Got the radiator out tonight. You can see my fitting in question at the bottom right, next to the drain valve. Notice that it has a restricted orifice.
Full size image here: https://i.imgur.com/Kp1j02l.jpg
Good radiator shop should be able to set you up with the port needed or use the drain or put a T on the drain.
I am taking this radiator to a radiator shop tomorrow. He claims to be able to hot tank radiators, so this may be an old-school shop capable of doing a full rebuild. When I pulled the radiator I noticed some discoloration on the fins at the top of the radiator near the fill neck - you can see it in the picture above. This makes me think there may be some small leaks. I am going to see if he can rebuild the entire radiator.
However, like you said, maybe they can modify a modern radiator to have the new port. Or, just use the drain port and put in a tee, like you suggested. That's a great idea!
I was not able to get clear pictures of the bypass hose plumbing routing due to the fan shroud and other stuff in the way from me removing the radiator. But I did grab this shot:
Full size here: https://i.imgur.com/VBDOS5x.jpg
One hose comes from the intake manifold under the thermostat housing. I presume this is the outlet. This is the run that has the Tee that goes to the radiator lower fitting, so that would make sense that it is pumping coolant into the radiator from down below.
The other hose goes into the water pump. Presumably that is the inlet.
I'm curious as to why it would be necessary to pre-heat cold transmission fluid anyway. Don't they run better colder? Maybe they actually provide
cooling for the transmission before the thermostat opens up? This shouldn't be necessary if you have an external transmission fluid cooler like I do though.
As part of this repair work I am installing a dual temperature gauge in the dash with a thermal sensor in a new water neck for the engine coolant and I have to figure out something for the transmission sensor.
Steve
