Hm... not seeing the a/c condensor on his truck?? When I open hood, the little radiator is the first thing I see. Then, right behind is the regular sized radiator. OK, now I'm more confused than ever. Sorry if this is stupid question hour... but here goes. The tranny cooler.... how does it figure into a standard cooling system? Is it a separate part from the radiator? Does it run on a different set of lines? Or is it entirely integrated?

LOL about the Blazer. You feel my friend's pain. He is 6'6" and not a little guy. His hand couldn't fit to remove old sensor or re-thread new one. It's a good thing I have little hands or he'd be cursing up a storm.

 

have a look at where all the lines go. Trans lines will come from the drivers side, under the front of the engine, and one of them will go to the radiator. (and that line has a check valve, which it would be in your buds best interests to get rid of. just replace it with some hose, and a couple clamps.) it runs thru the engine coolant radiator, out another line, to the cooler in the middle there. If you disconnect the lines from the radiator, you can remove it independent of the aux trans cooler. The other line will run FROM the aux cooler, back to the trans.

The one in the very front there, is the A/C condenser. Follow the a/c lines around, and they should hit it.

Also of note, there are 'disconnect' fittings EVERYWHERE on the system. Need a special tool to get 'em loose. 3/8ths I think is the correct size. Most any auto parts store should carry them.

Wait until your friend needs to change spark plugs on his Blazer..... better wear ear plugs.

On a completely unrelated note...... I once had the misfortune to have to do timing gears on a mustang II, with a V-6. Ford, in their infinite wisdom... used PLASTIC on the cam gear.... guaranteed to fail, and disintegrate. And where does it all end up? In the oil pan..... I did NOT want to have to lift the motor, to drop the pan, in order to clean all that nonsense out.... so, I went and 'bribed' my babysitter, who happened to be a petite young lady, with small hands. SHE could reach into the oil pan, and scrape all the crap out. Best ten bucks I ever spent.

 

Hm... my roommate must not have the standard set up then. I went back outside (was thinking I was crazy not seeing AC condensor). But, his ac condensor is located near passenger firewall, NOT in front of tranny cooler. I also took a closer look at the tranny cooler. It appears that there is a line that connects to radiator under the cap. Does this mean he needs a specific replacement radiator designed to work with the tranny cooler?

Also checked his levels just now (same as when I filled them last night before test drive), location of leak (still dry), and blend level (pretty darn close to 50/50). He just left to run errands. Hope I don't get a phone call with him freaking out...

 

See if you can't get some better pics. I am way confused here.....

 

LOL! Sorry... my friend took the pics yesterday in bad lighting in the garage. When roommate returns (hopefully not cursing me out for attempting to fix his truck), I'll take a better picture.

Am thinking of trying to get a cheap replacement radiator and new hoses for him, and cross my fingers that the stop leak works on the heater core.... but make sure he knows how to bypass it (and has the stuff in his truck) in case of emergency.

 

Whoa, Whoa.

Hold on here..

If the pictures of the truck are in your profile, I saw them..
The PICTURES show 3 things here:
the radiator
the aux tranny cooler
and the a/c COILS


IN THAT ORDER.
SO the A/C COILS (the black 'radiator') are in the front, readily seen, the aux tranny cooler is behind that, and the radiator is closest to the engine.
The thing you should see near the passenger side firewall is the A/C acculator...not coils.
Hope that helps.

 

That's what I though too..... my eyes aren't that good though, and the pics could be a bit clearer. Must be cell phone pics.

 

Thanks, that makes more sense. I think the tranny cooler is throwing me completely. LOL re: the pics. It was an iphone (which usually has great quality), but the lighting was really bad. I'll take pics with a digital camera in better lighting as soon as roommate returns home. He has called in to report that truck is running well, coolant smell is not so bad, and still no leaking.

Any recommendations on where to find a cheap replacement radiator?

 

check Rock Auto's website. or minton somethingorother? Someone should have the link.

 

Have better pictures up now.

I am definitely confusing condensor with accumulator. Thanks for the clear up! If I understand correctly, condensor coils is the little black screen that seems to be one piece (to me) with the tranny cooler. Then, behind that is the radiator. Sorry to come across dumb. I swear I'm not blonde. lol

Checked summitracing.com earlier. Starting price was $130 (plus ship). Add hoses, clamps, coolant to re-fill, etc.... it starts to add up fast. Will check rockauto.com to compare. Maybe if the stop leak is working, then replacing radiator does not have to be done asap.