2004 Concorde Transmission Cooler

[copcap96]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2004 Concorde with the 2.7 liter engine. I have had it for about 2.5 years now. It has had a slight transmission fluid leak since I got it. It is dripping from the transmission cooler. A dealership told me that it is from the fittings at the cooler, and that they are stuck on and might break if they try to remove them.

I hate taking cars to dealerships because they always seem to just want to over charge for un needed work, but my girlfriend worked there at the time which is why it went there. They said they would need to replace everything and it would cost $600-800.

I recently saw on rockauto.com that they have the coolers for $25-60 and the kit comes with rubber hoses instead of steel lines. Is this common, and ok to use? The other issue I noticed is that according to that website the 2.7 liter engine did not have any coolers, but the 3.5 did. Was this an option on the 2.7, or was this put on after?

Lastly, is it really as easy as just removing the old cooler, cutting the steel lines near the transmission, mounting the new cooler, and running the new rubber lines to the cut steel lines and clamping them on?

Thanks for any help or advice.