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Tranny Cooler, how do I hook it up?

mrk5

mrk5

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I have a tranny cooler with barbed fittings and I'm wondering what would be the best way to hook it up. /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

How do you go from the flare fitting to the barbed end on the cooler? /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif I'm afraid if I just cut them off and slip the hose over the tube, it will leak.

Also, most people leave the factory cooler inline? /forums/images/graemlins/ears.gif
 
I just disconnected one of the lines from the cooler in the radiator. I then ran a piece of rubber transmission hose from the factory line to the new cooler. Put a short piece of flared tubing in the factory cooler (in the same spot where you disconnected the factory line). Finally, run another piece of rubber transmission line from this piece of tubing to the cooler. This will put your new cooler inline with the existing system and will allow you to return to the factory setup if you sell the vehicle.

Hope this helps!
 
You can find a brass barbed fitting to fit on the stock cooler hard line, then just clamp the hose to that and run it to your barbed fitting on the aux cooler fitting.

Need pics?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I just disconnected one of the lines from the cooler in the radiator. I then ran a piece of rubber transmission hose from the factory line to the new cooler. Put a short piece of flared tubing in the factory cooler (in the same spot where you disconnected the factory line). Finally, run another piece of rubber transmission line from this piece of tubing to the cooler. This will put your new cooler inline with the existing system and will allow you to return to the factory setup if you sell the vehicle.

Hope this helps!

[/ QUOTE ]
That is a pretty good job of summing it up. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

Remember that the top line going into the rad flows in and the bottom line is return. Make sure that you plumb your air cooler in as the 2nd cooler. Oh and yes, keep your factory rad cooler plumbed in to or your tranny will overheat on warmer days. water cooling power works better than air cooling. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Interesting, must be different on the 700's, the bottom line is the "in" and the top is the "out" /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
put it in drive for and hold the brake on. have some one feel wich hose heats up first. the hotter hose is the in flow.
 
Hell, i just went and made a mess of it and disconnected the lines and saw which one the fluid shot out of.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hell, i just went and made a mess of it and disconnected the lines and saw which one the fluid shot out of.

[/ QUOTE ]Sooooo, which one was it? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Thanks for all the help. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

The link does work; very useful. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
Already said, it was the bottom line that was the feeding line and top was the return, but his may be different though being a th400.


Holy crap, i must have a backwards running pump then. /forums/images/graemlins/yikes.gif
 
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rubber transmission hose

[/ QUOTE ]
Is this a specific type of hose? Is it something I can get at the local parts house? One of the concerns I had about hooking the cooler up was the pressure, so I want to be sure to have the right hose.

[ QUOTE ]
Cooler Fittings

[/ QUOTE ]
There's lots of good information on that site. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Is this a specific type of hose? Is it something I can get at the local parts house? One of the concerns I had about hooking the cooler up was the pressure, so I want to be sure to have the right hose.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yup. "I want transmission hose." by the foot.

-- A
 
I have always felt the bottom line of the tranny cooler should be the return to the transmission. Heat rises and the top of the cooler is warmer than the bottom. This was checked with one of those laser temperature meters.
 
I agree!

I plumbed my Burb the same way, just making sure that the lines are in the right place on the tranny itself though.

The lower line on the tranny feeds the top of the radiator then the bottom of the rad goes to the top of the aux cooler and the bottom from that runs back to the top line on the tranny. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
I run a 700 and it finally stays cool like this!
 
This is really screwing with my head. On a 700r4 it says that the upper line is the Return/in and the lower line is Cooler feed/out. So is this the correct way to hook it up?
14727700r4cooler.JPG

(I know it isn't the most accurate rendering of a 700r4 set-up)

Nate /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
/forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif Thats the way i have mine hooked up, because i thought the top line was the return to the trans line, at least when i fired up the motor real quick with the lines removed, the lower one spit out fluid like crazy.
 
That is how I plumbed my last 3 T400 trucks.
Whichever one is the pressure line from the tranny is the one to plumb into.
Run the line pressure to the air cooler to shed as much heat as possible and then send it through the water cooler.
That not only keeps the radiator cooler but keeps the tranny fluid at an optimum operating temp.
When I lived in Fl. I had a 78 chevy pick up that I swapped in a 400 for after smoking the TH350.
I was sitting in traffc with the temp at 240 - 260*
I had just dropped in a stout 355 as well (demise of the TH350) and was chasing my tail on why it was over heating so bad.
After replacing umteen things my boss looked at my rig and said the tranny cooler was routed wrong, I checked and sure enough the tranny pressure line went to the radiator first.
I rerouted the lines so that the air cooler was first and the engine temp dropped to 195 in traffic.
With a utility bed full of tools and gear that tranny was working pretty hard all the time.
I made it from St. Pete Fl to P-town in 3 days with that rig loaded down with everthing I owned.
 
I may have been incorrect when I sated that the feed goes to the top, seems that was how mine and hipinion's were but we have th700's. /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
This is really screwing with my head. On a 700r4 it says that the upper line is the Return/in and the lower line is Cooler feed/out. So is this the correct way to hook it up?
14727700r4cooler.JPG

(I know it isn't the most accurate rendering of a 700r4 set-up)

Nate /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the way to do it.

As far as the fittings go, I just pushed my rubber lines over the flared tube and tightened the supplied hose clamps over the hose. If they're tight, they stay on, if they loosen up, the hose comes shooting off when you're going 45 mph down the highway, tranny fluid shoots all over your engine compartment, and you get wicked smoke out of the back of your truck from the tranny fluid hitting the exhaust manifolds...of course I don't know from experience, I'm just guessing /forums/images/graemlins/whistling.gif
 
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