It's scary to think that you can ruin a $3000 transmission by driving down the road unaware that your cheaply made transmission plumbing has sprung pinhole leaks, losing your transmission fluid. Luckily, this didn't happen to me. Caught it in time. In this environment here in the North East, quick change fittings and 3/8 transmission lines are toast. The lines rusted out where there are 90° bends, and especially where plastic retainers snap in the tubing, holding them to the frame. My line also developed pinhole leaks right where it enters the quick change fitting going into the radiator, which should have been made from brass or stainless, and is not available from Ford. I broke the plastic removal tools I listed in my last post, but managed to cut the tubing, remove the fitting from the radiator with a 27MM socket and get the remaining piece of tubing out.
I made up quick repair lines using a combination of hose barbs, compression fittings, coated 3/8 metal brake line and 3/8 power steering return hose. This will probably outlast OEM up here, but I won't be going back to that quick change crap, especially since Ford doesn't make them available. To make up a durable, reliable set of transmission lines that are better and probably cheaper than OEM,go to this company: Fitzall *
TRANSMISSION 3/8" COOLER LINE REPAIR FITTING, FORD RADIATOR. They have brass compression fittings that directly replace the cast iron OEM press in fittings that you can only get by buying a radiator. Then, you can purchase stainless steel, 3/8 brake line and braided stainless transmission cooler hose with fittings from a place like Jegs and make up an awesome set. Then you won't have to worry about that*ever failing again. That's what I'm doing with this truck in the spring. And to think I still only have about 68K miles on this truck where the original and previous owner kept it in the garage. All these critical components failing is unacceptable. The guy I spoke to at Fitzall, Dale, was very helpful in explaining what I would need to make up lines on the '05 Expedition.
Sent from my Galaxy S®III
