Iplayfarmer
Super Member
Warning: This is a long winded post!
I put in a tranny oil cooler last night. I thought I'd post a few things I learned here for anyone attempting it in the future.
I had a friend help me. If he hadn't been there, I'd have looked all day for the oil lines. I never would have expected the transmission oil line to be coming out of the radiator. (I went back later and saw that this is clearly spelled out in the instructions.) On my truck the line I needed was right at the top of the radiator on the passenger side.
The cooler ties into the return oil line. The instructions suggest opening the lines to see which one oil flows out of to determine the pressure vs. return line. Remember that if you pick the right line, the oil will come out of the radiator not out of the hose. My friend realized this as he was carefully holding the hose over a bucket to catch the fluid and got a hot bath from the fluid spraying out of the radiator. (Note to self: buy some glass cleaner for the windshield.)
I think that no matter what additional parts are in the kit, the best and easiest way to tap into the line is to just cut the tube about halfway between the radiator and the flexible rubber hose. We opted to cut the tubing with bolt cutters rather than with a hack saw to avoid the risk of metal filings getting in the system. After we "smushed" the tubes back open with pliers and screwdrivers there was a cosequent flare on the open ends that I think will even help hold the hose on the tube.
I got the biggest Hayden cooler that Checker auto sells. The price difference between it and the smaller one was about $6, and I figured it was worth it. The drawback to this is that the coil is big enough that it doesn't easily fit anywhere. I have a '99 Silverado 1500. There is an "A" frame in front of the A/C coil that supports the hood latch. This frame effectively splits the face of A/C coil so that there is no surface big enough to attach the oil cooler coil. Anyone contemplating a tranny oil cooler might want to get and idea where it is going to go and what kind of space you have before you buy the biggest unit you can find.
Putting the tranny cooler coil between the AC coil and the radiator is less effective, but even at that, I couldn't see any way of getting my hands in there to attach the little two piece zip ties that they give you to hook the coils together.
After a half hour of goofing around and cursing the tight spaces, I took the grill off the front of the truck. It amazes me how easy that was. There were a few cam lock type fittings on the bottom of the grill, one bolt right by the hood latch (10 mm wrench), and some spring clips on the sides. From the time I thought of it to the time I had the grill sitting on the garage floor was about 75 seconds. (It has probably taken you longer to read this paragraph.)
Once I had the grill off I easily secured the transmission oil cooler coil to the "A" frame itself with plenty of padding at any potential wear point in the form of friction tape covered by electrical tape. I used zip ties to secure it. It seems pretty secure there and allows enough air flow through and around it.
After finishing, I checked the fluid level and added a half quart. At lunch today I drove around a bit and checked the fluid again. It was down another half quart. I'm sure that the coil doesn't hold a quart of fluid. Most of that quart that was missing probably either went home on my friend's shirt or is still on the driveway under where the truck was parked. I was surprised that the fluid was down that far the second time I checked. I'm planning to check the fluid level again tomorrow to make sure it hasn't changed again.
I put in a tranny oil cooler last night. I thought I'd post a few things I learned here for anyone attempting it in the future.
I had a friend help me. If he hadn't been there, I'd have looked all day for the oil lines. I never would have expected the transmission oil line to be coming out of the radiator. (I went back later and saw that this is clearly spelled out in the instructions.) On my truck the line I needed was right at the top of the radiator on the passenger side.
The cooler ties into the return oil line. The instructions suggest opening the lines to see which one oil flows out of to determine the pressure vs. return line. Remember that if you pick the right line, the oil will come out of the radiator not out of the hose. My friend realized this as he was carefully holding the hose over a bucket to catch the fluid and got a hot bath from the fluid spraying out of the radiator. (Note to self: buy some glass cleaner for the windshield.)
I think that no matter what additional parts are in the kit, the best and easiest way to tap into the line is to just cut the tube about halfway between the radiator and the flexible rubber hose. We opted to cut the tubing with bolt cutters rather than with a hack saw to avoid the risk of metal filings getting in the system. After we "smushed" the tubes back open with pliers and screwdrivers there was a cosequent flare on the open ends that I think will even help hold the hose on the tube.
I got the biggest Hayden cooler that Checker auto sells. The price difference between it and the smaller one was about $6, and I figured it was worth it. The drawback to this is that the coil is big enough that it doesn't easily fit anywhere. I have a '99 Silverado 1500. There is an "A" frame in front of the A/C coil that supports the hood latch. This frame effectively splits the face of A/C coil so that there is no surface big enough to attach the oil cooler coil. Anyone contemplating a tranny oil cooler might want to get and idea where it is going to go and what kind of space you have before you buy the biggest unit you can find.
Putting the tranny cooler coil between the AC coil and the radiator is less effective, but even at that, I couldn't see any way of getting my hands in there to attach the little two piece zip ties that they give you to hook the coils together.
After a half hour of goofing around and cursing the tight spaces, I took the grill off the front of the truck. It amazes me how easy that was. There were a few cam lock type fittings on the bottom of the grill, one bolt right by the hood latch (10 mm wrench), and some spring clips on the sides. From the time I thought of it to the time I had the grill sitting on the garage floor was about 75 seconds. (It has probably taken you longer to read this paragraph.)
Once I had the grill off I easily secured the transmission oil cooler coil to the "A" frame itself with plenty of padding at any potential wear point in the form of friction tape covered by electrical tape. I used zip ties to secure it. It seems pretty secure there and allows enough air flow through and around it.
After finishing, I checked the fluid level and added a half quart. At lunch today I drove around a bit and checked the fluid again. It was down another half quart. I'm sure that the coil doesn't hold a quart of fluid. Most of that quart that was missing probably either went home on my friend's shirt or is still on the driveway under where the truck was parked. I was surprised that the fluid was down that far the second time I checked. I'm planning to check the fluid level again tomorrow to make sure it hasn't changed again.
