I have a new trans cooler that I plan it install on my 2002 F-250. How do I plumb this thing? Do I cut the line and patch it in, is there a fitting kit I should buy? Help, I can do most mechanical things, but this is one I have never attempted. StevenG

 

With the motor cool and being totally safe with a firmly chocked and braked vehicle have someone start while you have your hands on both steel lines going forward. The first one to get warm is the out bound oil to the front cooler. Mark it.

Find a good location for your hangers and aux cooler (lots of folks put them in front of all the other coolers) I hang mine parallel to the bottom of the passenger side tucked in up near the outside and I fabricate an aluminum plate to keep water and gravel deflected away from the cooler (of course I always use coolers with 12vdc manually controlled fan). You can get all fancy and get the correct couplers and flares and do it with unions and proper plumbing techniques but this is a low pressure oil feed and the rubber hoses clamped on the outside of the factory pipe works just fine. BUT

BUT BUT BUT.... every oil change I check the clamps and tighten as necessary! My next install I am going to use premanant crimp style hose clamps, or the very heavy duty spring style if I can find them in the correct diameter.

I don't know what industry prefers for aux oil coolers out bound or inbound. My logic to pre cool the out bound oil before the factory cooler is to reduce the heat load on the radiator. I imagin from the transmissions perspective it doesn't care inbound or outbound as long as it feels cooler fluid.

 

Looking at the passenger side of the transmission you'll see the two cooler lines. The one at the front of the transmission is the line to the cooler. The cooled fluid returns to the transmisison in the rear line.