dallison

my wifes 01 sport with 120k was shifting hard today. I checked the fluid and it was red and looked slightly milky. We had the trans fluid changed around 40k miles ago.

After searching, it seems like there could be corrosion in the radiator allowing the coolant to mix with the trans fluid. Would it be better to change out the radiator and do the coolant and trans flush? Or should i take it to the stealership and let them check it out?

dallison

the coolant smells like trans fluid. I think a radiator change and fluid flush is in order.

mt_goat

Oh no....not another one: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/b...cooler-126953/

dallison

considering that we really haven't had to do any repairs, this won't be too bad

dallison

I just ordered the radiator from rockauto for $120. I have almost 2 gallons of the red coolant and all i need to get now is the trans fluid.

I also have to replace the center exhaust on our integra and change the oil on the boxster. It looks like it will be a long weekend soon.

stir_fry_boy

I feel the same way, when it rains it pours. I just finished 4 motor mounts, belts and brakes in my wife's V6 Accord, changed the oil, tranny fluid and dropped the gas tank in the T4R to change the check valve, fuel cutoff valve and gasket, and still got to change the power steering reservoir on my V6 Camry so I can sell it....I feel your pain bro.

dallison

i removed the radiator last night . I only snapped the two bolts at the side near the bottom of the radiator and stripped one of the skid plate bolts. I have 3 new bolts on order and should have the new radiator today.

The one trans line coming in just fell off as i was taking off the clamp. the coolant was milky and so was the trans fluid. .

so i am thinking now htat the radiator is off, i need to do things in a specific order to keep things clean.
so i may drain the trans fluid. I don't know if there is a way to drain the engine of the coolant, but if anyone has any suggestions i would appreciate it.

jvh4513

Perhaps hookup a female to female connector on the transmission lines.. then turn on the engine and run a garden hose into the top radiator hose..

jimig

FWIW, If you're not flushing the transmission, Anticipate a shift solenoid to go bad shortly thereafter. Not sure about the water pump, and thermostat being contaminated, But I would at least clean them if not replace them.

nah2323

rut roh rorge.

Oh the famous separator failure! Mine did it, and its been good so far (6-7k) thats the last project I want to tackle right now. At least a have a few extra vehicles to drive should it happen.

OP - pay the dealer for two power flushes. trust me. anitfreeze eats the friction disc adhesive.

dallison

are you talking about the trans fluid or coolant?

nah2323

i did both, the trans twice and the coolant once. the more important one is the trans flush. They can tell if the fluid has contaminants (i.e. antifreeze.) It's well worth the $125 clip. Hopefully you or your wife caught it fast enough. Did the car ever overheat?

dallison

the car didn't over heat, thank god.

I just got finished replacing some of the fluids.

I used 20 quarts of trans fluid until it became somewhat red.
I left the trans lines off the radiator and left a bucket under the line that pushed the fluid into the radiator. I used a funnel and poured in half the trans fluid yesterday and the other half today. It looks pretty decent but i still have the appt. saturday to flush the trans.

The other issue i have is that i can't seem to get all the coolant clear of the excess fluid.

I left both radiator hoses off the radiator. I turned on the truck and let it run. I kept feeding water into the top hose as it was getting sucked into the motor slowly. some of the overflow from the top hose would show some fluid that backed out and i would dump it. I did this for a half hour and then i filled up the radiator with coolant.

the trans fluid kept rearing its ugly head and made its way to the top.

Maybe a coolant flush is in order........

dallison

the trans flush went well. Everything shifts fine and it seems there are no adverse affects.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to flush the coolant and i still get some trans fluid that rises. I think i may have to work on it a little more.

stir_fry_boy

My oh my, this is a lot of pain......I would rather pay $80 for a tranny cooler then have to worry about this......My brother doesn't think it is that important (he has a 98 Limited). I am going to bypass the OE tranny cooler when I do my timing belt for sure.

dallison

it has been a month and all is well.

The trans fluid is still red and shifting fine with no ill effects.

I inquired about the coolant flush, but it was around $130 to do it, so i declined. I opted to use the garden hose.

I opened the petcock on the radiator and let the motor run. I disconnected the top radiator hose and kept feeding in clean water. I did this for about 20 min until clear and then filled with with coolant.

Now the only problem with this is, there was still some trans fluid in the cooling system. So we drove the vehicle a while.

When the coolant cycled through the system, the trans fluid would float to the top and deposit itself in the overflow tank.

I would clean out the overflow tank and then repeat the cycle with the garden hose.

This last time i got it all out and all is clean and clear.

mt_goat

Good to hear! Keep us updated on it.