As usual the disclaimer. I can not and will not guarantee that this information is correct, safe, or legal. I don't know if this will void your warranty, get you in trouble with your spouse, or get you killed. Please be smart and think before you do something. And yes, I might be incorrect with some of the screw sizes that I mention throughout the document. Remember I'm not a mechanic or in any other way really qualified to give advise. I just like to create web content. And finally this disclaimer disclaims from any responsibility for not disclaiming something that has not been disclaimed by this disclaimer but should have been disclaimed or any statements within these instructions or the disclaimer that doesn't make any sense. :)

The Need
Aka. the embarrassing story. When we bought our about 1200 pound heavy sail boat and trailer near Denver, Colorado I pushed the Taurus a little too hard. Thinking I'll be smart and watch that the engine temperature stays nice and cool I never paid attention to the transmission fluid temperature. To be truthful I didn't even know the transmission fluid was really a concern of getting hot. So after a while driving through the hilly plains of north eastern Colorado on I76 on a hot day, air conditioner running and doing about 70 mph we pulled off to get some gas. At the stop light off the off-ramp the car would not move when I accelerated. In fact it rolled back due to the slope. When I looked under the car I could see all the transmission fluid that had over boiled.

Not until the weekend was over and I had taken the car to the transmission shop on Monday (two days after the incident) did I learn that the transmission was luckily not damaged and had only to be refilled with transmission fluid. Needless to say, the remainder of the trip I took nice and slowly. So, now that we are planning to go on another 1000 mile trip with the boat in tow I wanted to ensure the transmission fluid will stay cool. I hope the additional transmission cooler will do the trick. Yes, I know the Taurus is not the proper towing vehicle, but I don't want to pay the $$ for a monster truck. Let's see first how this will work out.

The Transmission Cooler
After a lot of research I decided to buy the B&M SuperCooler 24,000 GVW 11"x6"x1-1/2" (Product No. 70264) from Summit Racing. If I already install a cooler then why not the biggest one, especially with towing the boat I might need the extra cooling capacity. Also through the bypass that this cooler has the transmission fluid shouldn't be over cooled.

The cooler from B&M comes with the necessary accessories for the installation. From the accessories I used two of the four installation brackets, the 4 bolts, nuts and lock washers, and the ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) hose.

