S70 transmission cooler hose fitting

Post by **Brucebo** » 05 Nov 2011, 22:43

I'm in the process of changing the radiator on my '99 S70. The transmission cooler hose fittings are the type with the little "squeeze" clip that you squeeze and pull the hose out (which I did okay). The clips engage on the inside of the radiator fitting, i.e., the radiator side is female. The new radiator I got from radiatorbarn.com appears to have a fitting where the hose clips on the outside of the fitting. The radiator side appears to be male. I noticed on some of the tutorials here that some of the radiators appear to have the latter type instead of the squeeze clips, but I can't seem to find any documentation on this particular issue. Are they somehow compatible? Or are there adapters?

Thanks,

-Bruce

allenry · Post by **allenry** » 28 Aug 2014, 04:31

I am running into the same issue as you did, did you find a solution at all?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 28 Aug 2014, 04:57

There was a design change in the 1999 models and they are not compatible at all. I know of no adapters to go from one style to the other. With a new radiator I would be inclined to return it and get the correct one shipped back but that is a pain from a time perspective.

The alternatives would be to change the transmission cooler lines to the newer style (which would cost about double what the radiator did in the first place) or to change the couplers on the radiator. I tried to swap an 850 turbo radiator into a '99 XC, which has the new style connectors, and I did manage to change the connectors but I was dealing with OEM radiators in both cases. The connectors will un-thread from the OEM cooler tanks. I used a liberal amount of blue RTV to seal the connections when I reassembled them and I changed the connectors one at a time. If you remove both connectors the cooler moves around in the tank and it would be quite difficult to get the replacement connectors threaded back on. This may or may not work with an aftermarket radiator as they may have a different thread going into the cooler tanks.

In my case, although I did get the cooler lines changed it still wouldn't work since the newer style radiator has a different overflow tube arrangement. The newer radiator has the overflow tube on the radiator itself rather than from a nipple on the thermostat cap.

...Lee

falconbrother · Post by **falconbrother** » 28 Aug 2014, 17:42

You need the radiator with the female connectors. The male connectors wont work. The female connector radiator generally cost a few more bucks, or in my experience. I saw one on ebay today for $71 dollars. I paid $237 for one at NAPA. What a journey that has been. Don't get me started..