Ranger Mods

following our return from the Kimberly I was well overdue to give the engine and transmission a service as we had done just over 15,000 klms and it had been 3,500 klms since the last service so I was looking at a total of well over 18,500 klms since the last service. As I may have said previously I normally do a complete engine oil and filter change every 10,000 k and transmission every 40,000 klm.
One of the guys here has constantly voiced his support for these type of valves as against the standard wax pellet so I bit the bullet as it were and obtained one.
My information was that they are all more or less the same design.
Okay, my Wildtrak is NOT standard. It was a Plasmaman "Pro" intercooler with their silicon hoses, It also has a Koyorad all alloy Radiator, it has a modified PX1 turbo and the ECU has been tuned to give 600 Nm of torque at 980 RPM and 1470 Kw at 2800 RPM at the rear wheels. The sump of the auto box has been replaced with a deep finned (internal and external) alloy AFE alloy sump that holds an additional 6 litres of ATF.

Okay, on the recent trip to the WA Kimberly the engine coolant sat on 88-90 degrees C and the ATF 99-102 degrees C.

Okay so I purchased a new transmission filter and sump gasket, drained the ATF, dropped the autobox sump and valve plate ( this involves disconnecting the electrical connection - there are several Utube videos on how to do this ) and I replaced the OE wax pellet valve with the Shift unit in the above subject title. The truck if you can call it that is using some Vaseline on the valve to hold it in place while you replace the valve body.

So, all re-assembled and tested, new ATF filled to the correct level and off I went for a drive. The ATF temperature went to 102 degrees far faster then before but other than that, no there has been no change, even with the off-road camper trailer hooked up and driving up some of the steeper hills on the Great Western Highway over the Blue Mountains.

Oddly though the instruction sheet that came with the "Shift" valve that I was recommended to purchase and installed states that it holds the ATF at around +160 degrees Fahrenheit - this is only 71 degrees C, I find that strange as the OE fluid to fluid transmission cooler has, when the engine is fully warmed up 89 degree Centigrade engine coolant flowing through it so the minimum ATF temperature would have to be 89*C or 192 *F.

I'll see how it goes for the next 40,000 klms - that hopefully will include a trip up to Cape York - Queensland (or Anest-Asia land) border closures not withstanding.

You need to remove the transfer cooler and fit a stand alone trans cooler then you see cooler temps at trans.