Transmission cooler lines - are they pressurized?

[Grizzle33]

New poster here,

Had a pretty simple question for those in the know. Here's the background:

I bought a 71 F250 FE360 Automatic for $800.00 about a year ago. My father and I thought it would be a great idea to tear the motor down and rebuild it, since it's such a cool truck.

Six months have passed and we installed the new engine, and I'm starting to button things up but I've ran across a few problems. When we took the motor out, we had to cut those transmission cooler lines due to the fact that the fittings would NOT budge on the Radiator.

Now my question is this: Could I connect them again somehow? Could I use a pressurized coupler or something similar to a power steering hose, with clamps on the ends?

Any help is appreciated, I could just buy a new one but I would really like to save a few bucks.

Thanks in advance!

-Josh

[ToughOldFord]

They're under slight pressure. The fuel line & hose clamp thing is common and does work, but it's asking for a failure down the road. If the lines are in good shape a compression coupler should do the job, but flaring the ends and using a flared coupler would be the best patch, IMO.

[ToughOldFord]

Oh, BTW,

[fordman]

yes i hate the rubber hose on the steel lines. they almost always seem to leak later on. one way to help it not leak is to flare the lines and then shove the rubber hose over the lines. and then put the hose clamp on them.

[FreakysFords]

yes i hate the rubber hose on the steel lines. they almost always seem to leak later on. one way to help it not leak is to flare the lines and then shove the rubber hose over the lines. and then put the hose clamp on them.

You can also shove a flare nut on there before you flair the end and have a short crimp hose made to fit that will thread on and seal, but it's more work than many want to do as it's not fully necessary.

[fordman]

yes you could do a flare nut and or a compression fitting. i forgot about doing that.

[Dragon]

Solder a slip coupling over the lines if they still come real close. Since I have been working with copper refrigerant lines and copper pipe for plumbing I was thinking about doing my PS hoses and my fuel lines in copper to just before the carb. I would just put copper flex in the PS so they engine movement would not break the lines.

[OldRedFord]

How bout some hydraulic hose?

[FORDification]

Do not use fuel line or vacuum hose. At the very least you should use power steering hose, since it's reinforced to withstand the pressure. And I definitely agree with at least putting a slight flare on each end of the line before sliding the tubing over them, to help prevent leaks and slipping. Also, double-clamp the connection on each side.

[70_F100]

Here's an idea on the flare. You'll need a double-flaring tool.

Using the double-flare insert, just do the first part of the flare.

This will give you a "bell" shape on the end of the line, similar to what you find on fuel lines.

This way, you don't have a sharp edge that can eventually cut through the rubber hose and cause a leak , yet you've still got a raised area to prevent the hose from slipping off.

I do this every time I make a "rubber-hose-to-metal-tube" connection.

[trucksalot]

I always use hose made for trans. oil coolers. last a long time, get it at NAPA

[OldRedFord]

Here's an idea on the flare. You'll need a double-flaring tool.

Using the double-flare insert, just do the first part of the flare.

This will give you a "bell" shape on the end of the line, similar to what you find on fuel lines.

This way, you don't have a sharp edge that can eventually cut through the rubber hose and cause a leak , yet you've still got a raised area to prevent the hose from slipping off.

I do this every time I make a "rubber-hose-to-metal-tube" connection.

I just did a single flare on mine. Is that too much? I tried doing it your way but no matter what I did the insert would just push the tube down. I had it clamped in there as tight as I could possibly get it (I used pliers to tighten the wing nuts that clamp the bar)

[70_F100]

You can probably get a local shop or parts house to do it for you.

10 minutes or less is all it should take, including getting the tool out of the toolbox and putting it away.

[70_F100]

You can probably get a local mechanic to do it for you for just a few bucks.

Any place that makes up hoses and/or steel lines should be able to do it, too.

[fmartin_gila1]

Any local parts house or hardware store should be able to sell you two compression type unions for that size steel line. Properly installed, these will not leak and will give you a place to disconnect if needed at some future time.

Fred