66RFE Transmission - Thermal Bypass Install Help

[HEMIMANN]

What a minute, guys - the thermostat was ADDED only starting 2013........there were no thermostats before that. Did transmissions fail without thermostats? Of course not! Sure, they were stiff and shifted hard for a mile or so when it's cold out, but so what? Transmission oils, even before synthetics, were heavily pour point depressed with additives so they'd flow at subzero temperatures.

The addition of a thermostat was not to improve cold temperature transmission performance - it was to get an infinitesimal increase in fuel economy in cold climates. Period. I've never had a transmission run this hot before - heat is the life shortener of both transmission oil and and transmissions - not cold.

 

[Gr8bawana]

After looking at the ends of the trans lines going into and out of the valve I'm wondering why you couldn't just install 2 lengths of high pressure hydraulic line with clamps?

 

[HEMIMANN]

After looking at the ends of the trans lines going into and out of the valve I'm wondering why you couldn't just install 2 lengths of high pressure hydraulic line with clamps?

Me too. I just came in from working on the tractor. I've never seen a crazy hydraulic fitting like on the front of the truck transmission cooler valve block. Granted most construction equipment has gone to quick disconnect, but still.

 

[GsRAM]

@HEMIMANN

I have seen a few videos on this mod and plan on installing it next year when my truck is out of warranty.

Is your kit from the one diesel OEM that includes the metal nipple for the filter inside the trans pan?

That is the one I was thinking about. Just curious. I can't remember the name now.

Of course as you said the videos make it seem fake easy to install. Thanks for your real world feedback so I'm prepared to fight with it.

 

[mtofell]

Did transmissions fail without thermostats? Of course not!

Dodge/Ram, etc. has been churning out crappy transmissions as long as I've been alive... certainly before 2013.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Dodge/Ram, etc. has been churning out crappy transmissions as long as I've been alive... certainly before 2013.

Failures were not attributable to overheating. They have been since 2013.

 

[HEMIMANN]

@HEMIMANN

I have seen a few videos on this mod and plan on installing it next year when my truck is out of warranty.

Is your kit from the one diesel OEM that includes the metal nipple for the filter inside the trans pan?

That is the one I was thinking about. Just curious. I can't remember the name now.

Of course as you said the videos make it seem fake easy to install. Thanks for your real world feedback so I'm prepared to fight with it.

This is a different topic. The thermostat bypass valve block doesn't have anything to do with internal transmission parts. So, no. It is from RevMax. I don't recall seeing RevMax on our vendor sites. The other vendor I saw was ATS. Then there is a new one mentioned with a on / off bypass valve that I'm uninterested in.

 

[GsRAM]

This is a different topic. The thermostat bypass valve block doesn't have anything to do with internal transmission parts. So, no. It is from RevMax. I don't recall seeing RevMax on our vendor sites. The other vendor I saw was ATS. Then there is a new one mentioned with a on / off bypass valve that I'm uninterested in.

I thought it was the same. The bypass is external, similar to the one you are installing, but it comes with a metal nipple for the screw on in the pan trans filter.

I'll have to search for it. Thanks

 

[HEMIMANN]

I thought it was the same. The bypass is external, similar to the one you are installing, but it comes with a metal nipple for the screw on in the pan trans filter.

I'll have to search for it. Thanks

Nope - the metal nipple is for the screw-on transmission oil filter cartridge inside the transmission pan. The bypass valve block is inserted into the transmission line going to the oil cooler radiator in front of the truck. The transmission lines run from the transmission case to the radiator and back.

 

[HEMIMANN]

It's installed!!! Proper tools + proper knowledge, + 2 guys = 30 minutes. Oil drainage is app. 10 ounces.

Pics to follow, including before / after transmission oil temperatures, after fully warmed up oil.


Edit: Here's a not-too-exciting pic of the RevMax flow-through housing as-received and installed...



View attachment 243306

 

[GsRAM]

Nope - the metal nipple is for the screw-on transmission oil filter cartridge inside the transmission pan. The bypass valve block is inserted into the transmission line going to the oil cooler radiator in front of the truck. The transmission lines run from the transmission case to the radiator and back.

Yes what you said is what I meant. Sorry for the confusion.

Glad you got it done! Looking forward to your pics.

 

[HEMIMANN]

New pics above - I guess the forum doesn't show edits to existing posts as new posts, so you wouldn't know I updated.

Edit: test drive this evening sans phone camera = 127F deg oil temp. a 40F degree temperature reduction. I'll get a pic soon and show both for comparisons.

 

[GsRAM]

Looks great man! Good work.

I will be completing this mod next summer probably when I drop the pan to change the trans fluid and filters.

Hopefully mine will go smoother than yours.

What was the secret to getting those clips/ retainers out?

 

[HEMIMANN]

Looks great man! Good work.

I will be completing this mod next summer probably when I drop the pan to change the trans fluid and filters.

Hopefully mine will go smoother than yours.

What was the secret to getting those clips/ retainers out?

I guess I should have made a complete video, huh? Except I'm not a young, frisky technofile.
Anyway, the secret is a pick tool set. I have one, but didn't understand what I was facing until a member suggested. It works. You have to use the angle pick to pull the wire out from the groove, then a small flat screwdriver or your fingers to pull it out of its 3 retainer holes.

To install the new block, you first screw in the two new line connectors that come with it. Don't torque them - they're o-ring face seals with standard threads, not pipe threads. Install the new wire clips into the grooves next. You just push them into the slot and the 3 retainer holes. The transmission cooler lines push into the new connectors and click when past the clips. The cooler lines have a bevel bead ramp for pushing into the wire retainer protrusions.

After we removed the OEM block, I was shocked to see they MILLED the retainer slots from the aluminum valve block body! Couldn't have made a more expensive, absurd design if they tried. Furthermore, I would have been rejected for trying to release a part with a different attachment design on each end. What a Rube Goldberg device.

And yes, you are planning same thing I did - it is important to remove the thermostat when you put in new oil so you don't cook your new oil. The stuff ain't cheap, and ATF changing isn't exactly easy when you got to re-make an RTV gasket each time on the oil pan.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Check it out. Look at the outdoor temperature in the upper right corner of the display.

 

[wgreggking]

My ATS came with the metal nipple for the filter.

 

[HEMIMANN]

My ATS came with the metal nipple for the filter.

Do you know what the build date was? Mine was early Jan. 2017, and plastic.

 

[wgreggking]

Do you know what the build date was? Mine was early Jan. 2017, and plastic.

Not the truck ,the ATS brand bypass came with it.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Ok, I still don't get why a vendor of a transmission oil cooling line replacement block would send a metal oil filter nipple with the unrelated valve block. I mean, why not a tube of RTV gasket maker for the oil pan, too?

 

[GsRAM]

I believe a Bonus for purchasing their product, which I just did a few days ago. I'm grateful for it. Seems like a high quality piece. It will be installed tomorrow probably.

I have everything torn down now and just got the ATS kit this evening.