I didn't see much on this site, but just to confirm, I installed the KOYO HH021687 all aluminum radiator intended for the Titan in my 2006 QX56. It eliminates the transmission "cooler" built into the radiator, so I plumbed in a trucool 4588 external cooler and installed it downstream of the OEM stand alone cooler that sits in front of the radiator.
The radiator dropped in with no fitment issues (was a bit snug going in). It's been a few months, so details are fuzzy, but it seems like a couple of the clips at the bottom had to be zip tied.
Was this a performance upgrade or did your radiator fail? You say you installed a separate cooler for the transmission downstream of the OEM cooler, is that second trans cooler or PS cooler or ???
the 3 reasons to do this in my case:
1) remove risk of cross contamination between coolant and transmission fluid, a known failure point from the integrated radiator/tranny cooler design. Anecdotally, it seems a little more prevalent in certain nissan trucks/suvs. Don't tell me about how that "only" happens in "1 in XXXX" cases, that's of little reassurance if my transmission is the 1.
2) Preventative maintenance before I took my truck off road in the desert out west, with the family and >7000 lbs in tow, over 100 miles from the nearest hospital.
3) Performance - additional cooling capacity - every bit of heat removal matters to me when I'm towing heavy, especially in the mountains. I live on one, I often visit others. Although with this drivetrain, I worry more about the transmission fluid overheating than the engine coolant temperature.
To answer your other question, the trucool is a 2nd transmission cooler - I kept the OEM standalone cooler sandwiched next to the radiator.
There's no built-in cooler in the radiator. It's a heat exchanger meant to speed up the time it takes the ATF to reach operating temp. I say again... it's not a cooler.
The actual factory cooler is sandwiched between the radiator and A/C condenser.
You have a good point. I bought a new (OEM) radiator from RockAuto and IIRC, it was like $100. If I had the extra $$$ I can see getting the Stillen, but it's not always available, or at that price.
I don't tow with my Armada (rarely), but if you do, or have a Titan that tows a lot, you'd probably want to remove as much heat from the system as possible. Having a 200*F fluid heater inline with an auxiliary cooler seems counterproductive.
Taking a step back, and looking at the big picture.... You shouldn't need to buy an aftermarket radiator to provide peace of mind in the first place. The "bypass mod" is cheap insurance (especially if you already have a factory aux. cooler) to prevent against contamination. I paid like $20 for high-pressure hose and fuel injector clamps, and I still have a bunch of left over hose.
On the Titan forums there have been some cases of that radiator failing, granted those trucks had performance mods and weren't fully stock but the exchanger did fail just like the stock unit.
But to add to the failure post, ive seen a few failures but nothing that shows a flaw with the unit. Sure anything can fail, theres always some stuff that slips through QC.
I'll see if I can find them, I haven't been on the Titan forums in years.
The cause was a bad weld in the tube separating the atf from the coolant, when the weld gave way a strawberry milkshake ensued.
It may have been an early production problem or it may have been the performance mods, who knows.
For me and for piece of mind I think the best bet is getting the atf as far away from the coolant as possible, the RE5R05A trans isn't cheap!
I know thats right. I did see 2-3 threads when i did a search a couple minutes ago but didnt see anything conclusive other than one had a wonky end tank weld / puncture situation. Well for what its worth if my Champion/Stillen gives me any issues ill come back and let the forums know. I personally chose to go with the alluminum "upgrade" For longevity, i've had great luck with them in a few other vehicles and i was getting the motor swapped out since the original had some oiling issues when i bought it.
That does sound pretty bad, the others i found were around that 08-11 time frame, it looks like they switch suppliers in 2013 when i was doing research last year on what units stillen was selling. But i will see hahahaha.
For less than $100 and relatively little elbow grease, deleting the possibility of ATF getting contaminated and costing you a $6000 transmission seems well worth it no matter what radiator setup you have.
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