So I noticed this little mini radiator looking thing that is literally dangling in front under my grill. I’ve looked it up to see what it is but I don’t know for sure if its transmission fluid cooler or oil cooler? And how would I go about hanging it back up correctly to avoid future damage? I’m not sure how it was originally mounted in there as this is the first time I have ever noticed it.
Follow the hoses that connect it back to the source. It likely is a power steering cooler if small, but could be an oil cooler (larger) or transmission cooler (larger yet).
As for how you hang it back up… figure it out. It is right in front of you. Part of being a diy mechanic is figuring things out. There is likely a bracket with a hole on the car and cooler. Or maybe it rusted away. Heck, use zip ties to put it back.
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A picture is worth a thousand words… Post a pic of it…
Does it look like this?
Could even be an aftermarket trans cooler if any transmission work has been done to it or even a tow hitch put on it… Again a pic would be very helpful…
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Might even be able to use a kit like this to reinstall it, depending on what it is and how it was mounted before…
Won’t help for this particular problem, but suggest to take a bevy of photos of the engine compartment with your cell phone and archive them on a CD or DVD, then you’ll have a way to see how the engine compartment parts fit together if anything comes loose in the future. Good time to take photos of the vin label and the under-hood emissions service data and vacuum hose routing labels too. There’s often labels on the door pillars and in the trunk that can also prove helpful so take a photo of those too.
My guess, that’s for cooling the power steering fluid.