hey guys, i am finally having my 1997 5.9L ram's automatic tranny rebuilt. i need to know two things. first thing is -do i need to go with a bigger trans cooler if the tranny shop tells me no? also, can anyone tell me if there is an easy way to install an electric trans temp guage? i am good with electrical and wiring etc. i just have no idea where the sensor screws in on the tranny. i dont know where the sensor goes and i dont know how hard it is to get to. i am debating telling the shop to do it, but i know they will charge me an arm and a leg to do it. any advice? i think i might go with a shift kit as well. any help would be greatly appreciated because the work is getting done soon!!!!
thanks guys

 

I'd go with an aftermarket trans cooler if I was you. It's cheap insurance.

There's a diagnostic port on the back side of the tranny (passenger side) that you can pop the plug out of to install the temp sensor. Pretty easy to do.

A shift kit will help. It'll reduce clutch wear, help keep temps down, and will improve oiling to the overdrive unit (which is a problem on the pre-01 trannys).

 

Go with an aftermarket cooler. B&M makes a good one. Also...I installed an external filter on my trans. Gives it that extra filtering. It came with a temp gauge. Just mount the filter on the inside fender and mount the temp. sensor to the housing. Pretty simple.

 

My truck has the trailer tow package and has a factory cooler between the AC cond and rad. I don't think that can be very efficiant when the AC in on. I added another and plumbed it in series with the others. The fluid now goes in the rad cooler to the factory cooler to mine and back to the trans. By the way while your at it get rid of that dame check ball Dodge seen fit to put in the line going into the rad. The fluid flow will be greatly inproved. If you live in a cold area make a cover for your cooler like i did so it does't freeze the fluid.

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My truck has the trailer tow package and has a factory cooler between the AC cond and rad. I don't think that can be very efficiant when the AC in on. I added another and plumbed it in series with the others. The fluid now goes in the rad cooler to the factory cooler to mine and back to the trans. By the way while your at it get rid of that dam check ball Dodge seen fit to put in the line going into the rad. The fluid flow will be greatly improved. If you live in a cold area make a cover for your cooler like i did so it does't freeze the fluid.

[IMG]local://upfiles/9518/F790C5B6DCDB497DBB2B6725E1DDA59B.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/9518/A5033F69F71541EEA23ED53F2C8DC712.jpg[/IMG]

 

This information is interesting, it is helping me decide what to do to my transmission in order to prevent a premature failure. I have no issues now, but better safe than sorry. I have a 2001 2500 with the heavy duty cooling package, so it sounds like I need to:

1. Install a aftermarket trans cooler in line with the current cooler (or is it better just to use an aftermarket by itself)
2. Install aftermarket trans cooler lines in order to get rid of the bypass
3. Install an external fluid filter in the new cooler lines.

Since I have a 2001, can I avoid the shift kit installation? It seems like a pretty formidable task. Also, how can I get some nice heavy duty aftermarket lines? Does anyone have braided lines, or should I just use the standard rubber for trans oil temp? I would be nervous about just using rubber lines.

Finally, that is a cool cover for the aftermarket cooler, what was it made out of?

thanks.

 

i talked to the guy doing my work today. he wanted $200 extra to do the cooler. can anyone tell me how hard it is to install the heavier duty cooler? i will probably do it myself with the gauge. also, when i remove the plug on the passenger side to install the sending unit, will fluid leak out??? do i need to drain the fluid first? my primary problem is going to be the tranny cooler install though. if some one could give me some instructions, i'd appreciate it! thank a lot guys!

 

The coolers are around $35 - $45.00 and can be gotten in many places. All I did was buy 10 ft of copper pipe and cut in half. That makes it a perfict fit to run from the drivers side to the lower passengers side of the rad. I also put that plastic conduant over the copper tubes to protect it. The lines are run under the top rad cross support on top of the AC condenser and come down beside the rad on the passenger side. I mounted the cooler on the driver side and used a small piece of hose on each line to connect it to the cooler. To connect it to the OEM cooler just find the return line of the OEM cooler to the trans and cut it. Connect the IN line to your cooler to the OUT line of the OEM cooler. Now connect the OUT line of your cooler to the RETURN line of the OEM cooler. Now you should have the fluid running from the trans in the OEM cooler out to the added cooler and then back to the return line to the transmittion. Also when you look at the factory hose that connects the in cooler line on the bottom of the rad cooler from the trans you will see a brass fitting about 1 in long where the hose is attached to the trans line. Inside that brass fitting Dodge put a spring loaded check ball that gets stuck over time and can block flow to the cooler. Even if it's not stuck it still restricts the fluid flow. Just cut the bass fitting off and either remove the check ball and spring or buy another flair fitting to reconnect the rubber hose to the steel line. Your tranny will thank you. I have read on other posts that people who have trans temp guages say they see a 10-15 degree temp drop just by getting rid of that check ball. I hope this helps you out. It's a very rasy job to do and may take a couple of hours depending on how hard you work. It's for sure worth saving the $200.00 and will cost about $50-$75 bucks for parts.

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ok 2003 durango..... I see the in line check ball.... my problem is the out line from the OEM cooler//// it goes metal line to fitting to rubber line to metal line into tranny..... is that fitting a quick release fitting... I cant seem to get mine to release (its' right before the spring clip that dodge used on both ends of its rubber tranny line tubing....

 

I'm not sure if this will help you at all, but I recently did a how-to article for another site describing how to get rid of the factory lines and replace them with normal tranny cooler lines. This was done on my 98 Ram.

Tranny cooler line replacement