Transmission Cooler Lines

[RocketFoot]

Anyone ever install a set of tranny cooler lines? Tried putting a new set of stainless lines on last night only to be beat down and humiliated! LOL...what an ignorant job! Just wondering if anyone has a good idea on how to proceed? Does the motor mount need to be removed?

 

[72HCODE]

well i installed a set of stainless lines on my car however the engine and transmission were out of the car as one unit at the time of install.

Based from what i saw you would have to at the very least have the radiator out so you could slide in the lines from the front end.

i need to look at my undercarriage again i think it does go inside of the passenger motor mount, depending on clearance you may need to remove that motor mount and jack the engine up.

i know you will have a pickle of a time getting the stainless lines to go into the transmission couplers correctly, stainless will not give at all and you have to make sure its aligned or it will cross thread, and you will need to tighten the connections down beyond reason to stop leaks.

i have stainless on every line on my car, if i did it again i would not have used stainless.

 

[RocketFoot]

Yeah, I like the idea of not having to worry about them after the installation but man, the installation is wicked!

 

[Nance]

Make notes on this.I want to do this to my sons 72. notes and photos would help.

 

[72HCODE]

nothing much to note, the biggest thing is depending on your transmission you have to have the correct adapters or banjo fittings.

on my c6 some yahoo made his own lines since my car originally had a FMX in it and had all the incorrect fittings for the C6.

so when i got ready to install my new lines i had to go to the junkyard and raid some C6s i found to get the fittings and some rods for the shifter and kickdown.

i think its possible to get the new cooler lines under the engine and weave them in but you will need to pull out the fan shroud, the rad and condenser if you have it and i would drop the lower valance if you have a 71-72 for 73 you may have to drop down the front bumper so you can feed the cooler through the rad support structure and underneath the engine mount on the passenger side. worst case would be pulling the engine mount on the pass side, pulling the tranny mount/crossmember and jacking up the engine on one side so you could clear things. and get a clean shot to the transmission then you may need a set of crows feet wrenches to get a tool up between the trans and tunnel to tighten the lines down

hooking it up to the rad is easy as long as you have the correct fittings for the rad.

also make sure your cooling lines come with the Clip that holds them together like oem

 

[cobra3073]

Oh Man!!

That was an installation into "Ice" (my '73 Grande) that I thought I had blocked from my mind as it was so difficult - - especially with the transplanted big block.

I do recall having to jack the motor up to work the installation but everything else about the install is just a blur. As a consolation, recognize that it CAN be done.

Sorry I could not be of better help on this one. I should have documented it as I will have the same situation when I put the 545 and C6 into "Fire" (my '73 Mach I).

BT

 

[RocketFoot]

That's what I am replacing...looks like soft copper tubing that wasn't even next to the oil pan. They had it running way down under the fan and back above the left motor mount along with a ton of large radius bends. It worked but just looked like crap!

 

[72HCODE]

its hard to get pictures in that area,, i have a shot of the engine going into the car with the trans that shows the transmission lines, i could post that if it helps.

i can tell you whats even worse then installing the trans lines.

installing a new intermediary brake line and replacing a firewall brake line while the engine and drive line is installed may cause you to attempt suicide.

...and i had to do that twice...

 

[RocketFoot]

Haha, I hear that! I will be replacing brake lines on the 72 but the engine and tranny will all be out.

I have the 72 still intact for tranny line reference, it's just a matter of making the 71 look the same with minimum removal of components!

 

[72fastback]

I installed braided stainless steel lines to the trany first reason was I have an aluminum radiator and the lines connect on the sides instead of the bottom.second reason {they look awesome} got them made at a hydraulics shop.they are much easier to install because you can choose your on route.I paid 170$ for both lines ,and they where built to withstand hydraulic pressure. {Oh and before I realized the radiator that I had in my car before I bought the aluminum one was not original, It also had the connections for the trany in the vertical position.I ordered the stainless steel lines they are in my basement and gathering dust hahaha}

 

[72HCODE]

well well well,,, i found my engine install pics, turns out i did not attach them to the transmission while installing the engine and trans on the crane. I installed them after the engine was mounted inside the car and i slid them through the front end underneath the passenger engine mount between the mount and the oil pan.

So you should not have to jack the engine up but you will need to remove some front end parts to allow the lines to slide in.

proof

here you can see the C6 does not have the lines installed yet.

taken right after engine was installed and motor mounts and transmission cross member were installed. the engine is totally in at this point and you note no transmission lines installed yet.

here the lines are sitting on the floor waiting for me to install the radiator.

so before i installed the rad i put fed the trans lines in between the passenger motor mount and the oil pan attached them to the transmission then droped the rad in and connected the front of the cooler lines.

 

[user 88]

It is a job and the way I did mine was the same as posted here. I used Stainless hard lines and have a big block with a c6.

I had my radiator and a/c condensor, out of the car at the time and went thru the opening there. I was lucky and didn't have to raise the motor, just rotated them as I fed them thru.

 

[user 88]

It is a job and the way I did mine was the same as posted here. I used Stainless hard lines and have a big block with a c6.

I had my radiator and a/c condensor, maybe my alternator out of the car at the time and went thru the big opening in the radiator support. I was lucky and didn't have to raise the motor, just separated the lines and rotated them as I fed them thru. good luck!

 

[RocketFoot]

It is done! My dad and I were able to man handle the lines (one at a time) through the cross member, down around the starter and behind the headers. It took a bit of messing around but not too bad. The part that took the longest was getting the line threaded into the forward tranny fitting! It just would not go until the line was dead center!

The only things removed were the fan and the front tires.

We also added a set of Competition Engineering Traction Bars and a new Chrome Grant wheel with the mustang logo center...man is it sweet! Plenty of pics coming soon...big car show tomorrow.

 

[72HCODE]

Great glad it worked out

 

[RocketFoot]

Didn't get any install pics, but here is a after pic!

 

[72fastback]

Didn't get any install pics, but here is a after pic!

Are those the lines for 71 to 73? because when I ordered mine they were for a connection on the bottom horizontal part of the radiator.I was told the stock rad was not a vertical one.

 

[RocketFoot]

Yes, they were for 71-73 with V8 motor...that is how they were listed. They fit my application perfectly also (only minor tweaking needed)

 

[user 88]

Yes, they were for 71-73 with V8 motor...that is how they were listed. They fit my application perfectly also (only minor tweaking needed)

The bends look great and they look uniform. ::goodjob::