I have a 98 durango with 190k miles... It has the towing package and the original Radiator, plastic near top is getting brittle and its starting to leak..

Question is, which radiator do I replace it with? I only drive it about 5 miles a day, and I never tow.

There seems to be 2 types of radiators I can buy, one radiator without a transmission oil cooler and one with. The one with is about 200 bucks more, I'm just wondering if its really necessary since I don't tow and, or is this the primary way the transmission is cooled and I'm asking for trouble down the road... If that's the case why do they even sell a radiator without the tranny cooler? Can I just somehow crimp the transmission oil lines, or put a "U" on the end so it pumps righht back to itself without going through the radiator?



I found this thread but got a little lost, pretty new at this.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...-cooler-2.html

 

The one with the cooler is for the automatic transmission, without it for a manual. Since you have the auto, replace the radiator with the one with the cooler.

Granted, I've never heard of a Durango with a stick . . . it might be that the radiators are interchangeable with the Dakotas.

 

You MUST have some sort of cooler for the transmission fluid.

Jim's right about why there is one without a cooler. The dakotas with a manual use the one without the cooler. All durangos are autos.

 

Ah thanks so much for the education, makes sense, I'll get the one with the cooler!