what a PITA.

i bought a hayden 403, read the directions , basically you have to adapt on your own how it installs unless you buy their kit (in the book it says 1991 and newer gm buy kit 390).

well, i bought kit 390 that way i could take off the bottom line and screw on the rad and the line a adapter to a barbed hose and then run the rubber line to the trans cooler. well... kit 390 is NOT the right kit, the threaded fittings are about 2 sizes to big.

SO. back to autozone, opened up the other kits, kit 394 has the right size fittings but they are too long. i buy it anyways, take it home, the one piece works on the line size, but the rad side is too long and it wont even thread in (the threads dont run the entire length of the thing)

So, back to autozone for a refund.

back home, im starting to put the bottom line back in, BY HAND, and then it gets tight so i grab my wrench (1/2in) and the damn thing is TIGHT, so i figure damnit , and play with it for a bit, well w/e its crossthreaded or something so i decided **** it all and mounted the cooler vertically (lines facing down) on the left side of the rad and drilled two 7/8 holes in the air dam and ran my lines through that, i cut both the bottom and top tranny lines right about where they meet the pitman arm / lower rad hose and i then DROVE ACROSS TOWN to borrow a damn flaring tool, got back and made some half assed flares and slipped my lines on and clamped them.

they fit pretty loose... so im gonna have to reflare them and add 1 or 2 more clamps per line.

anyways.
the hayden 403 BARELY fits. you have to take off the air dam infront and then CAREFULLY slide it up in there. mounting it is fun via the included things, you can get two from the bottom, and then the top two you have to take off the uh... center part in front of the radiator support.. and on the left peel back some of the plastic ductiing and jam them bad boys in (the ties) and then replace it all.

fun fun fun

anyways.. i ghetto rigged it but i figure this cooler is better for my new trans than my stock cooler.

btw the coolers dimensions are:

hayden ultra cool 403
3/4 thick
7 1/2 tall
12 3/4 long
9 3/4 core

like i said, VERY hard to get in, but once it fits up in front of the a/c condenser and behind the X beams and stuff its easily moved from one end of rad to the other.


//end

 

basically it went like this:








edit: looks like ive got some leakage. i just snapped those pics like 3 mins ago. 1:32 am. lol. btw, i spent from 2pm this afternoon till 11:30ish JUST on getting this cooler installed.
this does include driving to autozone eleventy billion times.

 

and again.

i did A LOT of searching before i did this and found NO pics that were helpfull. that one guy has the b&M cooler on his with the griffin radiator. well i dont have that and i have an a/c condesor so it wasnt that helpful. maybe some people will get and idea of this.

another thing. the hayden 401 is what i ALMOST went with. its 24.99, the 403 is lsited at 39.99 but it rang up as 27.99.. lol. and once again the 403 BARELY fits. oh man its so close.

 

Uhm, Installing a trans cooler in a fbody is one of the easiest mods one can do, I dont understand how anyone could have a hard time with it.

Also , and im sure im not alone on this one, NEVER run the trans lines under the air dam like you did.

 

I just did mine and have to agree it was the easiest thing I've ever done. But I had my rad out, and the proper fittings.

 

well it wasnt easy for me as NO store around here had the "proper fittings" as i already stated. OTHERWISE, it would have been EXTREMELY easy to install. but w/e. and whats wrong with those lines being there? the only thing i can think of is that when the air dam moves it will cut a hole in the lines. is that it? cuz i was gonna modify those after i thought about it last night.

and i HAD t go through right there because the included line needed the 4 inches of travel going around the air dam took up. so i wouldh ave had to have had it tolwed home. blegh.

 

No only could the air dam eventually cut into the line but a speed bump or pot hole could do the same thing, you could then go on driving unaware of what just happend and trash your trans!

I didnt mean to sound so harsh on the first post i should of explained more.

When i installed my trans cooler i ran the lines around the pass side of the rad, very safe that way because nothing rubs on the lines at all. Looking at your pics, instead of mounting the cooler on the rad like you have it, take it off and mount it left to right instead of up and down, have the hose fittings on the pass side and run the rubber lines around the rad.

