Replacing tranny cooler lines

[Lrndthehardway]

Looking for any tips on replacing the tranny cooler line fittings at the tranny, specifically, how the heck to get to them. Its a 98 EB 4x4. Does the heat shield for cat come off?

 

[Lrndthehardway]

I cant believe noone knows the answer to this, or has had to get to these fittings before

 

[Trainmaster]

I changed mine on a 2000 which had the 5.4 and the 4R100. It was an SSV truck.

I was able to bend back the heat shields and get them in. Not sure yours are the same, but they do move if you push on them and bend 'em a little. I was able to start the fittings by hand and then snug them up a quarter turn at a time with a wrench. Maybe not the first-class way to do it but the car was nearly 20 years old and I got the job done without breaking anything.

Don't forget to drop the pan and drain the fluid.

You better be working indoors. This is a bear of a job and I did it on the ground in the summer. I used the Dorman lines, as Ford no longer makes them. You really have to match them up by picture because there are a dozen different ones for different trans/engine/cooling combinations.

If you really get fed up, just cut and flare them (or use compression fittings) and replace the bad parts. I did that years ago and it served me for about ten years. If even that's too much trouble there's always hose.

 

[Lrndthehardway]

I changed mine on a 2000. I was able to bend back the heat shields and get them in. Not sure yours are the same, but they do move if you push on them. Maybe not the first-class way to do it but the car was nearly 20 years old and I got the job done without breaking them.

You better be working indoors. This is a bear of a job and I did it on the ground in the summer.

Thats my main problem, its outside, on a mud/gravel/snowy driveway, and its 27 degrees here, and windy lol. I dont wanna be under there guessing on how Im going to be getting the shield out of the way if I can help it, but it looks like Ill be doing what I figured and just bending it out of the way. I heard I need to get 2 wrenches up there? Was that the case for you? And yeah they should be the same if you had the 4r100

 

[Trainmaster]

Yes, I had to hold the fitting with one wrench if I recall correctly and turn with another. Use the tubing wrench or you'll round out the fitting. Mine originally rusted at the bends behind the radiator support and I patched it with tubing and compression fittings. Why not just repair them for now and save the replacement for summer? My "quick fix" lasted ten years. Home Depot usually carries the compression couplings.

Get under there with a drop light and look real good and see if you can do it by bending the heat shield next to the driveshaft. I think that's where it was.

But you really don't want to be doing this in 30 degree weather. I don't think I could have done it in winter. It was a real "take your time" job that took a couple of hours. And I worked outdoors for a living.

 

[Lrndthehardway]

Because it looks like I have another seeping leak where they run next to the tranny on the drivers side, not sure which one. I know as soon as I cut the bad spot Ill have wiggled them enough to cause another leak, they look to be in pretty bad shape. Front leak is right on the bend under the radiator, hot line. Im also going to be making 3 trips to Fl and back from Pa with a trailer so would rather just not worry about the next leak

 

[Trainmaster]

Try bending back those heat shields and see what you think. Good luck with it. Match up those lines carefully -- I'm telling you there are about a dozen different styles.

 

[Lrndthehardway]

Well thats not real inspiring lol. The only thing I can say is I already have the lines here, and the reviews on them had a couple that mentioned my exact truck so Im hoping for the best, still expecting the worst

 

[1955moose]

When your expecting the worse, your not dissapointed. Maybe you can talk a friend or family member into using their heated garage. I'm with Trainmaster, working out in the cold will just make it tougher.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[Trainmaster]

The replacement lines have hoses in critical places so that you can install them without removing anything. They snake up into the radiator and behind the bumper. Before you do anything, lay out the new lines next to the installed ones to identify which is which confirm that they are correct and find out what has to be threaded through where. You don't want to attach anything that you'll have to pull out later to get a line behind something.

As I recall, I did that, took down the old line, installed the new one in place and then did the connections. You may also want to take a few pictures of where they go in the bumper area and radiator support before you pull them out. If you strip the old ones without documentation, you'll be left with a nest of squiggly new lines that mean nothing.

Also break open all your fittings first so you know it can all come apart before you start taking things off. If you have a frozen fitting or if you break something you don't want to be left with an undrivable car.

And remember that compression couplings are your friend. If you do get into trouble, you can always cut and patch the new with the good part of the old.