AntiFreeze in Trans....Huh?

[kmank]

Me again, the guy whose power steering problem almost put him in the looney bin until you people got me headed in the right direction. That problem is becoming a slowly fading memory although that p/s pump is still "buzzing".
Anywho, my newest problem could have been caused by me and my shipyard skills at using the oxy/acetylene at loosing n burning off rusted nuts to using heat to free up the lower most transmission cooling line fitting from the radiator. I knew that most of those radiators are silver soldered together and that I had to be careful of the amount of heat I'd willing to use. Well, apparently I may have done some damage as I just noticed (after a good 3 or so weeks of driving), while chking my fluid levels that the antifreeze that was left in my coolant reservoir was the color of my trans fluid. When I removed the radiator cap sure enough there was a pinkish foam floating there. Then came the pulling out of the trans fluid level stick and seeing that it was coated completely with anti-freeze contaminated liquid. The car is safely parked and the trans is still doing its thing but I will NOT drive it anymore until I get this fixed. My question to you all (finally) is this: Is it time for me to replace the radiator? I just can't think of any other place where these 2 fluids can infiltrate there own space. There are no fluid leaks coming from the radiator or where the presure n return trans lines connect.
PS: I was able to free that cooling line fitting. Again. any suggestions or advice would be appreciated big time. Thanx gk

 

[my98nnj]

Yup, your radiator is leaking into or vise versa the transmission cooling circuit which is internal to the radiator.

Flush both systems thoroughly when you replace the radiator.

 

[kmank]

antifreeze in trans...........

my98nnj. Thank you much for your quick reply. Was waiting on purchasing that radiator until I heard from someone here to agree with what I believe is happening. If it's not too much can you offer me any help on how you would go about completely flushing out the trans? How is the fluid in the torque converter flushed? And lastly, how many quarts of new trans fluid will I need. Sorry to flood you with all these extra questions. Thanx, again. gk

 

[AP9]

I wouldn't trust those reverse-flow or solvent flushes except for ATF cooler only. Try some variation of this after dropping the pan to change the filter:
http://www.explorerforum.com/Singleton/web/pages/at1.html

Full transmission fill is roughly 10 quarts of Mercon V. I'd say run several quarts of any cheap Dex/Merc through to "rinse" the transmission, with the last 12 quarts in being a good quality Mercon V.

 

[kmank]

And a Thank You to you AP9 for your help. Appreciate the link, really great. Nuthin' better then to be able to walk into the local auto parts store and know what you gotta get. I just have another question if you or someone might be able to answer. If a thermostat goes bad will it ever go bad in the "open" position instead of the usual "closed' ? I've been noticing for the past couple of weeks (probably about as long as this radiator/transmission leak problem has been happening ) that the heat coming out of my interior heating and defroster vents hasn't been as hot as it used to be. Could the trans fluid/antifreeze mix be a cause for that? Again, thanx. I appreciate your help. gk

 

[bandit11]

kmank thermostats can fail in the open position, as for your trans do the flush and replace radiator asap, also do the filter as well, there is water in the trans which doesnt do the bands and clutch pack materials any good, check the torque convertor may have a drain plug fitted, be prepared for a trans ohaul. in aus the ba falcon had a problem with the trans cooler failing causing the same problem, you will find similar forums to this one though i suppect they drove their cars not knowing of the problem until the trans played up

 

[kmank]

And a Thank You to you also Bandit11 for your help and advice. Geeze, I'm definitly not ready for a "trans overhaul". Yeow. I'm really hoping that I got 'er grounded before it started failing on me. I was ready to drive it one last time to move it from outside driveway into my garage to start the work but after reading your post I think I'll figure out another way of getting it in. I don't want this bad luck to start getting any worse. Thanx again.
PS: One more thing: What would be your guess at what causes these coolers to fail?

 

[SoNic67]

PS: One more thing: What would be your guess at what causes these coolers to fail?

Probably this:

...using the oxy/acetylene at loosing n burning off rusted nuts to using heat to free up the lower most transmission cooling line fitting from the radiator.

 

[kmank]

antifreeze in trans...........

