Please Help.. I'm sooo close.

[Cream79L82]

I have been working on my '79 all week and I'm puttin her all back together tonight and I would be finishing right now but.... I dropped the tranny (for irrelevant reasons) and have everything bolted back on, except I can't remember which tranny cooling line is the inlet and which is the outlet. I have the TH350 and its stock as best I can tell. Also, I would like to get a double check from any one who knows, which hole, the top or the bottom, on the radiator where the cooling lines run to is in/out. Again, all I need to know is which line runs to what part of the cooler, and I can guess the other one if you can just give me one. Thanks alot.
-Jon

 

[Jack]

I dunno, No doubt there's a correct config .. such as pressure-feed goes in top then return out from bottom ...I dunno. I also seriously doubt it makes any significant difference.
JACK:gap

 

[GerryLP]

Cooling lines

Jon,

Follow the routing (along the right of the engine compartment looking from the rear towards the front of the vehicle) of the outboard tranny cooling line towards the radiator. This line should connect to the upper port of the radiator connection. If you follow this same line towards the rear (towards the tranny itself) then this same outboard line should connect to the upper port at the tranny. The inboard line would be the opposite. I have only seen these lines referred as upper cooling line and lower cooling line. But that is the routing for them.

I also recommend that you flush the lines after maintenance (like lowering the tranny). The best insurance against damage that you can buy for yourself is the flush can spray of Kooler Kleen Transmission line flush cleaner (P/N 765-2614; NAPA has it). It works great, and you'll be amazed how much metal deposits are in the tranny cooling lines. We're talking metal shavings that could end-up in the converter thrust bearing inside the pump.

You simply connect the special nozzle to one of the lines and place a container at the return line to gather the fluid. This means that you will be flushing and collecting the fluid from the cooling lines ends at the tranny (of course the lines are disconnected from the tranny :duh ) For best results -do not pre-flush the lines with air. The trace of transmission fluid will help to keep the metal shavings suspended while flushing. These metal shavings are the worse for the tranny life. Doing this would ensure trouble-free tranny operation. One can should be sufficient unless you see a lot of metal shavings come out out of the other end.

All my books refer to these lines as cooling lines, and it appears as if it is not a big deal how the are routed into the tranny. But the routing above is correct.

 

[Cream79L82]

Thanks alot guys... even though I'm sure you've probably went to bed! Not me, however. I'll take this newfound knowledge and hopefully get everything re-mounted before 1 tonight. Thanks a ton both of you. :cool

 

[69MyWay]

The truth is, there is no magic in or out line. The trouble is, you need to line them back up right, because if you bind or twist the line as you tighten it into the trans or radiator, it may leak.

So, you will need to play with it and test fit the lines to see which ones seem to line up the best. If you happen to mix them up, and get a good tight connection, you will never know the difference.


Good luck!


Chris

 

[BrianB]

It looks like I need to replace my cooling lines. Is this possible without dropping the transmission or taking much else apart?

 

[wishuwerehere82]

It looks like I need to replace my cooling lines. Is this possible without dropping the transmission or taking much else apart?

For sure you will need to drop the exhaust system to get access to the fittings on the transmission. The rest of the lines route around your frame and will require bending of new lines to replace the old ones. The lines have some clips that hold them to the frame and it isn't a fun job to get the whole thing out in one piece.