Radiator Failure...Tranny Fluid mix

[MDimitri]

Talk about bad flippin luck! I ordered a new tranny cooler last week so that I could separate my tranny fluid from my Rad, the tranny cooler was slated to arrive on Wednesday April 11th and I have the truck scheduled to go in and get that installed along with some other minor items. Last night I took my two boys out to see the movie called The Robinsons, as we left the theatre I noticed a slight lag in the tranny shifting, right after that I saw a message come up on the display stating that my engine coolant is low...well I don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what just happened. I got home okay due to the fact the theatre was only 4 miles away from the house. My question is what can I do now? Warranty is no longer available...Tranny is okay, it did not seize nor did I loose any shifting ability. I will more than likely need to replace all the hose's with new ones and have both the tranny and Rad flushed completely, I will also replace the Coolant resevoir due to it honeycomb construction of the inside bottom. I of course will have the tranny cooler installed and seal off the tranny coolant lines from the Rad. Do you guy's think this will be sufficient? or will I have to replace the transmission? I have read quite a bit about this occuring when an improper mixture of Dexcool and water is used, it should always be a mix of 50% - 50% Dexcool and Distilled Water, not regular water from a tap, what I am wondering about is when the dealership maintained the coolant levels did they use the distilled water or did they use regular water? I have read alot about class action cases involving Dexcool, does anyone know what the outcomes have been? Has there been some kind of TSB issued or recall? As far as I have read there have been well over 2600 cases of this happening with my year of truck.

[MONSTERMATT]

that sucks , my buddy and i are doing the tranny cooler install this week, did you order the tru cool 4739? where did u order it from? what did u pay?? good luck with your isssue and let us know haw it works out

[Gooey Gaybob]

Originally Posted by MDimitri

Talk about bad flippin luck! I ordered a new tranny cooler last week so that I could separate my tranny fluid from my Rad, the tranny cooler was slated to arrive on Wednesday April 11th and I have the truck scheduled to go in and get that installed along with some other minor items. Last night I took my two boys out to see the movie called The Robinsons, as we left the theatre I noticed a slight lag in the tranny shifting, right after that I saw a message come up on the display stating that my engine coolant is low...well I don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what just happened. I got home okay due to the fact the theatre was only 4 miles away from the house. My question is what can I do now? Warranty is no longer available...Tranny is okay, it did not seize nor did I loose any shifting ability. I will more than likely need to replace all the hose's with new ones and have both the tranny and Rad flushed completely, I will also replace the Coolant resevoir due to it honeycomb construction of the inside bottom. I of course will have the tranny cooler installed and seal off the tranny coolant lines from the Rad. Do you guy's think this will be sufficient? or will I have to replace the transmission? I have read quite a bit about this occuring when an improper mixture of Dexcool and water is used, it should always be a mix of 50% - 50% Dexcool and Distilled Water, not regular water from a tap, what I am wondering about is when the dealership maintained the coolant levels did they use the distilled water or did they use regular water? I have read alot about class action cases involving Dexcool, does anyone know what the outcomes have been? Has there been some kind of TSB issued or recall? As far as I have read there have been well over 2600 cases of this happening with my year of truck.

Don't worry too much about the distilled water thing, not really that big of a deal. For the rest, just flush the engine, flush the trans, replace the reservoir and the hoses, and hope for the best. Water/coolant will actually delaminate the friction material off the clutch discs in the trans, so the sooner you get it flushed out of there the better. Your trans will most likely be OK, but only time will tell on that one. BTW, have it towed to the shop too.

[Tex_h2]

Originally Posted by Gooey Gaybob

Don't worry too much about the distilled water thing, not really that big of a deal. For the rest, just flush the engine, flush the trans, replace the reservoir and the hoses, and hope for the best. Water/coolant will actually delaminate the friction material off the clutch discs in the trans, so the sooner you get it flushed out of there the better. Your trans will most likely be OK, but only time will tell on that one. BTW, have it towed to the shop too.

What the hell, you actually have something postive to say on this site. Wow......

[Gooey Gaybob]

Originally Posted by Tex_h2

What the hell, you actually have something postive to say on this site. Wow......

I'm just waiting for his first "do you like my new blingin 30" wheels post" to tear him up.

[MDimitri]

I had the truck towed tonight, I'll be talking to the service rep tomorrow. Here is a great piece of info on flushing the Transmission and what type of flush is the best for your transmission:

Transmission Flush, Use Caution!

[MDimitri]

Originally Posted by MONSTERMATT

that sucks , my buddy and i are doing the tranny cooler install this week, did you order the tru cool 4739? where did u order it from? what did u pay?? good luck with your isssue and let us know haw it works out

I picked up The Hayden Unit 405 from Partsource, I paid $97.00 which included the tranny fluid warm up bypass unit, I need this in Canada, it's winter for almost 6 months up here and it is recommended to be installed.

[Gooey Gaybob]

Originally Posted by MDimitri

I had the truck towed tonight, I'll be talking to the service rep tomorrow. Here is a great piece of info on flushing the Transmission and what type of flush is the best for your transmission:

Transmission Flush, Use Caution!

I am not a firm beleiver in synthetic transmission fluid, but to each his own on that subject. I only skimmed the text on the page you posted. I would not recommend using any type of flush additive to your transmission. Use only the proper trans fluid that your trans calls for. Fluid conditioners are Ok after the flushing has been performed, but the flush crap has a bad habit of screwing up the torque converters. The flush compund will likely cause a shudder during TCC lock-up if it is not completely and throughly flushed out before driving.

[finbox]

what model year did the mixing problem effect?

[MDimitri]

2003.

[Vettster]

Originally Posted by finbox

what model year did the mixing problem effect?

Seen this problem posted quite a few times.
Just want to ask has anything been chaqnged on the newer models to prevent this?

[jmsspratlin]

Originally Posted by Vettster

Seen this problem posted quite a few times.
Just want to ask has anything been chaqnged on the newer models to prevent this?

I sure hope so! I read back a few threads and was discouraged to find this happening. I looked back over my paperwork to ensure that I did indeed get the 100K mile warranty add-on. Sorry to those this is happening to, really sucks to own a lux type vehicle of this costs only to have it screw up more than most Geo Metro's. J