91 Laredo

I put my new radiator in last week and now have a leak at the top tranny cooler line (one thing after another...)

Anyways, when I installed the top fitting I put teflon tape on and tightened snug but not too tight. The male end is flared.

It seems to be leaking pretty heavily as its dripping down to the bottom radiator hose and onto the splash panel.

It went on pretty easy so I dont think its cross-threaded or anything.

Any suggestions? Should I be using teflon tape or not? How tight does that fitting need to be?

Thanks.

stumper

since it went in quite easy, seems to me it's not cross threaded. i would remove the line and check the threads and how the flared end looks, flared end maybe creased? some foreign material, maybe. clean it up and re-try it, how tight, not sure on lb/ft, but just don't crank on it.

last thought, b4 removing it, is it leaking from the line or at the threaded area going into the rad? get a light and really look first, this could solve it for you.

91 Laredo

The radiator came with the top fitting already installed similar to the factory one. I dont think the fitting comes off as its all one unit.

Tomorrow I will remove, clean, and reinstall. Should I use the teflon tape again or go without? No ideas on how tight it should be?

I am curious how much pressure the fluid is under and if its being forced out.

Damn Jeep....

Rob92XJ

Why did you use teflon tape on a flared fitting? Clean it off the fitting needs metal to metal contact to seal properly. It should be a little tighter then snug.

91 Laredo

I wasnt sure, I always error on the side of caution and use teflon tape.

I am pretty sure the male end is flared . It has to be otherwise the nut would come off....

I will clean it up and giver her another go without tape. I will get it a little tigher too, didnt want to overtighten and break it before as I have incredible strength

If anyone else disagrees let me know ASAP as I will be heading out soon....

91 Laredo

Removed fitting and took off teflon tape. Re-connected fitting drove around and was fine. Took on freeway and when I got back it was leaking again

Removed a cleaned threads and fitting and reistalled while hot. Tightened real tight this time and there wasnt a leak while it was idling. I will check it again at some point tomorrow to determine if its still leaking.

If it is are there any other thoughts? Could the flared in not be making a good contact with the fitting? It looked okay.

Rob92XJ

Good to hear it is fixed.

91 Laredo

Well, its not. Its still leaking.

My neighbor came over while I was putting my lift on today and I mentioned it to him. He's been an import mechanic for years. He grabbed the metal line and was still able to move it around so it appears its not seating all the way down. I dont think I can get it any tighter without breaking the radiator.

There appears to be some crap built up on the threads on the line. I tried to clean it out with a rag but apparantely didnt work.

My neighbor recommended to screw it on tight, back it off, on, off to see if it will eventually seat properly. He did mention that he is not a Jeep fan .

Could the flared end on the line be bad?

Oh, and my seat broke yesterday too.....

91 Laredo

Update -

Took Jeep to a tranny shop and he recommended it be taken to a radiator shop.

Went to the radiator shop and the guy took the fitting off and looked at both the one on the radiator and the line itself and felt both were good and put it back together. He felt that I didnt have it tight enough. Started it up and ran it and didnt leak when we were there (no charge).

Checked it today and it appears its still seeping. Its not as bad as it was, but the line is still wet.

Aside from replacing the line (which may or may not fix the problem) I had another idea. Cut the nut off the line and flare the end. Get a fitting for the radiator side that would have a flared end on one side and run a rubber line between the two. I discussed this with the tranny shop and he felt it would work and would charge me $30-$40 to do it. I could do it myself but dont have the flaring tool or the tube cutter (do have a cut off wheel though)

Any other thoughts or suggestions? There could be some more crap in the threads of the line that is not allowing it to seat properly. I asked the radiator guy and he did not think so.

This leak should not be this difficult and is starting to **** me off .

offroadnut36

i got a lower tranny line for 36 bucks, so if youre gonna have him do it, get a new line instead. The upper line might be more though cause it has more metal tubing. Not sure on that one.

91 Laredo

What was the problem with your lower line? How hard was it to install into the tranny end? Does it just thread in like any other fitting or is their anything special?

The guy at the tranny shop said it was a PITA and seconded my idea of a little fab work. And yes, the tranny guy is very reputable in the area, good place to deal with.

91 Laredo

Bump -

Anyone have any ideas/suggestions on how to fix before I start hacking the line?

Any ideas on what size the upper fitting is?

I know a lot of people replace their radiators, no one has any problems with the upper line seating correctly? It figures that mine would be the only one.....

91 Laredo

Still nothing?

Well I went to the boneyard and grabbed the flared ends from an XJ and a ZJ. I am debating on where to cut my line, at the metal near the top and flare both ends and run a small piece of rubber line or near the botton where the hose meets the metal, cut mine off and slide a new one in and hose clamp.

Any suggestions?