Another FYI - Ranger Raptor 10R60 transmission has Water to Air Cooler

[Lion77]

Unique Features - Raptor - Unique Features

• 10R60 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and water to air transmission cooler.

Something that was neglected on the mustang GT's. Nice to see it on the Ranger Raptor and should give some confidence for those looking to push the truck at sustained higher speeds.

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[stuartmunto]

Yeah they pushed the Ranger Raptor very hard over here in Aus during its development. They absolutely flogged the shit out of it over something like 1000Km at racing speeds in outback Australia near Alice Springs. Anyone who knows the area will know just how punishing that environment is. Not at all a shock to see them add so much cooling to the RR

(1000km is something like 3 full F1 races in distance for those F1 fans out there)

 

[Lion77]

I have a lot of confidence in the design of the truck. I think the biggest risk factors for issues come down to a potential production / mfg. defect, improper break in of the engine or improper maintenance. The latter two are up to the owner. First one should be covered by warranty should it manifest.

In only have about 1,400 miles on mine, but so far it's been great!

 

[scrappyisbe]

There is no water or air in that transmission and if there is you better send it back!

 

[Lion77]

Wanted to update, it's water to oil cooler for the trans. Looks like another misprint. Figured it out by looking at the parts diagram. Water to oil coolers is pretty standard on heavy duty truck applications, but the point still stands, at least they didn't cheap out on transmission cooling in the RR like they did with the first gen GT350 Mustangs that were over heating rear diffs in 1-2 laps...that was a huge fiasco for an otherwise amazing car!

 

[pablo94sc]

All automatics have a trans cooler. It's in the radiator, or are you taking about an external aux trans cooler?

 

[pablo94sc]

over heating rear diffs in 1-2 laps...that was a huge fiasco for an otherwise amazing car!

The rear differential has no external cooling. It's not even post of the transmission.

 

[Lion77]

I think you misunderstood; I wasn't implying the rear diff has any cooler for the RR. I was talking about the GT350 Mustang's. Ford cheeped out on the cooling on a car they advertised for track, and it was big fiasco.

What I was getting at is that with the RR, it's good to see a trans cooler on there which is part of proper cooling for the application. I would THINK most trucks have them, but I don't know if that's only typical with Tow Package options.

There's no need for a diff cooler on a RR, it's not limited slip, but on the Mustang GT350's, the regular GT PP and PP2, they cheeped out on diff coolers and it's an issue for a lot of people that track them, which is the whole point of the PP, PP2 and GT350 lol.

 

[Antman450]

When I am in Baha mode, the temps get around 225 to 230 a lot. This happens also when I am in snow and spinning the tranny at high RPMs. I saw it get to like 240, so I chilled out on the throttle until is cooled a bit.

Is this normal or in any way damaging? 230 is not that hot, but doing this for extended periods of time (which is actually when I have the most fun) could break the oil down really quickly. I was thinking about getting an aux trans cooler with a fan for the heck of it. Not all that expensive, but what do you guys think?

 

[Antman450]

One other thing, what do you guys think regarding putting one under the truck with a fan verses one in front of the radiator/ac condenser? I think I would rather have a fan one underneath or elsewhere rather than in front of the radiator.

 

[Lion77]

As much flack as I may get for this, I would suggest trying DLC coatings in the transmission to see if that helps control temps (i.e., TriboTEX). The Miss Madison Power Boat was a prime example of racing applications for the technology.

If you are interested in looking into it, here is the thread, but please do read through the material carefully as some who are incredibly uninformed jump to conclusions about it being a scam. I can assure you that the volumes of information prove otherwise, and I use it in my vehicles (presently, I'm wearing it in the RR, been using it in my daily drivers since 2019).

(6) Informational - Science / History Behind In Situ DLC Coatings for ICE and Transmission / Gearbox Applications | Ranger6G - 2024+ Ranger & Raptor Forum, News, Owners, Community (6th Gen)

How an Outsider Scientist Tripled the Life of this Racing Gearbox in 7 Minutes - TriboTEX

They were able to drop the operating temps of the Ester base oil used in a reduction gearbox for the 3000HP Miss Madison Jet Boat by 20C (about 68F). Now that is an extreme application, I do NOT expect those kinds of temp reductions in a RR with a 10R60 that's only 400-450 hp, but heat comes from friction and reducing friction by using In Situ semi-permanent DLC coatings may have some meaningful effect.

I have yet to run my truck hard off-road as I've mostly been doing road trips with it for the time being (more typical stuff, just flooring it when merging or passing, occasional back road hot-rodding), but I plan to go to Silver Lake Michigan next year and by that point I will have worn in the entire powertrain with DLC coatings, so we'll see if temps stay cooler than what others are seeing in similar conditions.

