1989 Dakota 3.9 auto. My radiator sprung a leak around the filler neck so I'm changing it out this weekend. The trans lines currently run to the bottom of the rad. I've been told to just loop the 2 lines into each other and don't put them back in the rad. Thoughts? And BTW, the rad does not come with fittings for these lines. Can I reuse the current ones if I go that route or buy new ones? What size are they?

Certain people prove they should not be listened to. Whomever told you to just loop it is that person. You should be able to reuse the fittings.

It's not like your cab heater, in which if you don't care about heat you bypass it. Not only do you want it, I think an additional external cooler on trucks is a very good idea.

You can loop the trans line together if you only plan on driving it up and down the driveway. More then that I would add an aftermarket trans cooler, the biggest one you can find if your pulling a trailer, or the 2nd biggest if your only driving around. Don't waste your money on the small ones. Gene

I'm thinking about adding an external filter too. Prolong the life of trans, along with the external auxillary cooler

B&M Super Cooler is a really nice piece.

As I dig into it, there is an existing cooler in between the rad and condenser. Never had an issue before, so I will just continue to use this one. Thanks