New to me Explorer

[Warrior of the NorthLand]

Gents,
I just purchased a 99 Explorer XLT with 208k miles. Overall looks good, body and interior good condition. Its throwing 7 codes and there are two items I need a little clarification on.

1. First and foremost is the radiator and tranny cooler actually intertwined on this particulat model? I followed the trans lines to the trans cooler underneath the radiator but didnt see where the two met. I ask because I am getting a small amount of light colored oil in the coolant, and have low ATF.

2. A torque converter clutch solenoid code is being thrown, can this be caused by Low ATF or is it a legitimate code? AND is this particular part inside the trans above the valve body or farther in to it?

The other codes and wear and tear junk I have seen answers to on other posts. These two are what I need clarified.
This will be my sons first vehicle and we are both learning. It is not time sensitive to fix but the faster its working the faster the boy drives! At this point I am on the fence about taking the engine out and buying the cassette timing chain packets just to get it over with.

 

[Warrior of the NorthLand]

Alright...update. definitely atf in the radiator. motor oil clean and full. drained radiator waiting on new CSF radiator and a new trans cooler... going to do the bypass so they cant mix again and run new lines both sides with a wix filter inline. is there any specific fluid to use to FLUSH the transmission instead of $$$atf?

 

[koda2000]

Do not bypass the radiator with the trans lines. Automatic transmissions need to have their fluid cooled by the radiator. As far as I know automatic transmissions have had their fluid run through the radiators since they first were installed in vehicles in the late 40's/early 50's. The transmission behind the V6 engines is not the most robust to begin with. You'll fry it in no time if it's fluid isn't cooled by the radiator. The fluid runs through a separate tank inside the rad, so there is no co-mingling with the antifreeze, unless the tank is leaking.

Drain the trans and see if you see any signs of coolant in it. Flush if you see any, otherwise you can get away with dropping the pan, replacing the filter and refilling with about 4.5 qts of Mercon V. There's no way to drain the torque converter on the V6, so flushing is the only way to get all the fluid out. I doubt your TC solenoid code has anything to do with the fluid leak into the radiator. I think the various transmission solenoids can be accesses w/out removing the valve body, once the pan is off, but I'm no transmission expert.

If your timing chains are not rattling now I wouldn't fool with it. You'll have plenty of warning when the TC's need attention. It will begin with noise on cold starting. Replacing the timing chain components are a huge job and not without its perils. Are your tools and skills up to the job?

If your son is like most young drivers (especially boys) he's going to destroy his first vehicle pretty quickly. Don't get too attached to it, or put any more work into it that you have to. Just make it as safe as possible. These vehicles are top heavy and prone to flipping if you get them sideways at speed. Make sure your son understands this and play particular attention to tires and tire pressures, as well as the shocks and sway bar components. Young drivers often run the passenger side wheels off the road onto the soft/low shoulder and then don't know how to get back on the road, they over-correct and flip their vehicles once the tires grab again. My 16 year old daughter did this with her first car (which was a small sedan). A top heavy SUV will flip much more easily.