Transmission Cooler Line Popped Out

bowtiegurl said:

If the new radiator is defective, not cooling the transmission fluid down could that cause this problem? The upper radiator hose can be squeezed all the way to the middle at running temp, the lower radiator hose looks huge. My transmission got up to 238° at idle quickly today. I do have some forward motion now in 1st-Drive, no reverse feels like it's in park and neutral makes a whining noise at transmission and acts like it's in drive with forward motion. I drove a mile and a half total when pulling in my driveway that's when I saw smoke from under the hood.

Click to expand...

this doesn't sound right. yeah, if there's no water flow across the radiator from a blockage, or somehow how the internal transmission cooler is blocked, it might explain why it's getting hot so fast and you don't have any tranny line pressure to engage the clutch packs for the gears.

that said, I've never see it happen. but anything is possibly. I know coolent is expensive but might be worth checking into.

j91z28d1 said:

this doesn't sound right. yeah, if there's no water flow across the radiator from a blockage, or somehow how the internal transmission cooler is blocked, it might explain why it's getting hot so fast and you don't have any tranny line pressure to engage the clutch packs for the gears.

that said, I've never see it happen. but anything is possibly. I know coolent is expensive but might be worth checking into.

Click to expand...

I think this is my next step. If I was to take it to a shop to find out what is for sure wrong, do I take it to a regular automotive repair shop or a transmission shop? I don't trust either. Especially being a woman.

I feel like either could do it if they are even a half way decent mechanic but throw the scammer up from behind the counter in the mix and who knows. I'm honestly not sure which would be better. maybe a tranny shop?

I don't trust walking into shops myself, I know I'm going to end up getting screwed too. I do feel like a woman walking into a shop is like jumping directly into the sharks open mouth just for sport lol.

yeah the tranny shop might be more used to checking line pressure at the transmission with a scanner and know what they should be seeing. Hopefully any tech can tell if water is flowing thru the radiator.


did you happen to replace the thermostat while changing the radiator? did you change it because it was leaking or over heating?

Doubeleive said:

I will start by saying it's physically impossible for the transmission line to have just popped out on it's own IF it was previously inserted properly.
that being said it's likely if you drove it around with no fluid long enough you could have damaged the transmission bad enough that it's internally fried but really hard to say.
how far did you drive it after replacing the radiator? how many miles? if it was more than 5-10 miles you could have cooked it.
there is really no reason for it to get up to 207 just idling unless the fluid is still low or not flowing, blockage, etc.

Click to expand...

really hard to just "Guess" without being there, my best suggestion if you want to try and avoid a shop is to pull that radiator out and exchange it for another one and see if anything changes

I changed it because it was leaking, spraying right on the PCM. No I did not change the thermostat. I knew I should have & kicking myself for not.

if it was just leaking the stat is probably fine. good to change but I wouldn't expect it to all of a sudden stick closed because you changed radiator. if it was over heating before hand, I thought maybe the stat was stuck closed.


only thing else besides pulling it out and swapping it, which would eliminate a lot of what ifs if you can. but if you have it out, you could run a water thru it from a hose and see if it flows out the other side.


sometimes things come with plastic caps on the fittings. is it possible one got missed and hose over it, or pushed inside?

The right way to fill the cooling system is to use a vacuum. Amazon has them starting around $35. Sucks all the air out of your cooling system and then draws the coolant in. Otherwise you risk having a large air pocket which does bad things. I would also disconnect both transmission lines at the radiator, and try to blow some compressed air through. Not much, just 10 or 15 psi to make sure it's not plugged... Perhaps a manufacturing defect.

Any competent shop can do both of those things and confirm your coolant is totally full with no air pockets, and that your tranny cooler isn't plugged. Then go from there and check transmission line pressure. I'm hoping you didn't run the torque converter completely dry. When you install a torque converter, it's why you pour a quart or so of ATF in it.... Or else you risk just sucking air when you start the vehicle. (Which pretty much destroys the bearings and seals)

Coolant Vacuum Refill Kit, Cooling System Radiator Vacuum Purge & Fill Tool Kit, Automotive Coolant Filler
https://a.co/d/demKaUc

If you get that coolant kit, you need an air compressor too. No big deal for a small compressor that will build enough pressure.

Yep, if you don't use any power tools, the smallest and cheapest air compressor from harbor freight will be more than adequate.