for the love of God... please, somebody clarify!!!

think transmissions...
think transmission cooling systems...
think high pressure lines TO radiator...
think low pressure lines FROM radiator..
think check valves that may or may not still be there...

now I ask you:

which line has the check valve?

this should be a simple question, and I'm sure you fellas are wondering why I'm being such a ***** asking in the way I'm asking.. but there are conflicting I.D.'s here and elsewhere.. everything from the DIY check valve delete thread to comments in other posts add to the confusion.. and, I'm confusedededed...

I installed a remote filter.. that filter SHOULD be inline with the high pressure (exiting the tranny going TO the radiator) line.. I installed an additional cooler, which I want AFTER the radiator.. Right now, I THINK have it inline with the external filter and headed TO the radiator.. that's about as smart as a football bat..

Can someone confirm the high pressure HOT as in exiting the transmission and heading TO the radiator is the line with the infamous check valve?

I hate to ask such a question, but searching for literal hours has done nothing but make me more confused.

 

I would want to say the check valve is in the hot line from the transmission to the bottom of the rad.

 

thank you sir.. this makes sense to me because, by definition, the check valve only allows one way passage, which is OUT of the tranny and INTO to radiator..

I'm going to yank that dang line off and take a pic I think.. because even it wants to confuse me- the little arrow on the fitting points the opposite way of what the obvious flow is.. it points TO the tranny...

it goes like this: hard line, fitting (first encounter is the rubber check ball backed by a spring) then soft line (intercepted here to install external filter) to radiator quick release fitting.. radiator, external heat exchange, (and here I want to put an additional heat exchange) back to hard fitting/hard line return TO tranny..

this makes sense, and is basically the configuration you said too.. but there are conflicts.. I think I'll just ignore the conflicts and go with what I know (and you confirmed).. thanks dude!!!

 

Check valve is indeed in the hose that goes to the lower fitting on the radiator. It is right between the steel line, and the soft line. If yours was installed backwards...... I am surprised you still have a transmission.

 

I just pulled my old check valve line from the basement. The arrow on mine points towards the radiator meaning what I said earlier is correct.

 

Just to make it clearer, this is what you have now.



The reason I mentioned earlier about it being the hot line is... it wouldn't make sense for it to go to the aux cooler first.

Here is what you will end up with when your done. In through check valve hot line (mine is special ), to rad like normal. Top of rad to aux cooler, aux cooler to return line.



I pulled and installed a stock secondary trans cooler from the JY, and I just dug up the old pics.

 

man, I was fine with this and wasn't a bit confused until I saw that dang arrow..

to clarify HeyYou- the check valve was right.. the stamped arrow is not..

without having graphics to show you, I'll try to type it.. this is/was the configuration before I did the delete..

hard line== threaded fitting (threads, check ball, spring, transition to soft line)== soft line== quick release fitting on radiator..

^that is fact..

hard line== threaded fitting (threads, check ball, spring, transition to soft line) with a little stamped imprint of an arrow flowing the opposite way than the check ball will allow== soft line== quick release fitting on radiator..

^ that is also a fact..

I was more than a little confused.. it doesn't make any sense.. from the pictures I've seen, my fitting doesn't look any different than the fittings I have seen on others rigs, so I'd have to rule out a PO doing this..

anyway.. I think it's solved now.. I have the external filter intercepting the hot line (which contained the check valve), and will remove the additional external heat exchange which happens right after that, and put it between the OE exchange and the return line (the line NOT containing the check valve)..

I had done it right the first time.. I second guessed myself because of that dang arrow and couldn't find anything conclusive that the HOT line was the check valve line..

I'm good now.. but dang.. one little arrow put the freak on me! cooling fluid before it hits the radiator is about silly in my opinion..

 

thanks pc.. you're dead on right.. another bit of confusion for you though:

my rig is a second gen dressed up like a third gen ('02).. both lines feeding to/from the rad connect within a couple inches of each other.. the two lines run parallel all the way to the rad.. one is under pretty decent pressure, while the other is just the return line.. the little snaps that hold them in place are interchangeable for either line.. they run one on top of the other until they turn into hard lines, then they run beside each other before hiding under the engine block..

the pictures help a lot though, and i appreciate the help.. last night i was standing there in the driveway plumbing the additional aux cooler in, and thinking about that arrow- and plumbed the additional aux cooler in BEFORE the rad.. that was pretty stupid.. I'm going to go out and intercept the return line now, and put the dang cooler where it's 'sposed to be! :-)

 

Glad I could help. I didn't catch this was on an 02 though so I guess the pic's arn't as helpful as they could be. I did forget about your filter though in my post too.

Lol, if you really want to know which side is the hot (flow line), you can always disconnect one connection. Have someone jump in the truck, start, and shift to neutral, and then back to park very quickly while your watching. You'll know with 100% certainty how the flow is going. Just suggesting so you can double check your order of connections, and sleep better at night since your not quite certain. They may have done something funky with your year... besides your body style :P jk

 

If you get any kind of 'winter' there, leaving the in-radiator cooler last in the line really isn't such a bad plan. Your trans wants to be 160-200 anyway...... so, in the really cold weather, making sure the trans fluid is about the right temp, really isn't a bad plan. Over-cooling the fluid can be just as bad as over-heating it.