Luma46
07-12-2009, 05:43 PM
So I finally installed the AT oil cooler on my 2007 Vue, AWD 3.5l engine. I bought the LONG model 4454 kit, just because it was locally available. It seems to be similar to B&M coolers and the manual says it has a “self regulating” bypass working on the oil viscosity principle. The kit has four hosebarb fittings/adapters that should fit flared 5/16 and 3/8 oil pipe connections, hose clamps and all kinds of attachment hardware.
Manual says the install is 30 minutes job, it took me over 6 hours before I overcame all the obstacles. I would not recommend to attempt this job unless you have good set of various tools and you are handy with those.
First challenge was to find AT fluid return line. Using the IR thermometer I determined that it is the one connected to the low end of the existing cooler (I am about 95% certain). Next was to decide where/how to mount the new cooler. I opted to use right angle brackets and attach the cooler to a cross member in front of the radiator. The 2007 model has a lower plastic grill that can be fairly easily preyed out, it has four securing tabs on the bottom, just lift it up a bit with flat tip screwdriver and pull the whole thing out. That gives a decent room and access to the area in front of the rad. Hardest part was to drill 3/16 holes in the cross member to secure the brackets with metal screws.
The biggest challenge turned out to be disconnecting the existing oil line and connecting the hoses from the new cooler. The connection is a 3/8 thread flared pipe coupling with very restricted access to it. To loosen the male part of the coupling you need a 5/8 open wrench, HOWEVER you will need as well a 17/16 open wrench to hold (back-up) the female part of the coupling. As I was trying to unscrew the male part, the female part came lose. Luckily it looks like it is not just soldered in there, but it seems to be threaded in as I was able to retighten it again. Now, because of the limited access/space you will probably not be able to use a regular wrench, I have “adapted” an old 7/8 open end wrench by grinding it on a bench grinder to 17/16. The jaws of this wrench have to be rather narrow, so you can maneuver the wrench onto the hex. Holding the female part of the coupler with my “custom” wrench I finally managed to unscrew the male part.
I mentioned that the kit has hosebarb adapters that screw in/on the female and the male part of the coupling. The adapter that goes to the female part should ideally require a sealing washer, I did not have one on hand so I used a gasket sealant, turned out it worked. Big surprise came however with the male part of the coupling that sits on the flared pipe. This one requires a deep thread adapter (about 1” deep) while the one supplied with the kit is only about ½” deep. There was no way to attach properly the hosebarb adapter onto the flared pipe end. Instead of trying to find (not sure where) a fitting adapter, I opted for a “point of no return” solution. Using a Dremmel tool, I cut off the flared end of the pipe, took the threaded thing off and attached the hose from the new cooler directly onto this 3/8 OD pipe. I used two hose clamps side by side to make it secure, there should not be much pressure there anyway as this is a new return line. If you do the same, make sure that no debris from the cutting gets into the line, I put in the a little cloth plug that I removed only after cleaning/rounding the cut off end of the pipe.
After completing the job, I needed about 600 ml of AT fluid to top up the level in transmission. About 200 ml drained from the existing cooler when I disconnected the line, and remaining 400 ml was apparently needed to fill the new cooler and a total of 3 feet of connection hoses.
I took some picture (attached), hopefully they better explain my write-up. Let me know if you have any questions.
Manual says the install is 30 minutes job, it took me over 6 hours before I overcame all the obstacles. I would not recommend to attempt this job unless you have good set of various tools and you are handy with those.
First challenge was to find AT fluid return line. Using the IR thermometer I determined that it is the one connected to the low end of the existing cooler (I am about 95% certain). Next was to decide where/how to mount the new cooler. I opted to use right angle brackets and attach the cooler to a cross member in front of the radiator. The 2007 model has a lower plastic grill that can be fairly easily preyed out, it has four securing tabs on the bottom, just lift it up a bit with flat tip screwdriver and pull the whole thing out. That gives a decent room and access to the area in front of the rad. Hardest part was to drill 3/16 holes in the cross member to secure the brackets with metal screws.
The biggest challenge turned out to be disconnecting the existing oil line and connecting the hoses from the new cooler. The connection is a 3/8 thread flared pipe coupling with very restricted access to it. To loosen the male part of the coupling you need a 5/8 open wrench, HOWEVER you will need as well a 17/16 open wrench to hold (back-up) the female part of the coupling. As I was trying to unscrew the male part, the female part came lose. Luckily it looks like it is not just soldered in there, but it seems to be threaded in as I was able to retighten it again. Now, because of the limited access/space you will probably not be able to use a regular wrench, I have “adapted” an old 7/8 open end wrench by grinding it on a bench grinder to 17/16. The jaws of this wrench have to be rather narrow, so you can maneuver the wrench onto the hex. Holding the female part of the coupler with my “custom” wrench I finally managed to unscrew the male part.
I mentioned that the kit has hosebarb adapters that screw in/on the female and the male part of the coupling. The adapter that goes to the female part should ideally require a sealing washer, I did not have one on hand so I used a gasket sealant, turned out it worked. Big surprise came however with the male part of the coupling that sits on the flared pipe. This one requires a deep thread adapter (about 1” deep) while the one supplied with the kit is only about ½” deep. There was no way to attach properly the hosebarb adapter onto the flared pipe end. Instead of trying to find (not sure where) a fitting adapter, I opted for a “point of no return” solution. Using a Dremmel tool, I cut off the flared end of the pipe, took the threaded thing off and attached the hose from the new cooler directly onto this 3/8 OD pipe. I used two hose clamps side by side to make it secure, there should not be much pressure there anyway as this is a new return line. If you do the same, make sure that no debris from the cutting gets into the line, I put in the a little cloth plug that I removed only after cleaning/rounding the cut off end of the pipe.
After completing the job, I needed about 600 ml of AT fluid to top up the level in transmission. About 200 ml drained from the existing cooler when I disconnected the line, and remaining 400 ml was apparently needed to fill the new cooler and a total of 3 feet of connection hoses.
I took some picture (attached), hopefully they better explain my write-up. Let me know if you have any questions.