Hooking up a aftermarkets trans cooler. How do I hook it up?
 

SO I pickets up a flex a lite trans cooler and B&M trans temp gauge, so now my question is whats the best way to hook it up? Should I hook it up inline with the radiator or should I bypass the radiator completely? I am also hooking up a brand new cfs 3 row all metal radiator and a HD fan clutch at the same time.

The vehicle is a 88 Comanche with the 4.0, 4x4, non ac

here is the cooler. It the cooler to big and overkill?
Attachment 363468
Attachment 363469

i bypassed the radiator when i did mine. in so cal there is no need to run it through the rad for heating the fluid in the winter, it aint that cold here. just cut the two steel lines that run to the rad cooler, use a flaring tool to create a lip on the lines, slide some trans cooler rubber tubing over them and clamp with hose clamps and run the hose to your trans cooler.

No such thing as overkill when it comes to keeping your transmission cool.

If you look at the return line from the radiator, there's a small length of it that is rubber (as opposed to most of the line that is metal). I simply cut into that line and hooked up the tranny cooler. So I put mine inline with the factory trans cooler in the radiator. People have done it both ways but after reading every single thread on tranny coolers on this forum, that seemed to be the most efficient way of doing it.

I didn't put in a temperature gauge for it at the same time (although I wish I did), but I would have put that in the return line after the transmission cooler to see what temperature the fluid is that my transmission was taking in.

well here is the cooler mount on the radiator, took all day to find fittings and I still do not have all of them....

Attachment 363398

Auto Zone sells fitting kits for there trans coolers that connect to the rubber hoses no cutting of lines required.

edit

bypass, working at a transmission shop that was the first thing we would do after installing a new transmission. Better flow, better cooling.