Probably this:

Oooops. Good one. Like a good smack in the back of the head that pops used to give me for not using good judgement, I needed that. One more question if you don't mind: On the radiator would you know which of the 2 trans cooler fittings is the return or the inlet? Thanx again

 

[SoNic67]

I have a pic from when I added an auxiliary filter. Maybe you can follow it.

 

[kmank]

Sorry so late gettin' back to you but yes I can definitly follow the flow direction. Must have taken a little time to PhotoShop those arrows in and I really appreciate you doin' it. Temps outside have dropped big time which is gonna make for some very slow progress on this job. I hope you guys will be here to continue with your help and advice.
Thanks again. gk PS: Found out this morn that the torque converter has its own fluid and is isolated from the contamination in the trans. That was definitly good to hear although I should have figured that out myself.

 

[bandit11]

kmank the torque convertor fluid is NOT seperate from the trans fluid.

 

[SoNic67]

Correct. The fluid in TC is 'shared' with the transmission, but it won't drain when the transmission pan is dropped. That's why on most Ford transmissions (including the Explorer), there is a plug that allows to separately drain the TC:

 

[jagbucket]

start shopping for a trans IMO

 

[Bruces expo]

You can Do away with the Radiator Cooling idea , You can get 2 small Trans fluid coolers either from the parts store or junk yard / you pull it yards from a first gen auto ex , I have Dual front aux coolers as well as the stock Radiator fluid cooler and my front aux coolers get warm to the touch , but will not get hot enough to burn you after a 45 Min -1 Hour drive , I would suggest the complete flush with new trans filter as well , and possibly and Aux Trans fluid filter added in line from the trans to the radiator or aux coolers . Good luck and hope your current trans will take the flush well ! .

 

[kmank]

Wow, thank you all for your replies. Pictures are great. Are you sure my '95 explorer has that tc access plug on my bell housing? IMO??? I'm afraid to ask what that means. My budget has about reached zero (already in the red). With all this cantaminated trans oil in my trans I know I can start it up, put it in gear and go. How far and for how long I won't guess and I definitly won't me doing that until I flush all that stuff out, get my new radiator in and put the key in the ignition. If I had to be towed home because of a trans shut down then I'd prpbably be singing a less optimistic tune. So please, wish me the best and please keep your thoughts and ideas comin'. I appreciate 'em all. Thanx again. gk

 

[Bruces expo]

IMO - Means , In My Opinion , I couldn't answer the TC Drain Plug question , I only Deal With First Gen 91-94 , I have owned 3 of them and owned a 99 Briefly , But I do wish the best of luck to the flush and Rad install ! .

 

[kmank]

Thanx Bruce (I guess I can call you "Bruce") for updating my small list of acronyms that I've used when txting and writing in forums like this . Also, I just figured out yout idea about adding a couple of aux coolers in just bypass the radiator. Dang, thats pretty darn good. The amount of driving I do is all local with maybe a half hour most of 60mph highway maybe once a month.Probably would have worked just fine. But the new radiator got bought and prepped for the install. My son and his wife work all day so my explorer is my main ride. I'm basically stuck here until they get home. searching around and buying parts can be an all day thigk. 'Nuff said. Lastly, thanx for your wishing me luck on me getting this problem right. Just a few words of encouragment like that go a heck of a long way. Have a good one, will keep all informed on progress. gk

 

[SoNic67]

My 2001 AWD with 4R70W transmission has that plug. Don't know about other models.
You can see it easily - you can stretch your hand with a camera/cell phone to the middle of the car, under front row seats, and take a pic.

 

[1998Exp]

The threaded TC drain plugs were eliminated sometime in the early 2000s, so a '95 should have it. Nevertheless, the presence of an opening with the rubber cover in the housing does not mean that the torque converter actually has the drain plug - the TC might have been replaced, for example. Slowly turning the engine around with a socket wrench on the harmonic balance will provide the answer.

My 2001 AWD with 4R70W transmission has that plug. Don't know about other models.
You can see it easily - you can stretch your hand with a camera/cell phone to the middle of the car, under front row seats, and take a pic.