I was inspecting a truck a female friend bought...and i noticed this...what exactly is this item? its right above and in front of the front axle...pictures are taken from under the front bumper facing the back of the truck. Its a 1999 XLT 4x4 with a 5.4L.

 

Looks like someone added an external transmission filter. It is not factory.

 

thanks..theres not one on mine so i knew it wasnt factory...any suggestions on what should be done about it? just replace it with any generic similar sized one? or you got any recommendations?

 

I am personally not a big fan of external filters when you can get to the filter in the pan. They also, as you can see, have a tendency to leak after a while.

However, there are some transmissions that do not have replaceable filters (without pulling the trans), and for those, my Buddy uses these:


Or, you could just patch some hose across there and be done with it.

 

Thanks white, ill probably just replace it with hose cause thats free to me instead of buying a filter.

 

Any chance that's a check valve to or from the cooler?

 

Honestly, no clue..how would i figure out if thats what it is?

 

i dont think so. their usually not that big

 

Agreed, and they're usually at the case instead of the middle of the line like this. Then again I've seen a lot of 6 pack, shade tree mechanic solutions that can raise an eyebrow if you know what I mean? LOL

 

this is the transmission cooler line on a 1998 i replaced a few years go. i drew an arrow on the check valve. the owner bought a check valve delete kit and i installed it. basically bypasses the check valves