4L60E getting very hot
I'm considering buying a new transmission cooler but I'm worried that wont help because while driving up that steep incline for 20 minutes the torque converter almost never is able to lockup, I really don't know where to go from here. Is there a way to keep the torque converter locked during high load situations like this, or will that damage the converter/trans? Would a transmission cooler help? During these mountain drives it usually stays in 2nd/3rd gear.
I'm not sure if it matters but the specific vehicle that I'm talking about is a 1997 Silverado, 5.7L 4X4.
Higher that stock stalls compound this with stall (any energy not transferred to wheels "converter slip" is turned into heat.
As long as all else is ok i would not be overly worried
YES in tune you can change converter apply settings to hold lockup to a wide throttle opening at lower speeds and yes this can reduce heat. However bear in mind the stock and after market single disc converters were not designed for this and could result in premature converter failure depending on how much of an incline and how much throttle. Stock lockup converters were really only intended to lock at light throttle cruising speeds on a relatively flat surface.
If running through the main radiator, it generally cannot cool down much more than the engine temperature. In contrast a dedicated cooler (and not in series with radiator cooler), will cool much better.
If that is still not enough, a "triple disk" converter combined with a tuning change can stay locked up at any throttle position. Of course the cost is likely $1400+ labor+ tuning.












