Coolant getting in transmission fluid, Help..

raggedyann · Oct 7, 2015

1998 ranger 4.0
I was in my driveway and saw a puddle under the truck.
crawled under it and fluid coming out the tranny overflow tube. Milky looking and radiator is low on coolant.
pulled tranny dipstick and overfull, milky watery looking
Hows it getting water in tranny ??

adsm08 · Oct 7, 2015

You need a new radiator. The primary trans cooler is an aluminum tank in the one side tower of the radiator. It is oil to water, to the cooler is immersed in coolant. It gets a hole and BAM, coolant in the trans.

Mickey Bitsko · Oct 7, 2015

Just curious , will this radiator failure require a transmission flush and new filter?

Big Jim M · Oct 7, 2015

Yes! I would Not start THE ENGINE until done!
Big Jim

Spott · Oct 7, 2015

The snot produced when the coolant mixes with the transmission oil will gum up the transmission badly. It's also quite poor as a lubricant. Avoid running it, and make sure you clean out the transmission after you replace the radiator.

adsm08 · Oct 7, 2015

Frankly, if you already have strawberry milkshake in the trans I would not hold out high hopes for it's survival.

Transmission clutches are glued to their plates with, well with glue. There are two main types of glues. There are water based glues, and oil based glues. Water based glues stand up to oil very well, but dissolve quickly when exposed to water. Oil based glues stand up to water but dissolve quickly in oils, mineral spirits, and the like.

So given that information, guess what happens to an automatic trans when coolant gets in it.

kimcrwbr1 · Oct 7, 2015

Also the return line from the radiator to the transmission goes straight to the main bushings in the transmission. Water/glycol is a terrible lubricant. You can try flushing the tranny and you need to also drain the torque converter. There is a drain plug on the flex plate side of the converter just remove the dust plate and turn the motor over at the crank until you see the plug in the hole on the flex plate.

adsm08 · Oct 8, 2015

I don't think his trans has a drain on the converter. The 4.0 doesn't have a dust plate, it has a full-length oil pan. The bottom two bell bolts actually go into the oil pan, not the block.

raggedyann · Oct 8, 2015

thanks all, I dropped the pan and filter last night and let it drain. I haven't chked to see if the torque has a drain, will do that now. also got radiator out.
This sucks big time as I just changed trannys last winter.
I bet theres nothing I can run through it as a flush ?? mineral spirits too harsh ?

97RangerXLT · Oct 8, 2015

I think I would change out the torque converter and flush the tranny with transmission fluid.

then drive it for a few hundred miles and change the transmission fluid again.

Hopefully that will get all of the coolant out. I don't think you can get all of the fluid out of the TC, even with a drain plug.

AJ

adsm08 · Oct 8, 2015

If you want o try "flushing" at home I would go get about 24 qts of trans fluid, take the inbound line at the cooler and stick it in a drain pain. Start the engine and let it pump as much fluid as you can out, put that much fresh back in it, maybe a few qts more, let the pump run it all out again, repeat that a few times, and then fill it up.

The only reliable way to get all the coolant out of the converter is going to be a replacement, but even with all that, I still wouldn't hold out high hopes for this tranny.

enjr44 · Oct 8, 2015

It took 22 qts of fluid to flush the trans on my 08 and that was just maintenance (nothing wrong, just time to do it) using one of those fancy machines.

Me, I'd replace the radiator; but, not run the engine after (add as much coolant as you can). If you run the engine you are going to continue to circulate the water that is in the trans because the pumps will, well pump.

Then I would have it taken to a known, honest, shop and have them flush the trans. The only problem I see is I don't know how you are going to get enough coolant into the new rad without running the engine so that it won't over heat while they are flushing it. And, of course, getting it all out of the converter and that of course eventually put it back into the trans.

I suppose this isn't the first time this has happened to someone and they should know how to do it.

kimcrwbr1 · Oct 8, 2015

A small amount of water will eventually vent out, tranny fluid is expensive but a rebuild is alot more so! Maybe put the fluid in a clean bucket and let the water settle out of it just not sure if the glycol will separate as well?

shane96ranger · Oct 8, 2015

Uggghhh.... reading this makes me want to get on installing my trans cooler and bypassing the radiator all together. I'd hate to trash a brand new 4R70W.

Spott · Oct 9, 2015

kimcrwbr1 said:
A small amount of water will eventually vent out, tranny fluid is expensive but a rebuild is alot more so! Maybe put the fluid in a clean bucket and let the water settle out of it just not sure if the glycol will separate as well?

Not really, glycol + oil = plasticky snot, it only takes a little bit to cause it and the snot is really bad for bearings and filters and other small passages. If it were plain water it wouldn't be so bad, but the coolant make a giant mess.

Coolant getting in transmission fluid, Help..

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