torque converter lock up kit and gear box cooler

Broodie, I don't own a 200 series, but have fitted lock up kits and trans coolers to Nissan Patrols, 3lt and 4.8lt, certainly drops the revs when cruising and helps keep trans temp down, I do have a trans temp gauge to monitor temps. Can I ask how you know your trans wasn't over heating? Cheers.

Hi John, Thanks for the rapid response to answer your question,I have a hand held temp guage that I use to check my wheel bearing 's and transmition, when we pull up after particularly hard hill climbs or stinking hot days after a couple of hour driving, I don't keep records but by my memory the gear box seems to run at about 80 degrees, depending on where we have been and the type of terrian we have been over. I use the same temp guage on the van wheels too.

We run a StockLock(SL) in a 2020 VX which tows a 2500kg AOR Matrix. The car is heavy with bull bar, winch, drawer system, three batteries and Pioneer platform. All designed to decrease fuel consumption, not. As well we have a 3854kg GVM upgrade for the obvious reasons that 200's have a less then decent carrying capacity.

The reason I fitted the SL was we were experiencing serious de-powering when towing in hot conditions, particularly steep hilly country with long and/or sharp climbs. In these situations the car would go to limp mode pretty much.

According to Toyota it was my fault for having fitted a steel bull bar which was interfering with the airflow so much it was not allowing enough air to cool the trans cooler.

All my data is collected from our ScanGauge which is the cheapest set of useful gauges you can buy IMHO. Fuel consumption is 100% accurate as we always brim the tank and keep accurate records at each fill. It hasn't varied once the 200 was properly run in at around 20,000km

Since fitting the SL we've probably travelled well over 30,000km mostly towing with no issues. In regard to fuel consumption from this years 14,500km trip through the NT, Gulf Country, Cape York and return to Adelaide via outback QLD &NSW we averaged 21.7 towing and around town are getting in the low 16l per 100km. Car is always in S/M mode we never drive it in D.

So that's us. You're lighter and as there's no indication of the weight of your caravan it's hard to make any further comment. There's plenty on late model 200 fuel consumption on the LCOOL site. But seeing as it's been down for nearly two weeks now that may never see the light of day again

Rob

A cheap way to check engine and transmission parameters would be to buy a bluetooth obd2 reader eg Jaycar version and phone software (Torque Pro if Android) or a dedicated scanner. You could then check transmission temperatures and decide if you need a lock up kit. From what I have read transmission fluid can be degraded before the dash warning is activated. An added advantage of an obd2 reader is being able to read/clear fault codes if you are in limp mode.

Hi Brodie,

My 200 tows our van (2600kg) with no issues at all.

Fuel economy sits around 17-18lts/100 whether towing or not. I don't really push it too hard. Just a bit of a nudge to get it rolling. Always tow in S4 which keeps revs around 2500at 100KPH

I have a scangauge which allows me to monitor gearbox temps and also whether the torque convertor is locked or not amongst other useful things. Good value for a couple of hundred bucks.

I have not fitted a lock up kit as yet as I don't believe it is necessary for me the way I drive.

I prefer to leave the driveline as it came from the factory without remaps, chips and lock ups etc, better for reliability and not really required IMHO

I think the danger of lockup kits is the risk of slogging the hell out of the engine which only increase the EGT.
I have Scan Gauge and monitor the transmission temp. I also do most of my towing in 4th gear which is direct drive; torque converter is locked most of the time when towing between 90-100 kmh.

100 series diesel.
Torque converter lockup by Wholesale automatic transmission with heavy duty nomad valve block.
About 5 years ago.
About half way through this time it needed a reset which was a pain, but happened at home so only annoying.
It's manual, so also a pain.
Waste of money as it turned out, but since I was doing long distances and desert towing, purchase was part of a prevention strategy.
A larger trans oil cooler would have done the same job for a fraction of the cost.
My recommendation... don't bother, you'll be flat out justifying it re fuel consumption/purchase price and the nomad heavy duty valve block is all hype. IMO.
About $2800 fitted from memory.

MM4x4 produce a very sophisticated series of software based torque converter lock up kits for Mitsubishi 4x4s, Prados and LC200s. They get rave reviews on the Pajero forum. Might be worth a look: LC200 a tad less than $700.

Hi
I tow a 2800kg van with my 200 Series with bullbar, winch, 2 inch lift and snorkel. I have a ScanGauge where I monitor transmission temperature and EGT. This is absolutely an essential add-on for a towing 200 Series in my opinion. I always tow in 4th gear. The transmission will then lock at about 78 km/h. I use the gears essentially manually keeping the rpm at around 2300-2500ish. Managing the gear changes this way allows you to manage transmission temperature and EGT effectively. Driving with the accelerator to the floor under heavy load will see the EGT reach dangerous levels. I appreciate how this method of driving seems at odds with the fact that it is a V8 with an automatic transmission but it is the best way to preserve your transmission and engine. By the way I dont have a lock-up kit installed.

Hi Broodie H3

Let me say first up that I have a Prado 150 and not a 200 and I tow a 1.7 ton van but that does not really matter.
This is my journey to date.
Some time ago I was suspicious that the auto was over heating but didn't really know. Spoke to my mechanic about it but he didn't want to know about it and certainly didn't support the idea of modifications.
I checked the oil myself and found it quite dark and burnt smelling. I had it flushed and I fitted an Ultra Guage.
This allowed me to monitor Transmission pan temperature, TC temperature and Lockup state of the TC. Interesting to see that the TC rarely locked up when towing and the TC could reach 150 deg. up long slow hill climbs. Way too hot but you would not pick that up with a portable temp gauge. As soon as the TC locked the temp in both pan and TC would stabilise at 80 something deg.
I fitted a trans cooler in conjunction with the factory oil cooler and while that has helped it has really only transferred that heat somewhat to to engine coolant which is not a problem but not a total fix. The engine now runs at low 90s instead of high 80s.
After much research and asking questions I found the MM4x4 kit to make the most sense as it works in conjunction with the existing vehicle hardware/software and not adding stress to components. The unit arrived a week ago and I hope to fit it myself next weekend. I am confident this will solve my confirmed overheating issues and hopefully provide an enhanced driving experience all round.

