The Heat is On – Performance Transmission Cooler for 1999-2013 Chevy Silverado & GMC Sierra
For truck owners who depend on their vehicle for work, reliability and performance are paramount. Whether your truck is a construction fleet vehicle or a dedicated tow rig, one of its greatest enemies is heat — especially when it comes to the transmission.
Transmissions can generate a lot of heat, especially when towing, driving in rough conditions, and off-roading. This becomes more of a problem when they’re paired to a powerful engine, such as those used in GMT800 and GMT900 trucks, which is why we’ve been hard at work developing our Performance Transmission Cooler for the 1999-2013 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.
Using the same tried-and-true core design as our K2 and Duramax trans coolers, our transmission cooler for the 1993-2013 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra boasts a 521% increase in core volume and 278% increase in frontal area compared to stock. The stacked-plate core design makes the most of its large surface area by allowing fluid to flow into each plate across the entire cooler, which works better than smaller, tube-and-fin style coolers. To further enhance cooling efficiency, we’ve included internal fins, to add cooling surface area, and louvered external fins that circulate cool air throughout the core for optimal heat transfer.
These significant improvements offer seriously improved cooling capacity and dependable performance that will help keep your Silverado or Sierra’s transmission from overheating. Whether you’re towing heavy loads, running up and down mountain passes, or making long commutes in the summer heat, our transmission cooler is up to the task.
We made sure to put our transmission cooler up against its OEM counterpart. By bench testing, we’re able to simulate a loaded transmission and eliminate variables like airflow and fluid flow rate for a true apples-to-apples comparison. We heated a reservoir of transmission fluid to a temperature common to transmissions under load. We then pumped the fluid through the coolers at a controlled rate and used fans to pull a controlled amount of air through the cores, measuring inlet and outlet temps until we see the temperatures level off. Once the temperatures were no longer dropping, we knew we’d reached the peak efficiency of each cooler.
As we’d hoped, testing revealed that our transmission cooler outperformed the stock system. The lower inlet temperature of our cooler shows that our cooler is effectively keeping the entire system cool, meaning the transmission is consistently running at lower operating temperatures even under load.
We also compared the overall temperature drop across the core of both the stock and Mishimoto coolers. In the chart below, a higher line represents a greater temp drop across the core and a more efficient cooler.
Our transmission cooler is ready for a direct-fit installation across a wide range of Silverados and Sierras thanks to a unique adjustable bracket design. This allows for a simple and straightforward installation process that takes an hour or less. We’ve also included a relocation bracket for the ambient air temperature sensor to maintain full functionality of your truck. To accommodate various setups and configurations, this cooler comes with precision-machined -6 ORB quick-disconnects that can either be directly connected to the stock lines or removed to allow for -6AN lines. No matter your configuration, our transmission cooler ensures seamless compatibility and dependable performance.
For owners of 1999-2013 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks, the Mishimoto Performance Transmission Cooler is a straightforward and reliable option to protect your truck’s transmission and keep it working hard for longer. Backed by our Lifetime Warranty, you can get to work or hit the trail with peace of mind by ordering yours today.