 

well the reason i mounted it like so is because i couldnt see any holes to send the lines around like you have stated. thats the ONLY reason i went like this.

anyways...

it seems to be working pretty good, the lines have a HUGE diff in temp now compared to what they were on the stock two lines.

 

I just intalled a perma cool thinline trans cooler from Jegs and it works awesome. The install took about 30 mins and the trans runs at least 25 degrees cooler than it did before with the stock lines on it. I have actually only had the temp above 150 once in about 5 days and its 88degrees over here! I routed mine around the pass side of the radiator above the air dam also and it worked great! GL with yours.

 

i took my radiator out but im not seeing where people are routing it around the rad but above the air dam?

i have an ac condensor btw.

 

I will try and get some pictures for ya

 

Now that we're talking about Tran coolers....just what is the easiest/most compatible trans coolers for the 700-R4?....is there a common one that people use that is reliable and not very expensive? Thanks for the input

 

My question too.

Where do the lines from the 700r4 originate from for the fluid to the rad?

What exactly is the performance increase?

 

The ports on the transmission are just behind the bellhousing on the right hand side. The idea behind an auxiliary cooler is that it lets the transmission fluid remain cool in harsh conditions.

 

Well, yeah. But what does cool fluid do for performance?

 

It's more of a question of what does hot fluid do to the longetivity of the transmission. The answer is nothing good.

 

yea my radiator iso ut and their is like.. a foam piece that goes between the side of the a/c condensor and the uh.. front end? i thought about taking that foam out and routing the lines through there but ... i dunno.

 

YES YES YES do it like that! DO NOT run the rubber lines as you see in these pics. BAAAAD idea. Also dont cut the trans lines that close to the trans. Rubber lines running near the exhaust pipe and under the air damn is a very bad idea

 

Can somebody refresh my memory Please--which line out of the tranny (700R4) top or bottom is the send and /or return line?

In HOT Houston Tx weather, I want it to go through the radiator internal cooler and THEN the additional cooler, to get MAX cooling. It doesn't get cold enough here during the winter, to worry about getting it too cool!

 

Good question !! My daily driver has to be getting damn hot in this blistering heat (heavy foot doesn't help). And what about on the rad ? which is in and which is out ?

 

Hey Richard,

Once U figure out which line is the send and return, U basically trace them down to the rad.

I've got a pretty good handle on thirdgen cooling systems, (thanks to doing a lot of reading on this board) and a couple tricks for NO cost improvements! Ask me about them at the Summer Meet or PM me if u can't wait that long.

The easiest is grounding the fan relay or relays so they run all the time, instead of waiting until the engine is already overheated, before the fans come on, as they are set up from the factory.

 

To determine the return line you drive the car for a few until the tranny warms up then touch the lines going into the tranny and the hot one is the sender line and the cool one is the return line!

 

If memory serves (and it usually does NOT) the top line at tranny itself is the return line. The bottom line at tranny is the send or pressure side. I think the bottom line at radiator is the send line and the top out of rad is the return line. I need to confirm that though!

Personally I think U get better/more cooling if it goes thru the rad internal cooler first and then thru the additional cooler, then return to tranny.

 

its right there. The fool proof way to do it. Some times the lines get switched, you never know so do it the way I explained above. Use the return line to tap the cooler into.

 

whateverh appened to the pics?

 

Sounds good to me!

 

Damn man I read it and thought "yeah just like you check a 9 volt battery by putting it on your tongue"
But looks like it's for real...Now if I can figure it out on the radiator which is which. I read some where on my searches that it didn't matter ?

 

There U go......stick your tongue on the return lines aafter they heat up then call 911......oh wait, U better call before, U probably won't be able to talk after!!!!!!!!

If U do use the touch and see which one is hot method, cut into the line that is cooler to run the rubber hoses to the additional cooler. I think it will be the top line at the rad, but let your tongue decide!

 

The top line is the return to the transmission. It's hard to get the factory hard lines connected any other way.

 

Thanks for the confirmation!! Appreciate it!

Craig

 

sp63 sorry man didn't mean to hijack your thread. Now if you guys will excuse me I'm gonna go lick my tranny

 

Good thing you're from Texas and not Northern California, or you'd give people the wrong idea.