Archived Trans. leak

[dray]

Help - my transmission started slipping on the way home this evening. I stopped and looked under truck - there was a massive trans. fluid leak under truck, towards the front of the engine. It appears to be under the turbo area but hard to see because of nightfall. Is there a hose that can break there, and if so, is the dealer the only place to get it. Thanks, any help will be appreciated

 

[sag2]

Check the cooler line from the trans to the radiator. Not sure if it applies, but some years had a recall on the cooler line, but I believe that was for a problem at the connector.

 

[Bob4x4]

No recall on the diesel cooler lines only gas version. The cooler lines are a dealer only item except for the rubber hose used can be outsourced.



Bob

 

[Ben Rumson]

Heat Exchanger connections

Under the turbo and the exhaust manifold is a long tube-like cylinder. From the under side (lay on the ground under the truck and use a flash light. The fittings will be about as far up as you can reach while laying on your back looking up), you'll see a rear and a foreward fitting on the bottom of the heat exchanger (HE). The rear fitting on the HE connects to the front fitting on the transmission via a metal tube. The front fitting on the HE connects to the trans cooler (radiator -style) at the front driver's side of the truck.



Both of the fittings on the bottom of the HE are probably "quick connect" types and are prone to either melt (if their plastic) or disconnect (if it used a small paperclip size wire retainer).



Part number for a '98:

5011244 AA Tube out with Temp Port (’95) 98. 95

52028723 AA Rear Heat Exchanger Fitting (w/ Ball valve) 5. 60

118752 Front Heat Exchanger Fitting 4. 35



Yes, the fittinga can be bought individually. They are Dealer Only parts.



If it's the rear HE fitting, you may want/need to get the 5011244AA tube to go with it. The HE end of the tube has been re-designed with a small section of clamped-on flexible hose that quick connects to 52028723. My guess is that this flexability helps prevent the fitting from failing again due to the constant vibration of the motor. The stock tube to the rear HE fiting was solid and did not allow for any flex.



I have part numbers for the entire transmission cooler line switch/upgrade if you need them. You could do a search under "ben Rumson" and find them this way as well.



Good luck with your fix. .

 

[dray]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the help. The rear line at the oil to water cooler was ruptered. The rubber hose with the swaged fittings and check valve was 60. 00 at the dealer. I don't think I damaged the transmission, hopefully. Thanks for the help - TDR is great

 

[Ben Rumson]

Double check all 6 fittings...

Hi D,



Glad you're back up and running again !



Do yourself a favor. Crawl back under your rig with a good, bright flashlight or shop light and double check all 6 locations where your 3 transmission lines connect. Look for any grime collecting at or near the connections.



This would indicate that the fitting is becoming loose or beginning to fail. If there's any build-up at the connection, chances are it's on it's way out - and you won't be able to control when and where it finally decides to blow. If it looks suspicious... well, it's your call whether to replace the fitting now or later, but an ounce of prevention is worth a $3k transmission... humm!



Then, make of habbit of re-checking the fittings each time you rotate your tires for peace of mind.



Hammer down, dude!

 

[Crowhurst]

Ben, a search on your name shows 20 posts, but I can't find the one with the other part numbers. I would appreciate these as I want to do this fix. Thanks. Nick.

 

[Ben Rumson]

Originally posted by Crowhurst

Ben, a search on your name shows 20 posts, but I can't find the one with the other part numbers. I would appreciate these as I want to do this fix. Thanks. Nick.

I found it in December of 2002... I think. Here's the cut and pasted post: Good luck!

-------------------------------------------------------------------



To upgrade the lines on my 1995 with Automatic Trans using all 1998 parts (except the tube with the temp port which is ’95). Same parts list as on TDR Issue #35, p. 45 except I replaced the rear Heat Ex. Fitting with a one-way ball valve fitting.



52028764 AA Front Trans Fitting 25. 60

5011244 AA Tube out with Temp Port (’95) 98. 95

52028723 AA Rear Heat Exchanger Fitting (w/ Ball valve) 5. 60

118752 Front Heat Exchanger Fitting 4. 35

52028674 Tube, Heat Exchanger to Auxiliary at front of vehicle 32. 10

4798875 AB Hose, Aux. Cooler (quick connects above tube to Aux. ) 76. 35

4798876 AB Hose, Aux. Cooler (quick connects tube below to Aux. ) 83. 35

52028673 Tube, Return to Trans 23. 95

52028764 AA Rear Trans Fitting 25. 60



Exactly what did Chrysler do to “improve” the fittings?



Well, there are now only 2 quick connect fittings (@ the Hose, Aux. Cooler) where there used to be 4 of them. The 2 quick connects that remain are very different from the earlier thin metal wire retaining clips and the nylon/plastic clips. The new metal retaining clip is inside the end of the quick connect fitting and has about 50% mating surface - divided equally on opposite sides of the fitting. Once the tube is inserted, it will stay connected until you carefully insert a thin screwdriver on each side of the fitting at the same time while pulling out on the tube.



Also, the front Tube out with Temp Port now has a rubber hose crimped on the upper end where it connects to the rear Heat Exchanger fitting. This allows the tube to move without stressing the fitting or the tube.



Note: If you do not want the Rear Heat Exchanger Fitting with the one-way ball valve (p/n 52028723 AA) you can get two p/n 118752 fittings instead of one. The one-way fitting helps prevent fluid drain-back at shut-down and the resulting slow-to-respond torque converter symptoms when you first start the vehicle. Either fitting will work.



I looked into replacing the lines with all 270 deg. hydraulic-type hose and ran into two problems: 1. I could not find a “T” fitting for the temperature port and did not want to by-pass the temp sensor by soldering in a 7k resister to trick the PCM into thinking that the sensor was there and was still working good. The sensor is there for a good reason and I did not want to by-pass it.

2. I wasn’t confident I could get a good pipe-clamp connection on the stiff, rigid hydraulic line where it connects to the front Auxiliary Cooler

 

[Crowhurst]

Ben, thanks a lot. While on the subject of oils, an hour ago I was in my local Wal-Mart buying some Dextron. A lady in the line in front of me queried her engine oil change charge for 6 quarts of engine oil, when she knew the vehicle only takes 5 quarts to fill. The reply: "Well, you were a quart low when you came in!" She paid up. You just have to smile! Nick.

 

[Ben Rumson]

Originally posted by Crowhurst

Ben, thanks a lot. While on the subject of oils, an hour ago I was in my local Wal-Mart buying some Dextron. A lady in the line in front of me queried her engine oil change charge for 6 quarts of engine oil, when she knew the vehicle only takes 5 quarts to fill. The reply: "Well, you were a quart low when you came in!" She paid up. You just have to smile! Nick.

"All ya gotta do is look around ya, and wonder what the He&$ God was thinkin'"

Ben Rumson, Paint Your Wagon



- a clean, new, dry filter will take on more oil than the std capacity of just the main reservior fluid too. There's been times I've sat and filled a dry filter with oil before installing. The filter visibally looks like it might hold a quart... but I keep adding and adding and adding - like a magician pouring a gallon of water into an 8 oz. . cup.



Good luck with your line upgrade. Be sure to re-use the flat "s" shaped clips that hold two parallell lines together. This will help keep them from rubbing together and possibly rubbing a hole in one of them.



Hammer down!