Derale Transmission Cooling Pan
Derale Transmission Cooling Pan Just wanted others to know what a joke this pan is so they dont get taken....Like I did.
I have a 2003 S10 that I recently did a 5.3 LSx swap & used the 4.3 transmission 4L60E.
I decieded to run a stand alone trans cooler with a fan that runs all the time to try a keep the temps down. I mounted it under the cab & it being 100 degrees outside I was curious to how hot the trans was getting so I bought a scan gauge which plugs in the OBD2 port & reads info from the pcm & driving around town & down the hwy it was getting to 210.
So I decieded to get the Derale pan with the tubes thru it that they claim will drop trans temps down 20-50 degrees.
They also claim it holds 2.3 more qts....BS my truck came with a deep pan from the factory like most trucks with the 4L60E so I actually had to buy the shallow pan filter to use the Derale pan so it really doesnt hold 2.3 more qts.
Nice finish,drain plug with magnet & a 1/8 pipe thread port for a temp sender & tubes thru the pan that are suppose to afford more cooling than a stock pan is what I got.
After installing the pan & filling with 6 qts of fresh fluid I went for a test ride....Same outside temps,same fluid,same temp gauge just a different pan & I was really disappointed to see the temp continue to climb to 224 & would have kept going if I didnt stop driving it.
I called Derale & got the runaround but thats another chapter in the book of BS Stuff that dont work.
Bottom line I paid for a pan with a drain plug.
I have a 2003 S10 that I recently did a 5.3 LSx swap & used the 4.3 transmission 4L60E.
I decieded to run a stand alone trans cooler with a fan that runs all the time to try a keep the temps down. I mounted it under the cab & it being 100 degrees outside I was curious to how hot the trans was getting so I bought a scan gauge which plugs in the OBD2 port & reads info from the pcm & driving around town & down the hwy it was getting to 210.
So I decieded to get the Derale pan with the tubes thru it that they claim will drop trans temps down 20-50 degrees.
They also claim it holds 2.3 more qts....BS my truck came with a deep pan from the factory like most trucks with the 4L60E so I actually had to buy the shallow pan filter to use the Derale pan so it really doesnt hold 2.3 more qts.
Nice finish,drain plug with magnet & a 1/8 pipe thread port for a temp sender & tubes thru the pan that are suppose to afford more cooling than a stock pan is what I got.
After installing the pan & filling with 6 qts of fresh fluid I went for a test ride....Same outside temps,same fluid,same temp gauge just a different pan & I was really disappointed to see the temp continue to climb to 224 & would have kept going if I didnt stop driving it.
I called Derale & got the runaround but thats another chapter in the book of BS Stuff that dont work.
Bottom line I paid for a pan with a drain plug.
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
I would think it still holds more fluid than a std pan. Even though you bought a short filter, it is only going to the top of the tubes, not the bottom of pan, so there is some capacity there. Probably still less than a deep pan though.
Did you use the cooler with the derale pan or was it pan only?
Was original pan aluminum or steel? If aluminum it could explain why temp increased. Aluminum will run cooler than steel.
Also why not put cooler on the exit side of radiator, that way its remving heat already taken out by radiator. I.e., it is cooling a pre cooled fluid rather than takling the entire cooling task.
Did you use the cooler with the derale pan or was it pan only?
Was original pan aluminum or steel? If aluminum it could explain why temp increased. Aluminum will run cooler than steel.
Also why not put cooler on the exit side of radiator, that way its remving heat already taken out by radiator. I.e., it is cooling a pre cooled fluid rather than takling the entire cooling task.
It holds more fluid than a shallow pan but not more than the deep pan I already had on my truck.
I have a Derale cooler with a fan mounted under the cab of the truck,fans runs as soon as the engine is started,it takes a little while to warm up but once it reachs 190 it never goes down it always goes up & get hotter.
Stock pan is steel & so is the Derale pan.
Radiator runs at 200 so I dont need it running into a already hot radiator to pre heat the fluid.
I have a Derale cooler with a fan mounted under the cab of the truck,fans runs as soon as the engine is started,it takes a little while to warm up but once it reachs 190 it never goes down it always goes up & get hotter.
Stock pan is steel & so is the Derale pan.
Radiator runs at 200 so I dont need it running into a already hot radiator to pre heat the fluid.
Staging Lane
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
You should be better off with both coolers.
If you are running 210-224 with only aux cooler it means the inlet temp is much higher and the cooler is only lowering the exit temp to 210 from a higher temp than that.
If you run into radiator first you should be entering your aux cooler at 200ish and the cooler can lower from there. Most likely 180 or 190.
It is very clear that the aux cooler by itself does not have enough capacity.
If you live in the snowbelt, the radiator will also bring the fluid to operating temp. You do need to get oil hot enough to boil moisture.
If you are running 210-224 with only aux cooler it means the inlet temp is much higher and the cooler is only lowering the exit temp to 210 from a higher temp than that.
If you run into radiator first you should be entering your aux cooler at 200ish and the cooler can lower from there. Most likely 180 or 190.
It is very clear that the aux cooler by itself does not have enough capacity.
If you live in the snowbelt, the radiator will also bring the fluid to operating temp. You do need to get oil hot enough to boil moisture.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 24,241
Likes: 89
From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
Its 100 where he is, doubt he lives in the "snowbelt" whatever the hell that is. LS engines run 230 in that kind of weather, they are designed to. He hasn't described his cooling system so we have no reason to believe it's not stock. Saying the radiator will cool the trans fluid down to 200 is downright dumb. You obviously have a lack of understanding about how this drive-train functions.
Its over 100 here in Fla right now & the rad is out of the question as I am not gonna run lines all the way to the front & then all the way to the back to the cooler.
I am getting a plate/fin cooler as they are more efficent than a tube/fin cooler.
The point of this thread is the pan does not do anything to lower trans temps as claimed.
I am getting a plate/fin cooler as they are more efficent than a tube/fin cooler.
The point of this thread is the pan does not do anything to lower trans temps as claimed.
Its 100 where he is, doubt he lives in the "snowbelt" whatever the hell that is. LS engines run 230 in that kind of weather, they are designed to. He hasn't described his cooling system so we have no reason to believe it's not stock. Saying the radiator will cool the trans fluid down to 200 is downright dumb. You obviously have a lack of understanding about how this drive-train functions.
I have a two core aluminum radiator with dual 11 inch Spal fans & a 185 thermostat & it pretty much is dead on 200 all day long,running the ac.
When I had a 165 stat in it would get to 210 or above in traffic beacuse the water wouldnt stay in the rad long enough to cool.
Last edited by ZQ8LS1; Aug 2, 2012 at 11:24 PM.
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Its 100 where he is, doubt he lives in the "snowbelt" whatever the hell that is. LS engines run 230 in that kind of weather, they are designed to. He hasn't described his cooling system so we have no reason to believe it's not stock. Saying the radiator will cool the trans fluid down to 200 is downright dumb. You obviously have a lack of understanding about how this drive-train functions.
My parents have turned their heat up to 80 degrees in the winter when it's -20 outside so they can say "it's a 100 degrees colder outside"
I bet everyone here cares, too.
lmao 
