I by-passed my in radiator tranny cooler

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GOTGOO
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Postby GOTGOO » Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:01 am

The connector.


kev1n
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Postby kev1n » Sat Nov 07, 2009 9:03 pm

I just did this, with out a coupler or vacuum caps. Took the shorter hose from the pass side of the radiator and connected to where the longer hose connects from the tranny line. Then I jumper the longer hose to the other side of the radiator. Didn't have to buy anything and didn't spill anything.

Credit goes to Ryan B from club frontier who did the same thing. I can rest easier now.

slavabon
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Postby slavabon » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:12 pm

Has anyone done this mod while still under factory warranty? Im curious if they will deny warranty repairs for cooling or tranny related issues if this has been done while the truck is still under warranty. Also, what year/production dates are the most vulnerable to this problem?

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:09 am

kev1n wrote:I just did this, with out a coupler or vacuum caps. Took the shorter hose from the pass side of the radiator and connected to where the longer hose connects from the tranny line. Then I jumper the longer hose to the other side of the radiator. Didn't have to buy anything and didn't spill anything.

Credit goes to Ryan B from club frontier who did the same thing. I can rest easier now.
I looked at the final pic on Ryan B's post at club frontier.

The hose seems really close to the bottom of the FEAD, close to a pulley. But it could have been the camera angle.

Based on what I could see, routing a belt that close to a moving part would be a no-no.

Image

t

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:50 pm

Never mind. I'm an idiot. :)

Got underneath my path today and I see exactly wht Kev is referrng to.

Actually, if anyone has already done the bypass you can do what Kev is suggesting without removing skid plates. I actually wonder if I could have done the whole thing, and its not like I have small hands...

t

kev1n
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Postby kev1n » Wed Nov 11, 2009 9:39 pm

Not sure I understand what you are saying about not removing the skid plates, I didn't see any other way to get to it. As far as the pully , I don't recall the hose being that close to the pully like in that picture, I will have to double check and look at that, I agree that is too close for comfort.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Wed Nov 11, 2009 10:35 pm

kev1n wrote:Not sure I understand what you are saying about not removing the skid plates, I didn't see any other way to get to it. As far as the pully , I don't recall the hose being that close to the pully like in that picture, I will have to double check and look at that, I agree that is too close for comfort.
I'll try and post a pic tomorrow, but you can get access to everything from the passenger side underneath. I have an SE, not an OR so I don't know if the skid plates are different, but you can see the oil filter, and the pertinent trans cooler lines, totally doable without removing the skid plates, although maybe a bit more of a PITA.

t

kev1n
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Postby kev1n » Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:53 am

So was that pulley in the pic you posted a bad angle ? I simply don not remember any moving parts that close to the hose when I did mine, I am getting paranoid, so I will have to check tonight.

twinblown
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Postby twinblown » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:50 pm

Guys remember the posted pic. above is of a Frontier, the Pathy has a single sepentine belt. The angle of that pic. appears to make it look close; no idea on the Pathy as I have yet to tackle the deletion.

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VenezuelanPath
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Postby VenezuelanPath » Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:50 am

I did it, I have a 700 mile road/off-road trip this weekend to the Ocala National Park.

Well I took pics of every single bolt and nut so Ill do a How to do Post monday.

Thanks to all people that posted instruction and Ideas

Cooper993
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Postby Cooper993 » Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:48 pm

trowerpow wrote:thanks for posting those for me coop.
forgot to mention it's easier to check for leaks/test drive etc. before you reinstall your skid plate and plastic front valance. :)
So I installed my B&M aux cooler today based on Trowerpow's directions. I did it a little differently. The three changes I made were: 1) I had the cooler up higher so it would have airflow through the opening in the bumper, 2) I used the hose that came with the kit to go from the left inlet on the cooler back to the connection point that the driver's side radiator connected to, 3) I removed the hose that went from the passenger's side connection on the radiator and replaced it with a shorter hose right from the stock trans cooler to the B&M.

The net result was the same, but I just have less plumbing.

slavabon
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Postby slavabon » Sun Nov 15, 2009 8:52 pm

How you guys deal with topping the fluid off after installing external coolers? How do you know how much to add to get the right level? When replacing fluid completely, its easier to measure the drained fluid and pour in the same quantity of the new fluid. How about topping it off when it comes to adding external coolers? Also, when topping off - do you pour the new fluid through the tranny dipstick tube?

Cooper993
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Postby Cooper993 » Mon Nov 16, 2009 8:49 am

slavabon wrote:How you guys deal with topping the fluid off after installing external coolers? How do you know how much to add to get the right level? When replacing fluid completely, its easier to measure the drained fluid and pour in the same quantity of the new fluid. How about topping it off when it comes to adding external coolers? Also, when topping off - do you pour the new fluid through the tranny dipstick tube?
If you want to be real scientific, just fill the trans cooler with fluid before you install it and measure how much fluid it holds. But keep in mind that if you either change the hose length or lose any fluid when disconnecting the hoses, you'll have to account for that too. I captured about a cup of fluid when I pulled the hoses off the radiator, if that helps at all.

At the end of the day, I just idled the car and poured in a little fluid at a time (through the dipstick hole) and kept checking until it was at the right level. Then drive the car and check again when hot.

slavabon
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Postby slavabon » Mon Nov 16, 2009 4:56 pm

I bypassed the radiator oil cooler as well today. Very easy indeed. I ended up looping the shorter hose back in the system and used the longer one to connect and close both openings on the bottom of the rad. I did not loose much from the system but only managed to drain about half a cup from the cooler in the radiator - is it really that small?
Another question I'm wondering about is the tranny new oil capacity with this bypass. When doing simple drain and fill do you need to worry about this or just fill it up with recommended volume of oil? It seems that even without the bypass, it will be unlikely that radiator cooler actually gets drained when you drain the oil through the opening in the pan. This leads me to the conclusion that I should just fill it up with recommended volume when the time comes. What are you thoughts on this?

Cooper993
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Postby Cooper993 » Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:27 pm

slavabon wrote:... This leads me to the conclusion that I should just fill it up with recommended volume when the time comes. What are you thoughts on this?
Draining the trans doesn't get all the fluid out. The torque converter still has a lot in it. So don't try to fill it up to the full capacity when you do this. You'll have too much in there


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