"Aftermarket trans coolers typically look like a 1/5 scale radiator. They often come with large zip locks to feed through the fins and get attached to the front side of the radiator.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

what kind of fittings do I need to connect the cooler to the transmission, will I need adapters?

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

You should be able to cut the metal lines and slip hoses over them, then clamp. See post 27 for details.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I understand that water in the transmission fluid could cause damage from corrosion and from degrading the paper clutch plates. If you flush it out soon (a few weeks), there should be no damage since you haven't driven. The clutch plates are saturated with oil, which should keep the water away. After dropping the pan and draining, replace the pan and refill a bit. That should have gotten most of the water since it settles to the bottom. Connect fresh trans fluid to the suction cooler tube and catch what comes out from the pressure cooler tube. Run in idle a bit until the outflow shows no milky traces of water. Several sites for add-on tranny coolers (Derale, etc) have schematics showing which cooler tube is outflow and which is return, for most cars.

Yes, you can run with just an external cooler and not use the one in the radiator. In general, you want the tranny fluid to stay as cool as possible. Some people claim it can be "too cool", but I have never read that from a manufacturer's info.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Repeating what I’ve read, some say that’s implied in factory configurations that loop an external cooler back through the radiator cooling line.

Use the cut off ends of the cooler lines to loop the transmission cooler in the radiator since you know it leaks.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

I still have a question, what are all of the necessary hardware and fittings I need to loop and install a separate transmission cooler?

I have no idea where to begin.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

There are aftermarket transmission coolers available. Probably the main thing is finding one with metric fittings, hoses to reach and mounting location.

I just purchased this one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XONRYK

Is it possible to go to lowes and get my own fittings?
Or if worst comes to worst, couldn't I order some from McMaster Carr?

Do you know that size and thread they are?

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

I'll keep you guys posted, i'm about to head out to buy...

Coolant
Kerosene
Automatic Transmission Fluid
Dish washing powder
Degreaser
Some attachments to make pouring transmission fluid easier

We'll see what happens.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

When cutting the lines to slip hoses onto, flare the line just a smidge to create a gentle bubble flare, make sure the clamp goes beyond this flare, this will prevent the line from blowing off.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Good choice. I hear the fin & plate type give better heat transfer than the earlier "single snaked tube" type. I wouldn't cut your tranny cooling tube since that gives "no way back". Remove the factory rubber hoses and cut off the metal ferrule on the engine side. That will give you a barbed fitting which will attach to the factory tube on one side and your new rubber hose on the other side. A screw clamp would work, but better to use a smooth clamp - "fuel injection" or Breeze. The euro-style screw clamps M-B uses are also fairly smooth. For a factory look, use Oeticker stepless ear clamps (ebay) and crimp w/ a nail puller. Not much pressure there so anything will work. Re cutting the metal ferrule crimp, do in a vise using an air cut-off wheel, angle grinder, or hacksaw turned at an angle, then peel off w/ screwdriver and pliers. I did that to replace my factory hoses w/ new rubber. Re hose size, but I think from a standard roll of "transmission oil cooler" hose I had (any auto parts, 7/16"ID I recall), which is probably what comes w/ your cooler (Derale doesn't say).

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

Unfortunately I don't have a work bench, vise, or any sort of powerful cutting tool for the ferrule crimp.

One more question, will running the car without transmission hurt the transmission? The car is stationary on jackstands.

I want to clean the cooling system tommorw and I obviously have to run the engine, just wondering will a dry transmission hurt itself.

Also how exactly do I flush the transmission? I literally can't afford botch this and waste fluid.

and finally is it safe to start the car on jack stands? I've been walking miles all day gathering materials, still have 1 final trip left.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Think it through... you can't run the engine, no matter what you do with the transmission.

You’ll likely damage the front pump running the engine with no fluid in the transmission. Why are you in a hurry to clean the cooling system? It doesn’t mind ATF. It’s the transmission that minds coolant! If memory serves, the engine is suspect anyway after overheating. Don’t put effort into making the cooling system like new until you know the engine and transmission are sound.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

Ok, I'll take my time.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.