I am in the process of finishing up the assembly of my Dakota SLT 4X4. I have the engine, transmission, and transfer case back in. Most of all the engine parts have been re-installed and now I am working on getting the transmission lines back in place which just happened tonight. Next will be installing the radiator, oil cooler, and condensing coil. Most of that seems straight forward but I have to admit I am not sure where the oil lines tie into. I only found the one short one and don't remember taking them off at the time. Seemed like I could remember all those items. Anyway and pointers on what to do would be appreciated. I am going to go with the stock exhaust for now and get it up and running. Next year if I am happy with it I want to put on headers (for sound mostly) and stainless exhaust. Right now I need to get a muffler. Any recommendations?

 

Is that the 45rfe trans? We just finished putting a 2001 with the 4.7 and 45rfe back together and so all those lines are fresh in my head. There's two oil lines that go forward starting as hard lines then they have rubber and end with quick-connects. one short hard line from the oil cooler plugs into one quick connect, the other short stubby hard line out the back of the radiator/heat exchanger plugs into the other. We still have the bumper off I'll see if I can post a picture tomorrow.

 

Somehow I was able to get them all in place through the small opening between the oil pan and the frame. The part that added the complication was the front axle would not allow you to drop the factory bent end down low enough to get it through. I was able to get the top one in and with that it encouraged me to push on with the lower one that is bent up oddly and was very tight. Once it was in I took a pry bar and gently pulled it through without miss shaping the end of the tubing or tearing up the new oil pan.

The other item I was concerned with on this year was where the transmission lines tie into on the radiator. As it stands I found a 10-12 inch bent up oil line tube that just didn'

t make since to me until I put the oil cooler on the back of the radiator. That is when I realized the oil cooler in the radiator and the added one in front were piped in series. The small tube tied the two together and one from the trans went into the radiator and the second had a bent tube that went to the front and tied into the added oil cooler.

Now the next question is I have several electrical connections that the plastic keeper had broken when I removed it or when I replaced it. The critical one is on the side of the transmission. I am sure it is tight but one of the ears broke off when I flipped the bail over it to pull it tight. My concern is vibrating loose and getting water in it. This is the 30-40 pin connection on the driver side of the transmission. One other is on the spark plug post and or the fuel injector. Do I use wire ties and lash them down the best I can or is there a more factory solution?
This is the small 12 inch factory tube that goes from the inside radiator oil cooler point back around the side to the from added oil cooler.



Top line is one end of the 12 inch factory tube. The bottom line goes back to the transmission



The bottom line was the hardest to get through the small area without breaking, kinking, or mashing the end of the tube.



The top line is the 12 inch factory tube. The bottom goes back to the tranny. The other is from the tranny and wraps around the side of the radiator and connects to the added oil cooler.