it is already too late and damage has been done! And that 3.42 gear ratio won't help.
Oh ya for sure whenever I tow I will be checking temps. I already have HP tuners and actually tuned it for better gas mileage already. it has a Bluetooth connection so you can monitor anything with their app. pretty slick
 

coolasice

Member
Oct 27, 2013
1,019
Northern Maine
Having toasted a couple 4l60E I will suggest you use an OBD2 adapter and an app to monitor that trans during any towing. By the time the factory trouble codes set it is already too late and damage has been done! And that 3.42 gear ratio won't help.
I've tried to read tranny temp on my 08 with no success... Tried with torque and a couple other apps, doesn't show.
 

TJBaker57

Member
Aug 16, 2015
2,897
Colorado
Oh ya for sure whenever I tow I will be checking temps. I already have HP tuners and actually tuned it for better gas mileage already. it has a Bluetooth connection so you can monitor anything with their app. pretty slick

With Torque Pro I monitor the ratio of output shaft rpm vs input shaft rpm and display that on a graph. At highway speeds the ratio should stay fixed, any deviation will show on the graph meaning something is slipping.
 

jerflash

Original poster
Member
Aug 12, 2020
14
NYC
Nice work. That is the usual size and placement for the aux tranny cooler on these trucks. That is also usually my first mod as well.

Is that a stock PS cooler replacement? I thought they were originally steel. That looks nice.

I had also replaced the stock cooler with a small aux tranny cooler on my 9-7x as it was much cheaper and easier to install.

I swear I think they use recycled Ferds to make these lines they rust so much.

Ya it's where I usually put them too but I have seen wheel well mounted ones... Idk lol

No this is not the stock replacement and I would not want one. It would just rust again being steel. This is a $60 aftermarket unit from amazon. Fits perfect and will work better being aluminum and having more fins. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3fc8qT3

Install was super easy after taking the front bumper off.

The line sucked to do... That area is still rusty but I covered everywhere the lines come close to the body with 3/8 rubber hose now. Will probably por-15 everything in that area to stop it from ever happening again. It happens because of galvanic action.
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,262
Ottawa, ON
Nice find and comparable price to the steel version. Unfortunately for me, in case I would need it, they're not available on Amazon Canada :frown:
 

jerflash

Original poster
Member
Aug 12, 2020
14
NYC
Nice find and comparable price to the steel version. Unfortunately for me, in case I would need it, they're not available on Amazon Canada :frown:
gotta be able to find it local... worth looking
 

Reprise

Lifetime VIP Donor
Supporting Donor
Member
Jul 22, 2015
2,724
With Torque Pro I monitor the ratio of output shaft rpm vs input shaft rpm and display that on a graph. At highway speeds the ratio should stay fixed, any deviation will show on the graph meaning something is slipping.

Why am I not surprised, TJBaker? :dielaugh: Sounds like me figuring out injector duty cycle calcs in HPTuners.

Back to Torque... (and I know TJBaker knows this; goes without saying... )
There's an 'extended' GM parameter set, IIRC. Using it, I was able to set up a trans temp gauge, which came in handy when I towed a trailer with the Envoy to Glacier NP a couple of years back. Watched it (along with the coolant temp) like a hawk, as it took a lot out of the Voy to pull 5000lb @ ~ 8000ft elevation.

There's actually a couple of trans temp parms (along with some other trans goodies) in that parameter grouping. But only one set actually works as configured, with our trans / PCM.
 

coolasice

Member
Oct 27, 2013
1,019
Northern Maine
Why am I not surprised, TJBaker? :dielaugh: Sounds like me figuring out injector duty cycle calcs in HPTuners.

Back to Torque... (and I know TJBaker knows this; goes without saying... )
There's an 'extended' GM parameter set, IIRC. Using it, I was able to set up a trans temp gauge, which came in handy when I towed a trailer with the Envoy to Glacier NP a couple of years back. Watched it (along with the coolant temp) like a hawk, as it took a lot out of the Voy to pull 5000lb @ ~ 8000ft elevation.

There's actually a couple of trans temp parms (along with some other trans goodies) in that parameter grouping. But only one set actually works as configured, with our trans / PCM.
Yours is an 03, the temp option did not work with my 08
 

budwich

Member
Jun 16, 2013
2,027
kanata
which pid were you using? one of them works on my 2008. Having said that, I seem to recall that certain "cheap elms" didn't function with certain pids.
 

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