Hi, I found a new leak last week and actually thought it was my power steering pump getting worse. Pulled some things out of the way and discovered the transmission cooler seeping. It's that little rad that sits in from of the engine rad.

Ironically this is probably also the reason why my transmsission temp warning light came on last weekend after a full day of wheeling and HWY driving.

My question is: Does anyone have experience replacing this unit? do I need to remove my engine rad?
In the photo, you can see where a hose attaches to the entry point of the cooler. This is the leak location. I'm wondering if I cleaned the hell out of this and silicone it, it might buy me a little while. Thoughts?

Thanks for any help.

 

Same problem, bumping an old thread. My '04 doesn't seem to have the switch so I'm guessing the cooler itself, or potentially a line is leaking. The location of the fluid seems more consistent with the cooler itself, or perhaps one of the "quick connects". The small plastic tray above the sway bar is pretty oily, and in fact from below it looks like I have a leaky swaybar bushing based on the dripping! Are these quick release connects that reliable 14 years later? I can't see how to get mine apart. The RAVE calls for
but I'm having trouble getting anything to move, especially given the confined space. Any tricks to getting these things apart or is this one of those keep at it till you get it conundrums?

 

Dirt and stuff can muck up the clips on the inside, making it hard to dis-engage. Clean it out thoroughly with an aerosol spray

Wiggle, twist, turn

Push the connection tight first, then pull back the plastic ring while keeping the connection tight, then try and pull it off

Keep at it

 

Thank you. When you say pull back, would that be towards the cooler or towards the engine? Right now they're not moving at all. How much mess should I expect before I can cap them?

Thanks again.

Edit: Yah, Push in on the line and pull back on the ring. Will give it a go...

 

Clean them out as was said...then grab the ring, push toward the pipe to help release the hose then pull away from the pipe and the hose should be free.

Alibi, if you pull or push to hard...you break the seam of the cooler pipe and will have to pull the radiator to swap it out.

 

Thanks for the reply Shane. I have the 180° thermo on the bench and a coolant flush on my horizon so I think I may pull the radiator anyway to get a good view of what's going on in there. It will give me better access to the cooler fittings as well so why not. Judging by the size of the leak, either the cooler has a pinhole or the connection has failed. Every time I park it I get two half dollar drips from the pass side sway bar bushing. For some reason I'm hesitating on draining the coolant but I'm peaking at 207° and while that alone isn't a problem, I'd like to get it lower heading into summer. On a brighter note I did notice a new radiator in there tonight when I go the shrouds off.