Dodge Repair: Transmission Cooler Lines, thread sealant, rubber hoses

Question
I have a 92 Dodge Dakota. I installed a new radiator recently and put the old transmission cooler on the new radiator. I now have leaks at the transmission cooler lines on the bottom of the radiator. Everything seems tight but they still leak. I think I either have a faulty transission cooler, bad cooler line hoses, or I put the hoses back on wrong. Could you explain the correct pattern to install the transmission cooler line hoses? Thank You.
p.s. There is no diagram in my manual.

Answer
If you've got rubber hoses that go right to the radiator fittings then chances are the hoses may have been torn by the clamps or during the removal process.  There's been a couple of service bulletins that came out regarding using a new style clamp that does not cut in to the hoses while tightening.  You can get them from the dealer for maybe 1.50 to 2.50 each and they are blue.  

If there's enough slack in the hoses you should be able to cut off the ends and get to a fresher section of hose to use.

There have also been problems with these types of hoses where the rubber hose meets a compression fitting that joins it to the metal tubing.  If you are leaking there then you will need new hoses.

One thing to remember is that if you decide to patch any of this up with new rubber hose make sure it's specifically for transmission or hydraulic lines.  Using a vacuum or coolant hose will lead to more troubles because they both swell up when exposed to lots of oil.

If you've got the kind that screw directly to fittings on the radiator then you may have over-tightened them or may just need to use thread sealant on reinstallation.  If you've over-tightened it then you will need to inspect the flared section of the metal tube as well as the flaring on the fitting going in to the radiator.

Let me know if you need any more info.
Doug