Water In The Transmission!!!

[Woody35]

So im pouring in the coolant after a 3 week injector, glowplug, pmd relocation, and oil cooler line job and it starts leaking under the truck. look under the truck and there is a small pinhole on the bellhousing that is pouring out coolant.

i then checked the tranny dipdtick and of course its all the way filled with coolant. well i figured out that the tranny cooler goes through the radiator to act like an air to water intercooler for the tranny fluid. i figure somehow the lines broke and coolant ran down into the tranny.

drained the tranny fluid/coolant and decided to look at it tommorrow. so you guys think i need new tranny cooler lines and cooler. any suggestions.

i guess the only good news to come out of this thouh is that the magnet had very little metal shavings so the transmission was not abused.

 

[3500GMC]

If you didn't start it with the coolant in the trans pan, you should be OK. Definitely flush the lines and get a new rad. Or bypass the trans cooler with a big external jobby.

Keep an eye on the trans fluid.

 

[Franko914]

So im pouring in the coolant after a 3 week injector, glowplug, pmd relocation, and oil cooler line job and it starts leaking under the truck. look under the truck and there is a small pinhole on the bellhousing that is pouring out coolant.

i then checked the tranny dipdtick and of course its all the way filled with coolant. well i figured out that the tranny cooler goes through the radiator to act like an air to water intercooler for the tranny fluid. i figure somehow the lines broke and coolant ran down into the tranny.

drained the tranny fluid/coolant and decided to look at it tommorrow. so you guys think i need new tranny cooler lines and cooler. any suggestions.

i guess the only good news to come out of this thouh is that the magnet had very little metal shavings so the transmission was not abused.

The transmission oil gets displaced by the heavier coolant which then settles at the bottom of the pan. The tranny oil should have still shown up on the dipstick, above the coolant.

Cut the transmission lines into-out of the radiator (not too short so you can plug the stubs out of the radiator), run a tranny-rated hose between the lines to-from the transmission, clamp them down and check for leaks. Don't start it until you've drained all coolant out.

Good luck. Franko

 

[bk95td]

Less than a teaspoon of anti-freeze in a tranny will make junk of it if it is ran. Been there done that. A new rad. and a couple of tranny fluid changes are in order. The tranny needs to have the cooler in the rad. to temper the fluid in lower temps. The external trans cooler will actually cool too much in cold conditions.

 

[WarWagon]

Less than a teaspoon of anti-freeze in a tranny will make junk of it if it is ran. Been there done that. A new rad. and a couple of tranny fluid changes are in order. The tranny needs to have the cooler in the rad. to temper the fluid in lower temps. The external trans cooler will actually cool too much in cold conditions.

Oh BS!:icon_bs: Explain to me again how the COLD side of the radiator in cold weather is going to heat anything up? Yeah doesn't happen.

Please point out a transmission failure from overcooling/lack of warm up? Anyone? I have several examples of intercooler pinhole leaks ruining my transmissions (3 so far.) So overcooling 0 failures: Tank failures 3 rebuilds.

Radiator intercoolers are a cheap way to cool the transmission risking the entire unit to coolant damage. This is something OEM's like to do: save money.

Never mind the glue on the clutches dissolves in water. Bearings rust and lockup.. All from a little coolant.

I usually bypass the radiator, use a large air to oil cooler, and never look back. Franko914 has it right, loop a hose from top to bottom to "plug" the radiator leaky intercooler and use a large trans oil to air cooler...

 

[bk95td]

Perhaps you know more than the oem and aftermarket engineers do. All heavy duty cooling set ups I've seen run the cooler line through the rad on the return side. All aftermarket trans coolers that I have installed for the last 30+ years recomend running the return through the rad. Where you live you don't see the -25 that I do. Trannys don't want to work when they are that cold. The cold side of the rad is still quite a bit warmer than the air. If the tranny fluid temp doesnt get uo to 160+ the moisture will not come out of it. Too cold tranny or hydraulic oil will make increased pressure wich will blow out seals, internal and external. Optimal lubrication and flow are not acheaved at lower temps also. Perhaps I know nothing but I've witnessed hydraulic failure from low temps. The co.I used to work for would not operate their cranes and forklifts in below -15f temps because of the damage that had happened. Special low temp hydraulic fluids are used in canada and the arctic .

 

[WarWagon]

I just get tired of this false myth going around. So nothing personal.

Transmission shops have to be careful when test driving and then repairing transmissions. The engine can be cold to the touch but the trans oil can burn you. Start the engine, do a brake stall for 30 seconds and then shut it down. The transmission cooler lines will be hot but you can lean on the cold engine! Yes, in cold weather you must warm up stuff before driving. AZ gets both temp extremes.

Your tongue will stick to the cold side of the radiator. It isn't helping heat anything up. The Heavy Duty cooling shown below and confirmed at U-haul and Hayden... Hot oil to be "quenched" in the radiator and then sent to the external oil cooler... Delivering the coldest oil possible to the transmission. Any heat that may have been transferred to the oil from the cold side will be removed in the next cooler...

