I bought a Hayden Transmission cooler from Autozone to put on my 95 Explorer. The box said it installs in 30 minutes (what a joke). What it didn't say is that my Explorer would need special fittings to connect the cooler. Well it did tell me that after I opened the box and read the instructions.
My problem is that none of the parts stores in town carry the type of fittings I need. So I figure I'm left with 2 choices: order the fittings online and hope I get the right ones or cut the steel line and attach my cooler hoses.

If I cut the lines how easy is it to flare the ends of the steel tube?
Autozone rents a flaring tool.

Anybody with any other options or experience with this, let me know!
Thanks! EM

 

Don't cut the lines. You really should put the Hayden cooler "In-Line" with the original cooler. leave the bottom existing line connected to the radiator. go to the same place you bought the cooler and buy a 6 inch rigid line flared at both ends ( the same size fittings and diameter pipe as your existing rigid lines, have it bent into a U shape (without kinks). then remove the top rigid line from the radiator and connect the fitted end of the 6 inch U to the radiator. The Hayden kit should have come with two flexible cooler lines. squeeze one line over the open (flared) end of the 6 inch rigid line rigid line and clamp it down with a small hose clamp. squeeze the other end over the open end of the existing rigid line and put a small hose clamp on it (just push back the fitting nut on the existing line. Don't cut it).

Run your car good and check for leaks for the first week or so


When your done I want a ride in your boat

 

Thanks!!! I'll check with Autozone and see if they carry the rigid line.

Like you suggested, my plan was to have the cooler in series with the existing radiator cooler. I hear it's much more efficient.

Is the top tranny line on the radiator the return line to the transmission?

The boat ride is a done deal

Thanks,
EM

 

OK, I checked how they put the cooler on my 95 explorer. If they did it right then the TOP LINE IS THE HOT FLUID COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. so that line is the one you leave alone. the bottom line is the one you have to cut in to. which hayden cooler did you get? they make two types. the cheap one has one pass through that loops back and forth. the expensive one has parallel feeds through the cooler and is supposed to give less of a pressure drop (I have the cheap one).
Also make sure the cooler fits in fron of the radiator properly before you cut the lines. and make sure you use the foam in between the cooler and transmission.
good luck

 

Thanks for the Info!!!

I thought it might be the bottom trans. line. I did the test suggested by the tranny cooler instructions.
I'm sure I have the cheap one.(I'm Cheap)If I wasn't I'd let someone else deal with my cooler headaches. EM

 

I was walking around in a PEP boys while my wife's oil was getting changed. the same section that sold the Hayden coolers also had a kit that has ALL the stuff you need to splice the new cooler InLine with the existing cooler (Including the little rigid metal cooler line that mounts into the radiator cooler) it was only around $18.00

what size cooler did you get. the guy that mounted mine told me he was only able to get the one sized for compact cars to fit. I have a '95 also

I was OK with having the small one mounted because, when they say it is the proper size for a compact car, it is sized as if it is the only cooler. Not an auxilary cooler to the existing cooler.

If I had to do it again I would get one of the HAYDEN RapidCool coolers. they have a parallel pass through and are slimmer so I could use a bigger one. The Transmission fluid pump ( in the transmission) is strong enough to handle either type of cooler but the parallel flow cooler is more efficient

I would still mount it InLine with the existing cooler

 

I got the 403. It fits up to full size vehicles towing 2500 lbs.
I wish I had gone to Pepboys but we don't have one in town. I found one on the net about 40 miles away that I may go check out.

I'll let you know if I'm successful at installing. I looks like the fan shroud will have to come off to mount the cooler.

I just changed the tranny filter after 70k miles. I couldn't believe the sludge in the pan, not to mention what a messy job. I only got out about 4 qts. of old fluid. I was amazed at the color difference between the old and new fluid. I'm thinking of taking it to one of these places that can pump out all the old oil.

 

The whole thing holds 16 quarts. About 8 quarts is held in the torque convertor and even with the pump out method the fluid in the torque convertor is basically not stagnant and not pumped out. so they say the pump out method only gets about 80% of the fluid changed. if you do a lot of towing I would have the fluid pumped out every 12,000 miles. I had to pay for my tranny to br rebuilt and It still doesn't shift right. i'm just tired of argueing with my local DR Nicks

 

AAAHHH! Success. I finally got that darn tranny cooler installed. I think Hayden lied to me, the 30 minute job took me around 6 hours. The 403 cooler barely fit. I had a hard time getting it to fit between the condensor and the metal frame piece. If there is a 1/4" of space I would be surprised. The foam spacers kept folding up when I tried to slide it into place. But I knew I couldn't return it so it was going in one-way or the other. I didn't cut the metal line like I had originally planned. Instead, I ordered the fittings online and got them in about 3 days. They worked perfectly.


Thanks for all the great advise. Now maybe I can answer some post about how to install a tranny cooler.

 

As a bonus you get an extra quart of fluid. I just installed an external filter in my 97 Explorer using a Summit TRD-1028 ($12.75) that was just on the shelf collecting dust. Having an external filter also makes a transmission flush an easy and clean if you use the Summit spin on filter bypass adaptor TRD-1013 ($9.95) connected to a drain hose. I have mounted the filter with a dog leg "L" bracket on the outside rail just behind the bumper. So forward is it that the filter is within 1/4 inch of the bumper bolt. This makes for very low visibility and the filter was sprayed black to further conceal it. Filter is installed between the radiator and the external cooler. Remember that fluids flow faster when they are warmer and those of you in colder climates should place the filter before the radiator. I am using a PL3001 filter. Many filters can be easily opened by using a good quality kitchen can opener. Just get your own because it is hard on the cutting wheel.

An alternative to this mounting hassle is to use the inline XL30 from SPX filters which also has internal magnets. Technicals can be seen on bryco.com. The filter can be ordered on bulkparts.com for about $15 plus shipping. I also get my pan filters for my A4LD and 5R55E from this site. Part number 23921 fits both and is the glass fiber media type from SPX/FILTRAN made in the US. In the A4LD application, this has double the filter area of the original. At $10.35, this is half the price of the Taiwan ones from Autozone.