Before I fix this, is it stupid or genius? (1 Viewer)

[artech]

So I'm knee deep in my rig refresh project and pulling the radiator, and got looking at my now disconnected transmission lines. Wait, WTF? Someone before me has got the ATF fluid running from the transmission into the radiator, then out of the radiator and into the power steering system, through the power steering cooler, then back into the transmission basically making it all one big cross-connected ATF fluid system.

Now I will say that on a really cold winter morning up heah the power steering system takes a little while to warm up, so before I got about putting this back to the factory setup, is this just a mechanic mistake or it it some kind of attempt to get the two fluids to warm up quicker? I've never noticed any unusual performance from either the tranny or the power steering before, so I'm just wondering? Now I'm also wondering if that dish soap I added to the power steering fluid a few years ago is going to damage my transmission though. At this point it's been running this way for at least 15 years of daily driving with no noticeable issues.

Thoughts?

 

[dallen341]

Sounds crazy to me. Interesting it has been that way for so long.

I'd return to stock...but thats me

 

[MrMacdugal]

Can I ask why you added dish soap to the power steering reservoir? That's a new one to me.

as far as plumbing the two systems together, its probably not the wisest idea. You can drive without power steering but you probably wouldn't get far without any tranny fluid. You'd be most likely to blow a power steering line and you would in turn be losing fluid from both systems. Preferentially you'd just want to lose PS and get home, in my opinion.

 

[Irish Reiver]

Are you sure it doesn't run from the radiator to the transmission cooler that sits in front of the condenser? The 80 has 2 transmission cooling radiators. I can't see how the pressures from the steering pump would jive with the transmission pump. They would either work against each other and reduce the effectiveness of both or do the opposite and over pressurize some part of the circuit.

 

[artech]

A spoonful of Dawn in the fluid is reported to quiet down a noisy power steering pump, and it did work for me. Not sure why it works but I read it here and tried it, and it worked.

Possibly this 1995 truck has two transmission coolers? If so then there is no power steering cooler on this truck. Everything's been leaking and it's a big caked-on mess right there, I'm taking it all out and redoing it all. I have seen different rigs set up different ways, and this one has some aftermarket parts in it that look nothing like the FSM. I do have some aftermarket kind of cooler in front of the condenser unit but it looks like it's plumbed right into the rest of the lines and connected to power steering lines.

 

[ppc]

A spoonful of Dawn in the fluid is reported to quiet down a noisy power steering pump, and it did work for me. Not sure why it works but I read it here and tried it, and it worked.

Now I'm also wondering if that dish soap I added to the power steering fluid a few years ago is going to damage my transmission though. At this point it's been running this way for at least 15 years of daily driving with no noticeable issues.

The correct fix is to use liquid fabric softener not dish soap.

 

[artech]

Well it was ten years ago, and I used whatever folks here said to use, and it worked. Maybe it was fabric softener? Downy maybe? Can't recall.

(Pretty sure it started with the letter D though. Go easy on me, I'm old.)

 

[bhsdriller]

If you're ripping it out anyways i'd just go back to stock

 

[BILT4ME]

The power steering "cooler" is a giant paperclip looking hose and pipe bolted to the front crossmember. It should NOT mix with the transmission lines at all.

The transmission has a fin type cooler in front of the radiator as well as lines in the bottom of the radiator.
Go back to stock.

I don't think it is plumbed the way you think it's plumbed.

 

[NeverFinis]

Pictures, or it didn't happen.

 

[artech]

No pics, it's all apart now all over the shop. That cooler above does not exist on my truck, it has been replaced with an aftermarket thing. Even the mounting tabs are gone. There is also no metal paperclip line on this truck. There's apparently a rubber line where that should have been, that runs into the front cooler. What should have been the return line to the transmission was connected to the low pressure return line to the power steering reservoir.

It looks like maybe the guy was trying to do a workaround for a damaged paperclip and just hooked it all together? I got nothing at this point. It's all coming out and going back together with new parts. The only question I have now is should I keep this aftermarket cooler that's in front of the AC radiator? Just hook it to the transmission line coming from the radiator and the return back to the tranny return? It's about half the size of a factory unit according to the FSM. No idea why it's there or what happened to the original. If I wasn't so overbudget right now I'd just get a new factory unit, but that's probably not going to be able to happen for a while.

EDIT- I got a replacement aftermarket unit on Rockauto for the factory unit that is at least approximately the right size, it's the best I can do. I'm already $15 grand into this project and bullsh!t things like this keep appearing randomly. The power steering cooler I got is one of the good Derale ones Joey recommended, I got his kit with all the fittings for the hookup. So at least I'll be better off than what I had before.

 

[Malleus]

Pictures? Yes, you can use an aftermarket power steering cooler without problems. Joey uses the fancy Derale coolers on his jobs.

 

[BILT4ME]

Transmission cooler you can get good used from @slow95z

 

[artech]

I already hit him up for a busted ABS sensor I found when I opened up the hubs!

 

[Funner]

If it worked like that for 15 years and you are old,

 

[Kernal]

FWIW:

https://automatictransmission.com.au/heavy-duty-transmission-coolers/