So my '97 4x4 has a leak on the tranny cooler hose. Of the 2 hoses at the bottom of the cooler, its the top hose that leaks right at the crimp of where it attaches to the cooler stub/pipe. Dodge dealer quoted me $225 PLUS taxes to replace that hose. I said that was retarded and he explained that its a high pressure hose which retailed for $150 plus about $70 to change out the old one and recrimp the new one on. I went to a small hydraulic hose shop who said that there is no pressure in that line and showed me his '96 Ram in the parking lot which had the same leak as mine did 2 years ago. He simply put on a 3/8" rubber hose with radiator hose clamps and its been perfect ever since. He charged me $5 for the same setup he uses. Guess I'll change it out myself in the coming days. Do you guys see any problems with this "economical" fix?

 

No. That should hold up fine.

That's why you never get your truck repaired at a dealership. They'll bend you over any chance they get.

 

its fine to use 3/8 inch "auto transmission hose" and hose clamps. its true that the lower of the 2 hoses is the 'pressure line', but its not real high pressure. i've been running diy hose for 2 years with no problems. its never leaked a drop.

i'd recommend you cut off both the stock hoses and replace them w/new hose. also remove the check valve. you might need to use a tubing cutter to remove a flare, i can't remember.

here's some pics.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ter-added.html

 

Yup the hose I got is chemical resistant, high pressure hose. Where is this check valve that you say I should remove? I thought I would use a die grinder and cut off wheel to remove the crimps/flare, would that work?

 

If you look at the two rubber hoses coming out of the trans cooler then there will be one that is just connected to the steel line with a crimp connection and the other one has an actual threaded fitting. The one with the threaded fitting is the one that has the check ball in it.

When I rebuilt my trans I accidentally broke the solid steel line. I went to Murrays and got a full replacement, solid line and rubber line, for about $30 total! $150 is a complete line of bull$h!t.

 

The one I will replace is the one with the threaded fitting. Just curious, but why should I do away with the check valve?

 

If your tranny is coming apart, the check valve will gather up any debris and stop flow to the cooler. Sometimes, after a rebuild, the new tranny will cook itself because debris from the old unit will clog up the valve ... ruining the rebuild.

 

I thank that is the line I just got fixed on a recall for my truck check that out

 

So ill be picking up a 99 dodge ram , I'm told it needs the radiator cooler hoses replaced, I'm mechanically inclined but don't have a tranny jack or engine hoist , will I need them to do this, the hoses are OEM replacements that he brought but never installed. Everything else checks out fine besides a battery, he's charging me 1000 for the truck with parts besides a battery, and had 99k miles but was used for plowing and is rusty. Good deal? And how hard is it to put these lines on