Radiator keeps taking my Transmission out

[Rocket Man]

Didn’t you say there was another strawberry fluid issue and THEN the radiator was replaced and at that time the in-radiator cooler was bypassed? I’m thinking it got in before you bypassed the radiator, which I’m really surprised you didn’t do the first time it happened. I would have eliminated any possibility of coolant entering the trans immediately by bypassing the radiator and removed the small factory external cooler, then went with a tru-cool 40k instead.

 

[newtek007]

No. The original build was last year from another company. Didn't know anything about the radiator being bad at that time. No indications. They rebuilt it again and the same thing happened. They didn;t recommend bypassing. Took to AAMCO and they replaced the radiator. No bypass. Happened again. Replaced the radiator again and then bypassed. Lasted 5 months and now I'm back where I started EXCEPT the radiator is now totally bypassed. And yet water is still in it again.

 

[swathdiver]

I'd say you are being lied to. They are using sub-par parts that keep failing and are not following the rules. We all see this daily on these forums. It is SOP to back flush the transmission cooler lines during a fluid exchange and rebuild. This is done to see if the system is clogged, lowering pressure and volume too much which causes problems and or failure.

There's no valid reason to disable your transmission cooler lines from the factory set up. I bet you would have had better results paying a bunch of 10 year old kids in the neighborhood to do it by reading the shop manual.

I was going to ask if you saw the strawberry fluid, but it would not matter if they're being dishonest. It's easy for the new guy to cover his crappy build by blaming the mysterious water intrusion.

Drop the truck off in Amarillo, Texas at Precision Transmission. Pick up a rental, go on vacation for a week, and drive it home.

 

[newtek007]

From my point of view, I do indeed think they are trying to get rid of me because they can't figure out what is the matter. No. I did not see the fluid. I was at work when they called to give me the "hey we need to talk" talk. Yes, I believe they are using subpar parts.

Before this happened, I took our 08 Honda pilot to them to rebuild that transmission. Long story, but they had to put a used tranny in as they could not use the core that was in there. We were driving around town when it started to act funny and wasn't shifting right. Were on a road close to where the shop is and all the lights on the cluster lit up and it went into limp mode.
Dropped it off back at AAMCO and they found that they (by their own admittance) did not properly seat the Input/Output sensor. They fixed the issue and no more problems.

My wife is ready to sell the truck, but I do not want this issue beating me.

 

[swathdiver]

From my point of view, I do indeed think they are trying to get rid of me because they can't figure out what is the matter. No. I did not see the fluid. I was at work when they called to give me the "hey we need to talk" talk. Yes, I believe they are using subpar parts.

Before this happened, I took our 08 Honda pilot to them to rebuild that transmission. Long story, but they had to put a used tranny in as they could not use the core that was in there. We were driving around town when it started to act funny and wasn't shifting right. Were on a road close to where the shop is and all the lights on the cluster lit up and it went into limp mode.
Dropped it off back at AAMCO and they found that they (by their own admittance) did not properly seat the Input/Output sensor. They fixed the issue and no more problems.

My wife is ready to sell the truck, but I do not want this issue beating me.

Well, another option is to take it to a GM dealer, they'll drop in a new or reman with a 3 year 100K miles warranty and you're done with it, provided you use an OE radiator and trans cooler and trans cooler lines, get rid of all the crap they did.

 

[Doubeleive]

pretty sure there is no way water or anything else is getting in the transmission if it is not also leaking fluid out ( a LOT), when the engine is running the fluid is under pressure so tell me how in the hell does intrusion happen then? answer: no way, it would have to happen parked and not under pressure and it would have to be "forced in" because even if it was leaking trans fluid a little tiny bit from a little tiny hole there is no way water would enter in a little tiny hole when there is already fluid in the hole coming out, again unless it was forced in, so I call b-ullshit, better ask for a test showing proof.

 

[swathdiver]

pretty sure there is no way water or anything else is getting in the transmission if it is not also leaking fluid out ( a LOT), when the engine is running the fluid is under pressure so tell me how in the hell does intrusion happen then? answer: no way, it would have to happen parked and not under pressure and it would have to be "forced in" because even if it was leaking trans fluid a little tiny bit from a little tiny hole there is no way water would enter in a little tiny hole when there is already fluid in the hole coming out, again unless it was forced in, so I call b-ullshit, better ask for a test showing proof.

Exactly!

 

[Rocket Man]

pretty sure there is no way water or anything else is getting in the transmission if it is not also leaking fluid out ( a LOT), when the engine is running the fluid is under pressure so tell me how in the hell does intrusion happen then? answer: no way, it would have to happen parked and not under pressure and it would have to be "forced in" because even if it was leaking trans fluid a little tiny bit from a little tiny hole there is no way water would enter in a little tiny hole when there is already fluid in the hole coming out, again unless it was forced in, so I call b-ullshit, better ask for a test showing proof.

My trans builder (Performabuilt) says the coolers inside the radiators take out transmissions at times from leaking inside the rad and the fluids mix. All it takes is a tiny bit of coolant to wipe out the trans. I think it’s after the engine is turned off, then when it starts up and trans fluid starts flowing, it pulls it in through that internal cooler that has a hole in it. They say they won’t even warranty a trans unless you take the radiator cooler out of the loop completely but I’m sure that’s only if you get coolant in the trans and it fails. They’re super lenient on warranty work. Their install instructions state in big letters to bypass that thing.

 

[Mudsport96]

In my experience, Aamco is the McDonald's of transmission shops... at least the one near me.
There is always the possibility they didnt flush the coolers out and that all transfered back to the new transmission, but i wouldn't think that to be enough to cause a problem.
Two, they never fixed or replaced it, they just flushed it until it came out red enough to pass the visual test for you to pay the bill and it has pinked back up over time. As moisture is working out of the clutch packs.
Three, your dipstick is somehow working loose and water is running off of the cowl and finding its way in the tube.

I highly doubt even if you drove through water it would be deep enough to het into the transmission. My old blazer jad that happen bit the water was also coming in around the doors. So for a Tahoe you're looking at what? Three feet or better.

 

[Doubeleive]

My trans builder (Performabuilt) says the coolers inside the radiators take out transmissions at times from leaking inside the rad and the fluids mix. All it takes is a tiny bit of coolant to wipe out the trans. I think it’s after the engine is turned off, then when it starts up and trans fluid starts flowing, it pulls it in through that internal cooler that has a hole in it. They say they won’t even warranty a trans unless you take the radiator cooler out of the loop completely but I’m sure that’s only if you get coolant in the trans and it fails. They’re super lenient on warranty work. Their install instructions state in big letters to bypass that thing.

I understand that but he stated that it was bypassed (the most recent time), so, makes no sense