****** cooler install

[BjBnet]

I asked the question in another thread but it wasn't answered because I was also asking about something else which became the center of attention so here it goes.

Is installing a cooler easy on our KJs? I haven't checked because I just don't know but do we have to tap into steel lines at all or is it as easy as the instructions on the package says it is? Pics would be great...I have a cooler in front of my rad, the same width or just about, but I don't think it's for the ******.

Thanks

 

[J-Thompson]

very very easy
you have 2 lines 1 is out bound and 1 is in bound
out bound is hot in is cool
install extra cooler in the return line
1)mount cooler
2)cut return line
3)connect lines to new cooler ,in at top out at bottom
you will have to extend your lines to reach
you want to mount the cooler in front of the radiator

 

[tjkj2002]

On your '04 it is very hard as you only have a stand alone trans cooler.On a '02(early '03) KJ with the 45RFE it is super easy as it has the main trans cooler in the passenger side radiator tank.

The best bet for those of you with the 42RLE trans,only stand alone trans cooler,is to install a radiator for a KJ with the 45RFE,mod the trans cooler lines to loop to the in-radiator cooler 1st then to the stand alone trans cooler,then finally returning back to the trans.


I can not off hand remember who but one guy did the mod above and never had a trans temp issue afterwards.If he speeks up he could share how he did his.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I can not off hand remember who but one guy did the mod above and never had a trans temp issue afterwards.If he speeks up he could share how he did his.

Um, didn't a guy here named Troy do that...? :smoke2:

Bob

 

[tjkj2002]

Um, didn't a guy here named Troy do that...? :smoke2:

Bob

I have the 45RFE already,I was remembering a guy that had a '04 KJ that he put in a '02 radiator then a AUX cooler.

 

[BjBnet]

Thanks Troy, I had a feeling about something like that. Not that exactly but I thought it was going to be steel lines or something.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

What about replacing the small factory stand alone transmission cooler with a larger
electrically cooled stand alone cooler like this one?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Derale/259/15830/10002/-1

 

[J-Thompson]

What about replacing the small factory stand alone transmission cooler with a larger
electrically cooled stand alone cooler like this one?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Derale/259/15830/10002/-1

link no work but I have a feeling I know which 1 you are looking at
I would only go that route if the cooler alone with no fan was as good ,same surface area, as the OE cooler
then I would wire the fan on a t-stat to kick on at a "warning" or "Yellow"
temp zone but have it set up with a 3 way switch
1-on
2-off
3-t-stat control

I built my own
using an 8" fan and a 4 pass cooler
but I only have an on/off for the fan and a temp gauge for the trans
when the cooler alone can not keep up then I kick on the fan
only happened 3 times and 1 was over the weekend in near 100* heat and stop and go traffic
I did not go to N like I normally would but rather left it in D to see how hot the trans would get
I chickened out above 160* and turned the fan on
which is still cooler than it was on the radiator alone
there it would hit near 180* ,same as the water temp
in my eyes I was almost heating the trans fluid by sending it through the radiator

 

[tjkj2002]

What your ECT sensor is reading is not the temp of the coolant in the radiator.Chrysler auto trans these days will not shift correctly(limited shifting,no OD) until the trans temp reaches a certian temp.

Using a AUX fan on a stand alone trans cooler is a good idea but there is limited room in the front of a KJ for fan clearance and I would not personally mount a cooler that is not in a area naturally met with cool airflow while driving.

 

[kskj]

On your '04 it is very hard as you only have a stand alone trans cooler.On a '02(early '03) KJ with the 45RFE it is super easy as it has the main trans cooler in the passenger side radiator tank.

The best bet for those of you with the 42RLE trans,only stand alone trans cooler,is to install a radiator for a KJ with the 45RFE,mod the trans cooler lines to loop to the in-radiator cooler 1st then to the stand alone trans cooler,then finally returning back to the trans.


I can not off hand remember who but one guy did the mod above and never had a trans temp issue afterwards.If he speeks up he could share how he did his.

It was me I put the 02 radiator in my 04. I just found the input line for the stock trans cooler the (the hot one) cut it ran it into the 02 radiator Trans fitting then back out the radiator and into the stock trans cooler. Went to Carquest and they helped me look for fittings that would work. I think I ended up with Chevy fuel injector fittings. So I had both coolers working (in line) Drove all over the Rocky's all the way up too 13,295 feet in four low (where it overheated badly the year before). Never had another problem again. That was three years ago.

 

[J-Thompson]

What your ECT sensor is reading is not the temp of the coolant in the radiator.Chrysler auto trans these days will not shift correctly(limited shifting,no OD) until the trans temp reaches a certian temp.

Using a AUX fan on a stand alone trans cooler is a good idea but there is limited room in the front of a KJ for fan clearance and I would not personally mount a cooler that is not in a area naturally met with cool airflow while driving.

Yeah I keep forgetting that after '02 in the TJ and all KJ's do that
I have a TF999 so it is no issue for me ,no OD
I am reading my temps from a B&G gauge