Coolant in the transmission line?

CJP04

CJP04

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Joined
Mar 25, 2018
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Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Hey guys, I'm working on the Grand Cherokee ZJ's radiator. There's an ATF leak coming from the lower transmission cooler line. I cleaned up all the oil that was on it and checked the fitting. I end up unscrewing it from the radiator and coolant came out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but coolant should not come out of the transmission cooler line, right? :confused:

jeep_coolant.jpg
 
Looks like you unscrewed the fitting for the heat exchanger from the tank instead of the cooler line from the heat exchanger. That coolant would not be that clean with trans fluid mixed in and run through the water pump. It would more resemble a milky fluid of some different hue.
 
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mrblaine said:
Looks like you unscrewed the fitting for the heat exchanger from the tank instead of the cooler line from the heat exchanger. That coolant would not be that clean with trans fluid mixed in and run through the water pump. It would more resemble a milky fluid of some different hue.
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Thanks for the response! That makes sense. So if I had just pulled out the rubber hose instead of the entire metal fitting the rubber hose is attached too, ATF should have been the only fluid to come out?
 
CJP04 said:
Thanks for the response! That makes sense. So if I had just pulled out the rubber hose instead of the entire metal fitting the rubber hose is attached too, ATF should have been the only fluid to come out?
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Correct and now you have to worry that the seal for the heat exchanger in the lower tank isn't messed up. Hopefully not.
 
mrblaine said:
Correct and now you have to worry that the seal for the heat exchanger in the lower tank isn't messed up. Hopefully not.
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Understood! You know what, I took the fan out to get a better look at the radiator, and the bottom part of it is deteriorating anyways. It needs to be replaced, but I'm going to flush it first before getting the new radiator on.

Hopefully the seal will go back on. Any tricks to getting it back on?
 
I'd just retighten what I made leak. If all you're doing is flushing out the cooling system it should work even if it still leaks some. Now if you're planning on driving for a while (days, weeks, months:p) before replacing the radiator, the bigger the leak, the shorter the time.

Good Luck!
 
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