Overdrive,

All Automatic transmission cars/trucks have a radiator for coolant AND tranny fluid. Manual transmissions do not have tanny fluid coolers (mainly because manual trannies run GEAR OIL, not tranny fluid) The "other" tranny cooler you have is part of the tow package. It is for heavy duty cooling of the tranny fluid.

The tranny fluid goes from the tranny through the "main" radiator, then goes through the auxiliary radiator then back to the tranny.

If you have a radiator that is meant for engine coolant only...than you cannot use that.

--dan

 

I appreciate the help - if you can bear with me, I've attached pictures below to show (as best I can) what I'm dealing with.

I think the existing radiator on this truck is for engine cooling only, since it has no connections aside from the coolant hoses. I separated the radiators to see if there are any connections I'm missing - I checked the front, rear, and both sides of both radiators, and I don't see any lines connecting the two.

If I'm correct, that means a previous owner must have replaced the main radiator with one intended for a manual transmission? If that's the case, I assume I should go ahead and replace the existing radiator with the correct one that will cool both the engine and transmission. I can re-route the tranny fluid tubes to go first to the main radiator, and then the auxiliary, but that will mean extra hoses and connectors that I don't have - should I be able to pick those up at any auto parts store, or will I need to go to the dealer?

The only connectors to any of the radiators are from the passenger side, as displayed below.



It's tough to tell from the picture, but (because I'm obviously inexperienced with radiators) I verified that there weren't any connections between the radiators.



And no connections on driver's side either (aside from obvious coolant hose.)



Thanks again for any help you guys can offer!

 

Wonder if your radiator was replaced with a manual trans version at some point in its past... I have the towing package on mine, and have both.

I made up steel can, with a screw on lid, that seals reasonably tight, with a hose that I can connect to one of the cooler lines. Pressurize the can, and it forces fluid thru the lines. Works pretty good. (would work even better if I could find it again.....) I generally used mineral spirits. Same tool works good for flushing with ATF.

This is something I need to do to MY truck here real soon..... so, if I can't find the can, gonna make another one. (I moved a few times since I last saw it..... could be anywhere at this point.)

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...ter-added.html

here's some pictures of how the original radiator has the fittings and cooling section for the trans lines. your new one should look like this. since you've already got this new one, you might as well go ahead and install. you can flush your auxillary cooler with any solvent and a funnel/hose for pouring it in. you can just pour it in the top and let it run out the bottom. when it comes out clean, then blow it out with air and you're done. like hey said, mineral spirits work pretty good. so does gas provided you don't set yourself on fire.

 

Okay, I think I'm just about there. Before I post what's hopefully my last transmission problem, I wanted to thank everyone who's given me advice this far - you've been a great help!

I have the transmission back in, replaced the radiator, and all the fluid levels are correct. But now the truck has a shudder when it's at idle, and is really sluggish when accelerating. I thought at first that the engine and transmission were out of sync somehow, since it feels almost like the engine is fighting the transmission when I'm slowing down to a stop, or accelerating. (I don't really understand how the throttle valve works, but I was wondering if it could have gotten out of whack?)

But I drove around the block with the transmission mechanic, and he said he thought there was something wrong in the engine itself, and suggested that I maybe pulled a vacuum line loose when the engine was angled downward while the transmission was being pulled/replaced.

Does anyone have any suggestions for where to start looking to resolve the acceleration/shuddering? If you agree that it could be vacuum lines, any suggestions as to which ones to check? Otherwise, does anyone have any other ideas as to what may be wrong, either in the engine, transmission, or in-between?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

Hey overdrive,

Just out of curiousity what motor is in your 1500?

 

5.9L V8. Again, any ideas why the truck might shudder when slowing or accelerating would be appreciated! (It obviously didn't do this before the tranny swap...)

 

Engine miss?

Didn't whack the crank position sensor when doing your tranny by any chance did you?

 

I hope not, but I suppose it's possible. Is there a way to test/realign the sensor?

That reminds me of a question I had about connecting the flywheel/torque converter to the engine: The manual told me to mark which points on the torque converter matched up with where it was bolted to the engine, so that I could put it back in the same location. But when I got the torque converter back, it had been painted, and my markings were gone.

I talked to the transmission mechanic, and he said just to rotate the engine until the bolt holes matched up, and it would be fine. There were four bolts that held it in place, and it appeared that I could have bolted the flywheel in any of the rotated configurations, so I ended up just picking one and going with it.

Which leads me to several questions:

1) Does it matter if the flywheel is bolted in the same position? If so, why?
2) If it matters, why was the mechanic so unconcerned? (Unless I misunderstood him?)
3) If the flywheel isn't bolted in the same rotational location that it was previously in, could that be causing the shudder/lack of power?

Thanks!