whats the line from the tranny to the rad called mine has a pin hole leak

some kind of coolant bypass line? anyways could i just cut line where leak is and put h/p line with couple h/p clamps would that suffice?

 

It's called a tranny cooler line. You are probably better off replacing the whole line. Sure, you could jerry rig something, but that's just putting a band aid on it. It will eventually fail again and you will just end up having to dish the money out to fix it properly.

 

i been looking for i pre fab dealer dont have one best bet is off a parts truck i guess?

 

were you refering to an aftermarket supplier? i've plumbed in trans coolers on any of the automatic's i've owned, it's not that difficult really.

as for using one from a parts truck, i know that the one on my little brother's '94 he just picked up, is exactly the same one i pulled of a '98 Jimmy i was stripping.
i mention this as a "FYI", since this is one of the few parts that is truely interchangable between the 2 generations of these trucks. if it's just the hoses running through the rad craddle, you can get away with just "soft lining it", but double clamp each end, positioning the screws on the clamps 180 degrees from each other (ie; one facing up, one facing down).

 

I have done this many times. In fact, my K5 is this way as we speak (couldn't get the hoses out of the radiator without twisting up the lines). It works, but the best way to do it is to cut out the damaged portion of the hard line. Get the proper hard line connectors and either patch that in or go hard line to hose barb to rubber transmission line then back to hose barb to hard line at the other end of the splice.

But really, the only pressure that this line sees is whatever back pressure there is in the transmission cooler in the radiator. If the cooler is plugged up, I'd rather find out by puking tranny fluid all over the road than have it burn up the trans in a slow death.

 

sorry for bringing up an old thread but this is the only post thats on topic for my situation.

im alittle unclear on what your process would be, swartlkk.

"Get the proper hard line connectors and either patch that in"
-how would you go about this? what are the proper hard line connectors and what is is in "patching it in".

"or go hard line to hose barb to rubber transmission line then back to hose barb to hard line at the other end of the splice."
-this seems alittle easier. when you says rubeer, im assuming you mean rubber hoses like that of smaller radiator hoses? but then i am confused on where the hose barb would go. i was thinking of cutting out the hole if i even have to) and then connect the hardlines with the rubber hose and clamp it off.

 

The proper fittings would be compression fittings sized for the line you have. To fix the damage, you need to cut out the damaged section. Fittings can be purchased that are either a double compression fitting to joint two hard lines together or a compression fitting to pipe thread that can then be coupled to a hose barb fitting.

Going to rubber line is actually more involved than patching in a good section of hard line, but is still better than just cutting the line and sliding over rubber line. That method will work in a pinch, but it is only a band-aid.

 

ok. i read your previous post and noticed that you said you had this happen to you and you think that "cutting out the damaged portion of the hard line. Get the proper hard line connectors and either patch that in" is the best method. i think i like this method also, because i dont want a bandaide fix, but rather someting that will hold up for some time. so my question is what pieces exactly do i need. i know its "compression fitting". but what size fitting. and am i getting 2 fitting or just one fitting. the hole is not big at all. so cutting 1/4-1/2 an inch of the pipe will get ride of the whole. so then i need the fitting to close that up. thanks


edit: how long do you think cutting out the bad sectiong, flaring the ends of the line and clamping rubber tranny line in the missing section last?

 

If you have decent access to the bad section of pipe, cut out a 3" section and replace it with new line.

I cannot recall off the top of my head what the line size is, but it likely is 5/16 or 3/8... You will need two double compression fittings (see attached). My local NAPA has these by the handful. Just cut out the bad section and take that in with you to get the replacement tube and fittings.

As far as how long flaring the ends and just using tube and clamps would last, it depends on how good of a job you do. But by the time you get the ends flared, you could have already been done with the compression fittings and be on your way.