All the radiator does is add a quench effect, put the heat through the engine before going to the air... A bad design as the engine is working hard when the trans is getting hot. You don't need to put the extra heat through the engine and risk cavitation before the water pump. I just get pissed, due to $1500 a wack rebuilds, that this stupid design that no one questions keeps going on as the gospel. At least understand it's design intention is to quench hot oil - not heat it. Smaller cooling systems have arrived but this old school idea has not taken this into account. I am sure there will be no argument about small cooling systems from most GM esp the 6.5 and 6.6 diesel owners who work it hard.

 

[94K30]

If you are worried about overcooling the tranny fluid, you can get a thermostatic bypass for your external cooler

 

[Mudbath]

"Yes, in cold weather you must warm up stuff before driving. AZ gets both temp extremes."

Your extremes aren't like ares when it comes to cold. Last night just north of where I live was -46° C which is -50.8° F. Takes a bit to get anything to flow at that temp. With the wind chill that was -59° C which is -74.2° F. So if your truck was warm and you shut it off for 30 min it would be -50.8° F again.

 

[Woody35]

im going to pressurize the system and check for leaks. i can personally attest to the cold transmission being a problem. when its this cold and i start up my truck my transmission will not shift at the right rpms till i drive a few blocks. it was -10 the other day so im going to stick to the stock setup for now i think

 

[Franko914]

im going to pressurize the system and check for leaks. i can personally attest to the cold transmission being a problem. when its this cold and i start up my truck my transmission will not shift at the right rpms till i drive a few blocks. it was -10 the other day so im going to stick to the stock setup for now i think

I would convert to synthetic tranny oil if everything else checks mechanically with the tranny itself. Our 86 NA 6.2 sub wouldn't shift out of 1st until I had driven it 6 to 8 blocks. I replaced 2 quarts of the dino-based tranny fluid with synthetic and the problem went away. Miss that sub...

Regards,
Franko

 

[Woody35]

yup thats what im going to do.

 

[Woody35]

i got a question for all you transmission experts. im lookng at alldata and it says the 4L80E transmission with a drain and refill takes 7.7 quarts. then it says with a complete overhaul it takes 13.5 quarts. im most likely going to replace the lines and cooler so would that constintute 13.5 quarts or the 7.7.

 

[NVW]

"Yes, in cold weather you must warm up stuff before driving. AZ gets both temp extremes."

Your extremes aren't like ares when it comes to cold. Last night just north of where I live was -46° C which is -50.8° F. Takes a bit to get anything to flow at that temp. With the wind chill that was -59° C which is -74.2° F. So if your truck was warm and you shut it off for 30 min it would be -50.8° F again.

That's cold, it was a balmy -37*C here last night, sucks to be you):h

 

[3500GMC]

i got a question for all you transmission experts. im lookng at alldata and it says the 4L80E transmission with a drain and refill takes 7.7 quarts. then it says with a complete overhaul it takes 13.5 quarts. im most likely going to replace the lines and cooler so would that constintute 13.5 quarts or the 7.7.

More like maybe 9 quarts for what you're doing. The TC holds A BUNCH.

 

[WarWagon]

As to on topic, A rebuild includes draining the converter. Something a pan drop and cooler replacement won't do. This is where the quart differences between a rebuild and pan drop come into play.

Some transmissions are programed to delay upshifting to help warm up the engine for emissions reasons. Gear selection is electronic on the 4l80E...

A flush may or may not get the water out if it made it to the converter. You risk nothing in trying as a rebuild is still a rebuild. Well maybe extra expense of hard parts like spinning a bearing and having the case welded up to fix it from one of my coolant in transmission episodes.

AZ is in the cold running at -40.

http://phoenix.about.com/cs/weather/a/weathertrivia.htm

I 100% agree with a thermostat or a cooler design that allows cold oil to mostly bypass it.

 

[ak diesel driver]

How about dropping the pan changing filter then diconnecting th tranny line and let the tranny pump fluid out until it looks good . Might use more than 13 then

 

[Woody35]

How about dropping the pan changing filter then diconnecting th tranny line and let the tranny pump fluid out until it looks good . Might use more than 13 then

thats probably what im going to do

 

[Woody35]

got a update for you guys. coolant was not in the transmission after i looked in the fluid again. i guess i was smelling all the stuff on the ground. well im kinda embarrsed but i only got one part of the gasket on the crossover one one side. so when i poured water in it would leak amd go down the engine valley. then it would run across top of tranny and into the pinhole. put some synethic dexron 6 and the truck is back on the road. this is after my 3 week injectors, glowplugs, oil cooler lines, and relocated pmd job. im just glad its done and it drives good.

 

[dangerousdave]

Happy Christmas.