Trans Cooler Hard Line Install
10-17-2008, 03:40 AM
#1
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
Trans Cooler Hard Line Install
As promised, I finally got motivated last night and started my trans line hard line install for my auxilliary cooler. As with most things, it turned out to be a lot easier than anticipated. I ran out of steel line before I was able to finish, so I'll have to do the rest later today. I disconnected the cooler lines at the fitting on the bottom of the condenser, and cut the line that goes back to the transmission from the cooler. I have flared double fittings as long as I can remember, and I must say, the lines on the Jeep are the toughest I've ever flared. What a pain in the ass, but they make pretty flares. Here's a shot of the line going back to the transmission after being flared, being held with the aid of my son.
Here is a shot of the plate that holds the lines going into the factory cooler. Just a plate with three holes on it. One for each line and one for the bolt in the center. They are sealed by two rubber impregnated metal washers. I said impregnated. he he he hu hu hu. What I ended up doing here was what made the whole job much easier. Since the lines just slip through the plate and are not welded on to it, all I did was just turn the line coming from the factory cooler around towards the front. I did have to increase the bend in it slightly as to make for a good fit. Simple enough.
Here is another shot of the plate. You can see the line facing to the rear. It goes to the line coming from the transmission. Even though you can't see it because of the bad lighting, the top line faces forward and up, I promise.
You can see it coming up and attaching to my fabricated line here:
I don't know how yall bend steel line, but my tried and true method is to use coat hanger wire first as a template. Using this method always results in a factory appearance. Since there was so little room between the end of the line and the auxilliary cooler, I had to kinda do a "run around" to get the line to fit properly. Nothing the factory hasn't done before. You can see my "run around" on the right.
I will post the remainder of the job as soon as I get back with some more steel line. This has been really overly simplistic and should pose no problem even for the novice to hard line their installation. No excuse to have rubber hose that can fail. Not that there's anything wrong with rubber hose as long as you use the correct type. It is just my personal preference to use steel hard lines as the factory did.
Keep in mind, the brass fittings you see are not "union" type fittings. They are high quality female inverted flare fittings. they will NOT leak when flared properly, and they cannot come apart. That is, until you remove one of the flare nuts.
Here is a shot of the plate that holds the lines going into the factory cooler. Just a plate with three holes on it. One for each line and one for the bolt in the center. They are sealed by two rubber impregnated metal washers. I said impregnated. he he he hu hu hu. What I ended up doing here was what made the whole job much easier. Since the lines just slip through the plate and are not welded on to it, all I did was just turn the line coming from the factory cooler around towards the front. I did have to increase the bend in it slightly as to make for a good fit. Simple enough.
Here is another shot of the plate. You can see the line facing to the rear. It goes to the line coming from the transmission. Even though you can't see it because of the bad lighting, the top line faces forward and up, I promise.
You can see it coming up and attaching to my fabricated line here:
I don't know how yall bend steel line, but my tried and true method is to use coat hanger wire first as a template. Using this method always results in a factory appearance. Since there was so little room between the end of the line and the auxilliary cooler, I had to kinda do a "run around" to get the line to fit properly. Nothing the factory hasn't done before. You can see my "run around" on the right.
I will post the remainder of the job as soon as I get back with some more steel line. This has been really overly simplistic and should pose no problem even for the novice to hard line their installation. No excuse to have rubber hose that can fail. Not that there's anything wrong with rubber hose as long as you use the correct type. It is just my personal preference to use steel hard lines as the factory did.
Keep in mind, the brass fittings you see are not "union" type fittings. They are high quality female inverted flare fittings. they will NOT leak when flared properly, and they cannot come apart. That is, until you remove one of the flare nuts.
Last edited by RedneckJeep; 10-17-2008 at 03:48 AM.
10-17-2008, 07:27 AM
#3
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
Here is the rest of the install.
You can see in the center of the pic the brass inverted flare junction. This is where the line FROM the factory cooler was cut.
An overall shot of the hard line install.
A closer shot.
With everything painted and reassembled.
As I said, it was not difficult at all. It did require some effort and a little patience. If you use the coat hanger wire as I outlined above, you can't go wrong. Make sure to go back over all of the fittings before you start the Jeep, because there are a few, and they are easy to overlook. It might even be beneficial to go over them all again one more time after about 500 or so miles. The flares do have to "seat" and mate with the brass junctions, and may require one tightening later on down the road after the initial install. Other than that, they are maintainance free and will not leak.
You can see in the center of the pic the brass inverted flare junction. This is where the line FROM the factory cooler was cut.
An overall shot of the hard line install.
A closer shot.
With everything painted and reassembled.
As I said, it was not difficult at all. It did require some effort and a little patience. If you use the coat hanger wire as I outlined above, you can't go wrong. Make sure to go back over all of the fittings before you start the Jeep, because there are a few, and they are easy to overlook. It might even be beneficial to go over them all again one more time after about 500 or so miles. The flares do have to "seat" and mate with the brass junctions, and may require one tightening later on down the road after the initial install. Other than that, they are maintainance free and will not leak.
Last edited by RedneckJeep; 10-17-2008 at 08:39 AM.
10-18-2008, 02:23 PM
#5
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10-19-2008, 05:18 AM
#8
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
Then I warn you ahead of time. Flaring the stock transmission lines will definately put some wear on your flaring tool. Those lines are tough as hell. If I had to do it over, I would remove the trans lines altogether. They are easy to remove. Just pop the little plastic covers off the junctions (one is white and one black), then you'll see how they are held together. Just a small wire clip similar to what holds window crank handles on in older vehicles. Be careful, because they'll fly across the room. Ask me how I know.
10-19-2008, 10:51 AM
#9
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Do you have a parts list? And/or maybe a cost breakdown? I was considering doing this but aint even gone out to see what size line the jeep is running... What size IS it?
10-19-2008, 11:18 AM
#10
JK Jedi
Thread Starter
It's 3/8 steel line. Nothing exotic. No real special tools required, unless a flaring tool is special. Harbor freight has them under 20 bucks. Under 10 if they're runnin a sale. I got two female inverted flare 3/8" junctions, six 3/8" flare nuts and two sticks of 5' 3/8" steel line all for under 20 bucks. The 5' steel lines come with two extra 3/8" flare nuts, in case you need some extras. Also, mine required an extra quart of ATF-4. I chose a pretty large cooler. That's about it.