Thread: ATF dip shows overfull & bubbly - cooler line leak from new rad

Update: Ok, got the leak slowed way down, if not stopped.

Pulled the top threaded piece, realized they already came with o-rings for the straight section of line. Neat. Cleaned up teflon and yellow thread sealer. Lost clip, so add that to the list for parts store.

Get up there, no one in town has fittings in big enough thread size. Nor do they sell just clips. Great. Have to buy a wrong-size fitting just to steal the clip from. Picked up that, o-ring assortment, and some blue loctite. Some of the fittings come with another o-ring that would get squeezed between shoulder of fitting and the rad itself. So lets try that.

Pull both threaded fittings from rad, hit lines with wire brush and inspect for damage. All gravy. Clean all threads with shop towel soaked in brake cleaner spray, add o-ring to outside threads, then hit it with a healthy glob of blue loctite. Thread in by hand, then get it nice and tight with the ratchet. Left clips out to make sure flare fits in firmly. Seat lines, replace clips. Clean up the mess from the drip, and hit the road. 20 mile round trip, all highway at 65 mph.

Theres a bit still coming from the bushing that holds rad in core support, and a few drops on LCA. Might be some i couldn't get soaked up. All in all, much cleaner than last time! No signs of leak from both actual fittings. Re-cleaned all mess from under car, gonna continue monitoring. For now, she's on light duty/parked, ol' blue (my pickup) is back to primary.

BTW, MacGyvered together a big syringe and some clear line to pull ATF thru dipstick. It... wasn't pretty. Way too damn dark for me to feel good about, so dropping the pan and fresh fluid is happening as soon as budget permits. I'll just get it at right level that way. Wanna wait til I have a shift-kit to go ahead and toss in while the pan is off and fluid drained.