Thread: How screwed am I?

I wouldn't stick a fork in it just yet. Wouldn't take it to a shop either. Use the trans pump to "flush" it. Sounds like you're pretty mechanically inclined, so here's what I would do...

1.) Drop pan. Change filter. They're cheap.
2.) Button it back up. Dump in a gallon and a half of ATF. Do NOT start it yet.
3.) Remove return cooler line, direct it into a drain pan
4.) Run engine 3 seconds at a time until fluid looks good/clean. Remember to replace whatever fluid you pump out
5.) Re-attach cooler line. Top off fluid.

Monitor the fluid condition. You may need to change fluid one more time to get all the coolant out. It may not work, but I'd roll the dice on $40 worth of fluid vs whatever a trans shop would charge.

Originally Posted by BrandonHall10

I wouldn't stick a fork in it just yet. Wouldn't take it to a shop either. Use the trans pump to "flush" it. Sounds like you're pretty mechanically inclined, so here's what I would do...

1.) Drop pan. Change filter. They're cheap.
2.) Button it back up. Dump in a gallon and a half of ATF. Do NOT start it yet.
3.) Remove return cooler line, direct it into a drain pan
4.) Run engine 3 seconds at a time until fluid looks good/clean. Remember to replace whatever fluid you pump out
5.) Re-attach cooler line. Top off fluid.

Monitor the fluid condition. You may need to change fluid one more time to get all the coolant out. It may not work, but I'd roll the dice on $40 worth of fluid vs whatever a trans shop would charge.

I was gonna say flush it and see how it does after that but brandon beat me to it, and in greater detail.

Flush it, don't panic, monitor it.

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How common is this? This is like the 3-4 time hearing about this and about 2-3rd one I have actually seen in the junkyard where the internal cooler has failed?

Jeff

It's common, but uncommon at the same time.

So many vehicles (cars anyway) run this style of cooler, the older the car gets the more prone to a failure like this. But thats not to say a new radiator couldn't have the same issue. I've only seen this happen a handful of times in the shop and saying why or how it happened is hard to explain to someone.

I have seen it a time or 2 in the past on other cars (late 70's-80's) but when I went to the JY to pull the cover for the accumulator cover I ran into several that were this way. Wonder if they were running straight water for some time?

Jeff

You want the one that attaches horizontally to the trans.

I just saved you a step.

when we flushed my brothers truck tranny the how to said to use a clear tube off the tranny line, when you see air bubbles in the line turn the engine off, install more new fluid, repeat till clean fluid comes out.