I have a 2005 dodge grand caravan, my wife recently came home after about a 120 mile trip and when she stopped she hear a boiling sound. The mechanic I took it to said that there was a fluid leak on the Transmission Cooler tank, and that that unit was one unit all together with the a/c condenser, so to replace it he'd have to discharge the a/c replace and recharge the a/c ... basically it is going to be expensive, he said "or you can put an aftermarket cooler on it and bypass the original" - Question: is this true, are these two things actually connected in this way?
Note: No Tow package to my knowledge.

 

Yes. It is a combination A/C condenser and transmission oil cooler. You can get a replacement for less than $100 on the internet but I would recommend paying a little more for a better quality cooler/condenser. You only want this done once.

 

Yes it's true. Some cars integrate the transmission cooler with the A/C condenser, others integrate it with the radiator. The reason your mechanic is saying it's going to be expensive is because of the labor associated with discharging the A/C refrigerant and with recharging it after.

I suppose it is possible to bypass the factory cooler and mount an aftermarket cooler on the front of the A/C condenser. Aftermarket coolers are installed all the time on vehicles used for towing; however, when used for this purpose most manufacturers recommend using aftermarket transmission coolers in addition to the factory cooler, not in place of it.

I wouldn't recommend completely bypassing the A/C condenser setup unless replacing the condenser will really break your bank. If you absolutely must do the bypass setup for financial reasons, you need to make sure the cooling capacity of the aftermarket cooler is greater than or equal to the cooling capacity of the factory cooler.

 

Thank you both for your quick response. I am new to the forum world and was not expecting a same day response.

 

On both my '99 Gen3 and '08 Gen5 I installed an additional external ATF cooler. The factory coolers were still working, I just wanted the extra cooling. In your situation, I wouldn't have any concerns about bypassing the factory cooler, and for safety, would be sure to get a high BTU rated cooler. Hopefully the condenser doesn't start to leak.

 

Is the OP talking about a 2005 D.G.C. SXT with the tow package? Or is it without the tow package?

 

To my knowledge there is no tow package. The Mechanic installed the aftermarket cooler and it seems to be doing fine, no overheating and no more leak, a/c still works great too.

 

How many pounds of Freon will be needed to recharge the A/C once combo cooler is replaced? I have a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.3 Liter V6 with rear and front A/C