Trans cooler

[Chris]

ok so another trip to carquest to get parts to fix this tomorrow or later... damn it.

[txab]

You should have been able to connect the new cooler without cutting your existing lines

[Chris]

didnt come with the right connectors. and it seemed the easiest and most permanent route

 

i feel like a dumbass now if that makes you feel any better

[txab]

No, it doesn't make me feel any better. You're not a dumbass. You took the info provided and ran with it. Always a good idea to check for flow direction even if you're "sure". Pass that info on to the next guy that you run into that is messing with the trans. lines.

 

Take some pics of your work on the install and post them.

[Chris]

it may be a couple days.

[wavery]

I'm certain. Top is the outlet. It's the one you pull to do a fluid flush.

 

Just to make that clear.......... the upper trans cooler line is the one that pumps fluid into the radiator from the transmission..... the lower line returns the fluid to the trans from the radiator.

 

It's best to put your auxiliary cooler into the upper trans line into the radiator. If you put the trans cooler in the lower line, the trans cooler will empty when the engine is off by bleeding back into the transmission. You don't want that.

 

To test which line is which......... start your engine in the morning, cold. Let it run for 10 minutes. Put your hand on both cooler lines. The one that is hotter is the one coming from the transmission and going into the radiator.

 

When I change my trans fluid, I take off the upper cooler line, put a 3' extension hose (on the cooler line) and I put the other end of the hose in a waste botte. I start the engine and the ATF pumps OUT of the upper line, into my waste bottle. Unless GM switched the direction between '04 and '06, yours should be exactly the same.

[stanz792]

This has always been the way I installed.

[Chris]

yea i understand. at the advice of others i installed it wrong

[wavery]

yea i understand. at the advice of others i installed it wrong

 

Are your cooler lines both on the bottom of the radiator (like in the diagram above)?

 

How did you install it?

 

If you installed it in the "wrong" line, it really isn't worth the effort to move it. The only thing is the new cooler should be installed with the fittings up (like in the diagram) if you put it in the line running from the radiator to the trans..

 

It is more efficient in the line coming from the trans to the radiator because the ATF is hotter at that point and the cooler will pre-cool the ATF before entering the radiator. If you put it in the line that returns to the trans it will be slightly less efficient because the ATF will have been partially cooled by the radiator but your new cooler will still remove a lot of heat.

 

One of the reasons that it is better to install the auxilliary before the radiator is because as the engine is warming up, it will actually help warm up the ATF while everything is cold. If it is intalled after the radiator, it will deafeat that. If you live in Bakersfield, it's pretty much a "non-issue". If you lived in Minnesota, the situation may be more of an issue.

 

Neither installation is necassarilly "Wrong"....This has always been a great debate... Whichever line that it is installed in, it will remove heat and that's your main objective. If you keep cutting lines, you may do more harm than good.

 

Did you order the fitting that I recommended in an earlier post?

[Chris]

no. i had already had it installed at that point. here are pics of the botched lines. i may just unplug the lines from the radiator and switch them. and i want it as cool as possible in the summer i tow a trailer to the coast, and hwy 166 after you leave taft (since youre from socal you probably know what im talking about) has a steep grade and it shifts a lot. the trailer weighs approx 9000 pounds.

 

 

coming from radiator lower port going to cooler

 

after cooler going to trans

[wavery]

If you used a barbed fitting in that rubber hose, you may be OK. I would double clamp both sides though.

 

You definatly need to turn the cooler with the lines on top. It's OK to place the cooler at the bottom of the radiator. I think that's where the factory one is.

 

Are both of your fittings at the bottom of your radiator?

 

Did you test to be sure which one is coming from the trans into the radiator?

 

It seems that you have the lines off already. Just put one (or both) line coming form the trans in a bottle and start the engine. The trans only pumps @ 1qt every 10 seconds. It's not like you will hurt anything. The bottle that has fluid in it is the one that you want to use.

[Chris]

the pics of the cooler itself were from the install. why put it both lines up instead of down? and yes there are barbed couplers in the hoses

[wavery]

If the lines are pointed down, the cooler will drain back into the trans when the engine is off. You don't want that.

[Chris]

and on my radiator the fittings are both on trucks right not bottom

[wavery]

That's what I thought..... That's exactly the same as mine. My top transmission line is the one that feeds into the radiator but just take it off, and start the engine like I described earlier...... just to be sure.