My ONLY advice for applying it to the transmission is to avoid towing while it wears in. You do NOT want it to form on the torque lock clutch plates as they will slip.

There has never been a single instance of that occurring that I know of or could find. BUT why push it? Just let it wear in during the first 500 miles with normal street driving then do what you want to do. It's like flooring it on a cold engine. Will it blow up? No, but you will cause a lot of accelerated wear and over time you WILL end up with wear related issues. Be smart, follow the regimen and reap the rewards.

 

[Lion77]

One other thing, what do you guys think regarding putting one under the truck with a fan verse one in front of the radiator/ac condenser? I think I would rather have a fan one underneath or elsewhere rather than in front of the radiator.

I believe it's water to oil cooler. So, the trans cooler is part of the main heat exchanger system (aka what most refer to as the radiator) and runs the transmission coolant through water jacketed cooling block.

The Ford specs listed it as air to oil cooler, like a race vehicle, but that is incorrect as far as I know and its water to oil which is more common. Air to oil coolers work better than water to oil coolers at high speeds, but not at lower speeds as the main radiator has far more cooling capacity and active fans, so for most applications, trucks or high-performance cars with autos usually have water to oil coolers.

I corrected the error in this thread once I realized the information was incorrect in the Ford specs.

 

[Raptor Family]

The Transmission cooler is Water to Oil (Transmission Fluid). It is very similar looking to the actual Engine Oil Cooler as pictured below.

The stacked plate cooler unit has the oil enter it from where it is attached to the oil filter housing. The two pipes are for engine coolant in and out. The coolant both warms up engine oil, and cools it. This is located on top passenger side of engine. Black cap is where oil filter is located

The actual Transmission Cooler is located under the front of the engine on the crossmember. Like this:

The Trans cooler has 4 lines: Engine Coolant in and out, Transmission Fluid in and out. Below you can see the special quick-connect hose fittings attached

There are a few Aftermarket Auxiliary Transmission Coolers. The one I have is made by Process West. It is extremely well engineered and is a complete bolt-on kit shown below

Below is the custom engineered adapter bracket to “tap-in” to the Trans fluid and send it to the “air to oil” cooler behind the radiator. This system doesn’t alter any factory hoses or connectors—and if there is a problem, merely disconnect hoses and reattach to factory locations (I think it is far better design than other kits that require cutting factory hoses).

Super high-quality kit, with quick disconnects, brackets, pre-terminated hoses, bolts, etc.

What the Trans cooler looks like behind the grill.
I also run the aluminum Mishimoto +2 qt Trans Pan instead of the plastic factory one. The Process West trans cooler adds another Qt of fluid to fill hoses and cooler for a total of 3 QTs more than factory.

I run my truck hard—real hard. My truck is modified and runs on ethanol. My cooling system runs a 170 degree thermostat. I run constantly in Baja mode with rear locker off (to save transmission from Torque overload).

In the Texas temperatures of 103 degrees, my transmission stays right at 174 degrees and never gets hotter—no matter how hard I hit it, or do 75mph manual downshifts to 5500rpms and floor the throttle (those dumps put maximum torque and hp to the transmission). The E and F clutches slip quite a bit under high rpm, max boost/Torque that spike heat output.

To put it into perspective, during those hits, the Engine Cylinder Head temp (coolant) rises as high as 197 degrees. Engine Oil temp rises to as high as 247 degrees. Normal for both of those is 177 and 188. The Trans Cooler works exceptional at 174 (when engine head coolant is 197). It works so good, I think the trans cooler actually pulls heat from the coolant. For anybody pulling trailers, heavy loads, driving in the mountains, or just spirited driving, I think this is the best system so far. Well designed, engineered and manufactured with high-quality components—it is idiot proof.

In my case, I think I need an Auxiliary Oil Cooler. Inside the engine, the piston oil squirters squirt oil to the bottom of the pistons to cool them off. That piston cooling is what stops detonation and allows that high 10.5 compression ratio with high turbo boost and spark advance (which is where all my additional Hp and Tq come from). It is also why oil temp is so hot—50 degrees hotter (247) than coolant temp (197 at cylinder head). It takes time for the coolant to cool the oil and under full boost, the temp of the oil shoots up faster than the coolant. The ethanol helps some, it cools the cylinder, head, and pistons—and adds 100-105 octane.
Next month my truck goes to Suncoast (thanks DirtDerrick for all the parts, coordination, and scheduling). It’s getting a higher rpm Stall Converter (more heat) and stage 3 Performance Build with Better Clutches, Higher Pump fluid pressure, and a new re-programmed Valve body. It is supposed to be bulletproof.

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