Those things can be a bugger sometimes. They can get filled up with crud or rust, and the little arms won't move quite enough to release. Some penetrating oil might help.

Make sure you are pushing that disconnect tool WAY in, hard. It also helps to rotate it while pushing it in.


Note Ken's comment on the proper disconnect tool. The El Cheapos can drive you to drink.

Thanks, frustrating part is both parts are brand stinkin new. Just trying to swap the top part b/c it's leaking at the flare (at radiator). But yes- 3 drinks in now Want to rip it all out and re-enact the Office Space scene with the copier haha.

From my vast collection of photos....

Pics of seperating the tube/hose with it removed:




Use of extension and crowfoot to get the tube seperated. Tap the extension with a small hammer.





Pic of proper tool to be used:

You could try testing the flare quality of the flare in the tube.

Buy one of these 3/8" Flare plugs (Lowe's).



Blacken the flare surface of the plug and the flare surface of the tube using a Sharpie. Move the flare nut out of the way. Firmly press the flare plug into the tube flare and give it a slight twist. Remove the plug and examine the flare in the tube and the plug to see if it's an even removal of the Sharpie marks on both.

The flare plug surface should be true, so if you see uneven removal of the Sharpie coating it shows that the tube flare is defective. If the wear marks look even on the tube flare and the flare plug the tube flare should be okay.

Edit:

Repeat the process by re-blackening the flare surfaces, the screw the flare plug into the tube flare nut and tighten. Remove and examine the flare surfaces.

Edit 2:

3/8 flare caps are also available at Lowe's if you want to check the flare on the radiator fitting.

I like that idea of the marker, although I did pick up a different line last night (just the 624-334 part running into the radiator). I pray I don't need to double check THAT flare.


Struck out with disco last night, but at lunch today, I'm going to see if I can find the type of disco you pictured Ken (thanks btw, for the pics! always helpful). I've spotted those before but don't recall finding a 3/8 which is what it takes IIRC.

Bought that tool at Advance Auto Parts (and the fuel line disconnect tool). They have the Autocraft name on them.

I saw the same looking tools at Harbor Freight the other day. The Autocraft tools are probably made by the same chinese communists that make the Harbor Freight tools.

Not sure if you want to spend the money or how far along with a fix you are, but I will always recommend for a tranny line/radiator issue to just cut the stock tranny lines at the tranny and just run lines straight to a new B&M transmission cooler ($60 on Amazon) - or another cooler you might have laying around or something.

It's worth the money to get rid of the fittings and the pita of having to work in the tight area around the radiator to go with an upgraded cooling system that uses hose clamps. Also, as an added bonus, you'll be taking the lines out from under the oil pan, for if/when you need to drop it, since you'll need to move those lines anyway, which is a pita.

Many people will argue back and forth as to how to install a new cooler (its orientation) or whether or not to run it in line with the stock radiator or not. It does not matter how they are mounted, and running it by itself, and not in-line with the stock trans cooler (radiator) makes life much easier, and the performance difference is nominal either way.

Did it on 2 xj's already, and a few friends have done the same.

Dearest "Jeep Husbands"... I DID IT!! I DID IT IN THE RAIN AND DARK LIKE A BOSS! haha. Indeed, Ken's tool of preference worked.

Stabsthedrama...I had gotten that advice earlier in a related thread (perhaps even from you) re a tranny cooler. I really love that idea, but given that I have a present leak, horrible weather coming soon, and a really long learning curve with my "projects," I felt like the $60 to switch both lines out now to get me through winter was worth it til I can dick around with doing a cooler in the spring when working conditions are a little better.

Anywho..at the risk of belaboring this mess (please don't Bimmer me - I finally figured out the joke and it's ugly), I did put 2+ angry hours into trying to disconnect with the plastic POS disco before success with the rec'd tool. Looking at the female part of the line (with the tabs) after removal showed that two of the tabs submitted to my brute strength and were "collapsed" a bit (first pic). I tried to gently pry those 2 collapsed tabs back out. One kind of submitted, one did not (second pic). Given the disco trauma, the question is whether to plug the new metal line (that goes to radiator) into this errant portion or to pre-empt any possibility of error and just replace the rest of that line too (and write it off as a $30 and 1800 hour learning mistake). ha

Well Gracie it was a good night afterall...except the locking tabs.

I think that three strong locking tabs will be okay. After assembly try to pull the tube out of the QD. If it holds, carry on.

Make sure you apply some ATF to the tube end that goes into the QD so it slides past the o-rings inside.

Congrats!

I feel ya, it's usually better to just fix something than have to spend money, I totally get that. Those compression fittings or w/e they're called are just such a pita though. After about 2 minutes of messing with them I just grabbed the angle grinder lol. Radiators/random coolers are pretty common items for some people to have laying around from jy pulls too, so if you had one laying around the tip would have been more relevant, since it would be a free fix.

And yes...winter is coming... if it's anything like last one, I am really, really not looking forward to it.