transmission cooler lines 1996 powerstroke F350

[spoolinturbo]

What do the tranny cooler lines consist of on a 96 F350? Im going to pick up a truck pretty far away and it needs lines. I need to know what to buy so i can fix it there and drive it home. I called all the auto parts stores and i couldn't get a straight answer. Are they just 5/16 rubber hose? How do they connect in? Will i be able to easily fix it on the spot? I need to know soon before the stores close so i can get something and be ready to go tomorrow.
Thanks

[97 golden stroker]

Tranny lines are usaly a pane in the you no what. but you should see about the dealer and find out how mutch lines from them are and you no they will fit. but hard to fix on the spot with no lift. you should see if a shop near the truck can put them on for a good price.

[Armalite]

Just changed the lines on my 1996 f-250. They are 5/16ths. The only clamp on to the steel lines with a "pinch" on clamp. I changed all the 5/16 rubber lines to 3/8ths for my new cooler. I completely bypassed the radiator cooler since it only warms the fluid. But the 3/8ths line fit onto the 5/16ths steel lines fine with a few clamps.
But your just going to replace some lines? In that case buy around 8ft of 5/16ths transmission line (or be cheap like me and use fuel line) and a hand full of screw tighten style clamps. The smallest ones and you're set. The steel transmission lines come out right behind the radiator horse and right above the front tie rods. You cant miss them, one cures slightly towards the passenger side (this is the return to the transmission) the other curves sharper to the driver side (this is from the transmission, and should be ran into the radiator, then back out into the external cooler.) But if you live in a warm region just bypass the inline radiator cooler since it just passed hot water through it to heat the fluid.
If it has a stock cooler it will look like a power steering fluid cooler (a real joke) Click for picture
You will wanna upgrade later on. I would recommend a tru-cool 40k cooler located at thedieselsite.com.
But ya all you need to replace the lines on these trucks is about 8foot of 5/16 hose (or 3/8ths with a bigger cooler), and some screw style hose clamps. They use snap on clamps.... there really isn't much pressure on these lines.

[spoolinturbo]

Thanks that helped alot. And also that is a very good point that i thought of before but never did it on my previous trucks. But trans temp normally stays pretty far below 200 degrees. But yet they put it in a cooler with the radiatior which can get over 200 (shouldn't be called a cooler its more like a heater). I may just go up and patch it the best i can to get it home then put an external cooler on like you said. I have a pretty good size one left over from my dads old dump truck that should do the trick cause we all know keep em cool and they last longer.

[Armalite]

Yah lol. Here are some pics I believe another user took of the OEM radiator cooler. Radiator cooler exposed pictures from cars photos on webshots Use the navigation on the top right to see other pictures, even a cut away.
The cooler is only a small hollow cylinder which allows hot water to flow through the middle while the transmission fluid it forced along the outer sides of the unit. Its always a very common place where debris collects and causes a nice clog which leads to overall transmission failure.
Anything other then the stock cooler external cooler is better lol. I prefer stacked plate coolers vs tube fin. I only see tub fine being really effective if they have a electric fan.
Last year with the stock cooler on 80+ degree days my transmission would get to 160-180 in about 10mins of driving. But I live back in hilly area. So its alot of climbing, stop and going. I put a trucool 40k in and we have had plenty of 80+ days this year and Im pushing the truck. Usually stay around 120-140. But once I get on a nice flat open road you can see the temps drop on the gauge.

[spoolinturbo]

Got it home. They were steel lines so i just cut the rust out and patched it with rubber for the time being. Now that its home im going to do alot more to it.
Thanks So much for all the help its greatly appreciated