Hi, I do a bit of boat towing with my 2013 Freelander 2 diesal and I've seen my transmission temperature get up to 90 degrees C (194 deg F) (using a OBD2 dongle).

I was wondering if it's possible to fit in a tranny cooler in that crowded engine bay? Anyone done that?

Auto or manual ?? The auto should already have one

Ah thanks for that Ricky. Yes it's a Auto so it must have one... I'm not much of a mechanic so wasn't confident in my inspection.

Those temps seem high to me so I would like more cooling if it's possible.

Oh in case it's useful to anyone a tip about this forum... if you hover on the vehicle icon under a user you can see what vehicle details they have provided.

Its found just forward of the auto box, follow the pipework and you should find it, its quite a small unit and it shouldn't be too difficult to fit a larger one from another vehicle, check yours isnt caked in mud or other foreign matter that may reduce its efficiency.

Ah thanks again... good tips, I will do that. Any opinions on whether those temps too high?

Firstly, the ATC heat exchanger is AT oil to coolant. Cleaning it will make no measurable difference.
Secondly, a warning message and the vehicle will go into limp mode if AT temps exceed safety levels. MY15
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Walruslike wrote:

Hi, I do a bit of boat towing with my 2013 Freelander 2 diesal and I've seen my transmission temperature get up to 90 degrees C (194 deg F) (using a OBD2 dongle).

I was wondering if it's possible to fit in a tranny cooler in that crowded engine bay? Anyone done that?

A very knowledgable long time user here called Alex_pescaru gave me the PID info required so I put that in as a user defined PID.

I use the OBD Fusion app and in the user defined section added the PID:

Transmission Temperature
Module/header. TCM
Mode. 22
PID Number. DF0A
Priority. Medium
Equation: (A * 256 + B)

I just have a cheap ELM327 dongle. It gets quite hot when plugged in so I tend to only use it when towing. Also I'm not sure if it would be any sort of battery drain with engine off so I unplug it when not actively using it.

However it is a fantastic thing to have when you are wondering what temp the gearbox is at... unless maybe it's best not to know....

Stuartc wrote:

Firstly, the ATC heat exchanger is AT oil to coolant. Cleaning it will make no measurable difference.
Secondly, a warning message and the vehicle will go into limp mode if AT temps exceed safety levels.

I have the SD4 and tow 1400kg, last 3 years extensively into Europe, at times the outside temperature being low 30's centigrade and the car has not complained once regarding transmission or engine cooling. I believe 194 fahrenheit is not something to worry about, but maybe ensure the auto box is 'locked' into an appropriate gear manually when under load in very hot ambient temps, rather than risking a lot of transmission oil slip in auto mode at lower revs, you will see this 'slip' noticeably on the rev counter.

Thanks that's very re-assuring. Yes I always use sport mode to keep it in lower gears and if necessary use controlled shifting.

Walruslike wrote:

A very knowledgable long time user here called Alex_pescaru gave me the PID info required so I put that in as a user defined PID.

I use the OBD Fusion app and in the user defined section added the PID:

Transmission Temperature
Module/header. TCM
Mode. 22
PID Number. DF0A
Priority. Medium
Equation: (A * 256 + B)

I just have a cheap ELM327 dongle. It gets quite hot when plugged in so I tend to only use it when towing. Also I'm not sure if it would be any sort of battery drain with engine off so I unplug it when not actively using it.

However it is a fantastic thing to have when you are wondering what temp the gearbox is at... unless maybe it's best not to know....

From memory the transmission oil is "cooled" by the engine coolant - it's an oil/water heat exchanger.
The engine coolant is likely to be around 80-85C, so the transmission isn't going to be any cooler than 85-90C even a huge heat exchanger isn't going to get the transmission any cooler than the coolant temperature.

We towed a 1350kg caravan up some unbelievable mountain "roads" in Spain last year - thanks LR satnav, and the transmission never gave a hint of trouble in 35C temperatures, I wouldn't worry.

The only time we had transmission temperature problems was towing in Cornwall with a main radiator 60-70% blocked with mud - soon after the transmission gave temperature warnings the engine gave the same warnings Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

[quote="juarodri"]

Walruslike wrote:

A very knowledgable long time user here called Alex_pescaru gave me the PID info required so I put that in as a user defined PID.

I use the OBD Fusion app and in the user defined section added the PID:

Hi there, what's this PID about? You can get a sensor reading "manuallly"? That's what you're doing?

Thanks mate, that's really interesting. What OBD cable do I need to use this OBD Fusion app you mentioned?

Juan