Anybody ever had water in their trans.? Or how it could get in there? Am looking at a truck & the owner said his trans. shifted hard between 1st & 2nd so he took it in & the shop said there's water in trans. & won't cover it under warranty. Almost accusing him of pouring water down dipstick tube or submerging truck, neither of which happened. Any clues? Thanks.

 

Water in tranny fluid most likely coming from cooling lines going through the radiator. Could be a pinhole leak in one of the lines going through the radiator. May need a new radiator and may need a new transmission if damage done from water in tranny

 

Although hard to do, if you get in water up to the door sills I believe there is a vent hole on the top side of the tranny case.

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'99 EB Expy 4x4, 5.4L, 3.73LS w/tow pkg, Ox White, 4WAS Air Suspended
Stock except for: Auxiliary Battery, Re-located CD Player

 

With the tranny at a higher pressure than the radiator, wouldn't you see tranny fluid in the water and not the other way around?

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Mine: FOR SALE SOON...1997 F150,XLT,SC,Oxford white/maroon 60/40 cloth,4x4 ORP,4.6L,3.55LS,17" ORP wheels w/GY AT/S LT265/70/17,auto,6 CD,Towing package,alarm,Rhino grill guard w/PICCA lights,dual exhaust. Bought new June '96

Wife: '99Explorer Limited,pearl white/tan leather,4.0L,4:10LS,CD,sunroof,towing pkg.,alarm.

Next: 2001 F150 XLT SuperCrew, 5.4L, 4x4,3:55LS,tow pkg. etc.......

 

After its shut off, transmission-side pressure in cooler inside radiator goes to zero, but pressure in the radiator is still there, so leakage from antifreeze to ATF is possible. I don't think it takes much contamination from A/F to really mess things up.

 

So it should have fluid in the water and water in the fluid? One way when in running mode and one while parked? Just asking

[This message has been edited by Dewayne Fuller (edited 03-01-2000).]

 

Yes, I think so. But one way, ATF to radiator, will be relativily easy to check (oily sheen on top of the water in radiator). The other way, AF to trans, sure won't be easy to see. Will probably start gumming things up, like shift control pistons, etc. Unlikely to know till problems start. If someone on this board rebuilds A/T's, maybe they can comment on what they have seen, but they probably see them after the damage occured, otherwise it wouldn't be there for work.
Note that oily sheen on top of water can also be head gasket etc. engine problems, it doesn't have to point to A/T.
So far, I've never had a trans cooler in a radiator leak (oww, I shouldn't have said that! watch out! ).

 

Lets explore this other theory as well. Was this guy the first owner? It could be one of those flood sale vehicles left over from various natural disasters the last few years. North Carolina hurricanes etc. A lot of em are out there. Just a thought.

As for the radiator thing, my .02: one of the considerations I made when installing my tranny cooler was wether or not to take the intregal cooler out of line and just rely on the auxilliary one to prevent any possibility of cross leaking. If mine was older and not well maintained I would have done so. But I chose to leave it inline for additional cooling because I flush and maintain mine well. You don't say how old it is.

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97 F-150 SC Lariat, Styleside, White over Gold, 4.6L (Windsor), Automatic, 3.55 rear end, electronic 4X4, w/ every option of Lariat and ORP packages except the 17" wheels (I even got the OR decals now!) MOD's so far: K&N air box mod, Gibson Super Truck, clear Bugflector II, Leer TSC 600 hard cover, Bridgestone Dueler OWL ATP 265/75 R-16's, TrailMaster Invader N7 shocks, Smittybilt step bars, Ford moulded mud guards, "White-white" head lamps, Cloud Rider Design's SS Grill and bumper opening, Bosch Platinum + 4's, Hayden 30K+ Tranny Cooler,Class III Reece load distributing hitch system, full wiring including trailer battery charging system, Escort Sensor II Brake controller, Superchip

 

We're looking at a '98 model here with 24,000 miles on it from up here in the north country & no recent floods. If it was in water, say from 4 wheeling, wouldn't there be other signs of damage?

 

If you look carefully it should, but carpet and things like that can be changed and cleaned. It sounds too new and the curcumstances are such that this might be ruled out.

Still focusing on the Radiator? Did they flush it after finding the water? If so how is it doing now?

 

Here's the catch. I personally haven't seen the vehicle yet as it is 400 miles away. I think I'll hire the dealership service manager & sales manager to do a complete checkover & make my buying decision based on their findings. Will let know as this mystery comes to a close. Oh, the seller will have the tranny rebuilt out of pocket if it comes to that.

[This message has been edited by DOOBIE (edited 03-03-2000).]