Installation Instructions

	The left and right head lamps need to removed. Below the lamps are two screws that have to be removed so that the bumper can be taken off. Here the Haynes Automotive Repair Manual has wasted quite a bit of my time and added some frustration with false information. The instructions says to "detach the bezel retaining clips and remove the bezel". An image pointed two clips that hold the black rubber seal around the front of the head light. However, I found out the hard way that a) it is nearly impossible to remove the clips and b) that this is totally unnecessary. To remove the head light just remove the four 10mm hex screws that the red arrows point to. One of the screws has a long stem that leads to the bottom side of the light. Slide the head light forward until you can disconnect the wire. Viola, now you can put the head light to the side. [Click for a bigger image]
	Now that the head lamps are gone two screws are revealed that hold the bumper to the car. On each side there are two screws, one horizontal the other vertical (see red arrows). Both are 9mm hex screws and need to be removed. [Click for a bigger image]
	Next the radiator air deflector panel is removed. This panel is the big black piece of plastic that sits under the engine compartment. A total of 14 screws have to be removed. Two 6mm or 7/32in hex screws are at the outer edges and attach the panel to the wheel well plastic cover (red arrow furthest to the left). Nine 6mm or 7/32in hex screws that attach the radiator air deflector panel to the bottom side of the bumper (remaining red arrows of the picture). Three 8mm or 5/16in hex screws in the back center of the panel (green arrows. Note that the screws at the far side (left side) of the car are not visible in this picture. [Click for a bigger image]
	I didn't have a good picture of the screw that attaches the bumper to the fender but the Haynes Automotive Repair Manual actually helped out for this one. I found this part the hardest since I insisted not to jack up the car to remove the weels. Instead I turned the weels to the extreme right when I was working on the right side and to the extreme left when I was working on the left side. It actually works really well, just be patient as there won't be much space to work. To get to the screw remove the philips screw from the front bottom of the wheel well liner. This will allow you to pull the liner far enough back so that you can reach the pumper to fender screw. Reaching in you will find the bumper-to-fender screw. Actually we aren't removing a screw here but a 11mm hex nut. The screw part is permanently attached to the bumper. As mentioned there won't be much space to turn the wrench thus it may take a while to remove the nut. Also some WD40 helps to loosen the rust and dirt which this screw seems to attract. [Click for a bigger image]
The last set of screws are the five 10mm hex screws on top of the bumper. Once these screws are removed the bumper can be pulled off. To do so pull the bumper-to-fender screws out of their whole and pull the bumper up. There are some plastic bumps that hold the bumper snapped into place, which is undone by lifting the top of the bumper upward. These plastic pins are by the five screws you just have removed. It's harder to describe than it actually is. Once you see it you'll figure it out. [Click for a bigger image]
	Now to the most important part. Celbrating the sucessful removal of the bumper. Actually to be 100% correct we haven't removed the bumber but the bumper cover. For simplicity I was just refering to the big flimsy plastic piece that collects bugs and holds the license plate the bumper instead of what it really is: the bumper cover. Now if you take a close look at your car you'll be able to see the actual bumper that has styrofoam attached to it. Luckily though we only need to remove the bumper cover to gain enough access for the transmission cooler installation. So be sure you celebrate this achievement. :). [Click for a bigger image]
	Now we have a clear view to determine where the secondary/auxilary cooler is placed and where the transmission hose will be spliced. On this picture you see the transmission cooler which is a simple aluminium pipe above the power steering cooler (the alumnium with cooling fins). I placed the auxilary cooler right after the where transmission fluid flows through the stock transmission cooler. The red circle marks the spot. To verify the flow direction I disconnected the hose there and attached the new hose that is supplied with the auxilary transmission cooler to where the original hose was removed. Hold both open ends over a bucket and have the spouse or some other person start the engine. After a while the transmission fluid comes out of one hose. If you are at the right location is should come out of the new hose that is attached to the stock transmission cooler (aka the wimpy alumnium pipe). [Click for a bigger image]
In my opinion the best place to mount the auxilary transmission cooler is right in front of the AC condensor. In the picture the two red arrow mark where the metal brackets are attached to. The cooler is slid from the bottom between the power steering cooler and the AC condensor up into its position. Before this is done, bend the brackets and attach them to the auxilary transmission cooler. To do so just hold the auxilary cooler with the metal brackets attached to the front and mark where the brackets need to be bend. Don't forget to use the lock washers. [Click for a bigger image]
	Here are two pictures of the auxillary transmission cooler with the bent brackets. Note that I directed the excess threads of the screws to the forward so that the screws will not be in the way when inserting into the gap between the power steering cooler and AC condensor. [Click for a bigger image] [Click for a bigger image]
A quick view of the installed auxilary transmission cooler. You may want to compare this picture with the one above. [Click for a bigger image]
	A look from the bottom up. On top of the picture is the power steering cooler and at the bottom the AC condensor. Oh, an important thing is to attach the hoses to the auxilary transmission cooler before you install it. There is no way to tighten the hose clamps in that small of a space. Also you might notice that I attached the sticky foam pads to the bottom of the cooler just in case, although they will probably fall of sooner or later. I doubt though that these really are needed since there is still enough space between the auxiliary cooler and the AC condensor. [Click for a bigger image]
	View of the hoses after the installation of the auxiliary transmission cooler. Again this picture can be compared with the earlier one. [Click for a bigger image]
	View of the hoses after the car has been assembled. BTW like the manuals always say: "installation is the reverse of removal" [Click for a bigger image]

Resources & References
Before I purchased the transmission cooler and started the installation I tried to inform myself through the internet. The Taurus Car Club of America has an articles regarding the installation process secondary transmission coolers. There is another web site that has some more pictures with a brief description. Finally I brought up the topic in the Taurus Car Club of America (TCCA) Forum and got some good responses.

I hope this has helped you and had some valuable information. Good luck and best wishes with your installation.