In response to a couple other comments by you and others:
If you are relying on your car computer readout, then I doubt you would have accurate data on fuel economy. You fitted larger tyres as that probably means increased diameter which will throw out the reading. I have often read where people say that increasing tyre size reduces fuel economy. I wonder if that is fact or are they simply reading the screen on their trip computer.
Also there are a couple comments around leaving vehicles stock standard as the designers should know best. Well I doubt any really design vehicles for towing loads. My Prado performs faultless stock standard when not towing but comes unstuck as soon as I hitch up the van. They have not even provided me with legal mirrors so had to modify them too for towing. Don't think there would be any money in it for them to consider the small number of customers who tow.

My thoughts would be to fit a OBD2 gauge of some sort and monitor your temperatures. If no problem then all is good but I expect you will be surprised at how hot things get there at times. Ultra gauge is good because you can set alarms for anything you are wanting to monitor as well.

Hope that helps income way.

Regards
Roy

I have a 200 series with the Wholesale Automatics manual lockup kit installed (been on the vehicle for a long time - around 8 years?)

I used to use it when towing 2800kg van but after fitting a larger exhaust (be it co-incidence or not?) I found it made zero difference. When towing, I always tow in 4th - as you should with the 200 if you want the best for your transmission-however I find the T/C will lockup in 4th easily at my towing speed of 90-100km/h without the lockup switch activated. Would I fit a lockup again to any future vehicle? Probably not. For me, the whole reason for fitting the lockup in the first place was to prevent transmission overheating, not for fuel economy. I find little to no difference in economy with switch activated or not. And by the way, my transmission temps towing in 4th at say 95km/h will be from memory around 65 or so degrees. Put it in 5th without the T/C locked sees it rise sharply very quickly. (I will only use 5th towing when very little load is on the trans such as down an incline or flat road with no headwind etc)

I mainly use the lockup when not towing now. Cruising at 100km/h in 6th with the lockup activated stops it hunting back and forth through the higher gears, something which irritates me no end.

If you can get 18.5l/100km consistently when towing, take that every day. I can sometimes get down there, but I am usually at around 20-21l/100km. Mind you, my vehicle fully loaded for a trip is about 3500kg GVM - she is no light weight.

We went with the Stocklock kit and fitted it ourselves.
I have been told the the people who remap them on a dyno can remap the transmission as well

The 200 is a very capable tow vehicle, however, it does have shortcomings, and the poor gearbox, sandwhiched between 700 nm and 6500kg can overheat. Can and does shift back as soon as a hill approaches, negating all those 700nm to revs and fuel usage. Ive had 2x 200's and 2 lockup kits. There are manual, auto and now even more options. My latest is a stocklock, and can be installed and forgot about, it locks at 85 and unlocks at 82kph in auto. Switch to manual and you can be in second at 50km/hr climbing a hill and not get that sinking feeling as power drops off due to derating due to gearbox temperature. Worth it in my book, holds 6th longer when not towing, just a better feel and drive all round. Essential, no. you have proved that, but if you ever get to the stage where your box gets hot, and you start loosing power, going up hill, (and it doesnt always happen when you expect it) it can be dangerous to be frank. Ive had to select low range to continue forward in the rain of all times....you would think rain would keep things cool but moving slower to avoid slipping caused derating.
Technically speaking, Toyota have put a smaller cooler in the 200 than was is the 100, be that for space reasons i dont know, but they then programmed the ecu to derate, where as the 100 kept at 100% till tranny lights then came on and you pulled over. This system (100) caused more damage than the 200's derating, so a tick for toyota.

I have a LC200 towing a 2.5t AOR van and fitting the Richards lockup kit was perhaps the best modification I have done on my LC200 (and there are plenty of mods!).

The most immediate difference is that once above 80km/hr and auto-locked, the cruise control gear hunting in hilly areas is almost eliminated. Its worth it for this reason alone, the constant gear hunting drove me crazy.

I have a scangauge and the reduction in gearbox temp is very noticeable when locked. Normally it would run at ~90-100C and when locked, its around 70C (many caveats here). While the gearbox should lock on its own, it drops out at the slightest provocation, the lockup kit minimises this perhaps 90% of the time.

I get between 1-2L/100kms better economy when country towing, you have to be above 80km/hr to lock so there is minimal benefit around town. Having just completed a 10,000km trip, I reckon I save $500 on that one trip alone. The ~$1,000 kit has easily paid for itself.

I fitted the kit myself a few years back, had many years without it and kick myself I didn't do it earlier. One can also get a gearbox and engine tune and perhaps that is another way to go to further improve. While there are many different brands on the market, provided they auto lock/unlock as required, any should do the job.

My LC200 is a 2008 model and I do believe latter models have a better factory tune, but talking with mates who have fitted kits to their latter models, all offer improvement and are glad they did it.

The LC200 is one of the best toyota models, but they didn't match the engine and gearbox very well at all IMHO. From reviews, the LC300 seems to do a much better job in this department and seems to overcome the LC200 shortcomings (but so many other LC300 issues I am disappointed and keeping my LC200 for now).

Cheers