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

 

[Rocket Man]

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

Yeah I think I got confused with his timeline.

I also wouldn’t trust Aamco one bit. My uncle went there to have his fluid changed and they told him he needed a new transmission. It had been rebuilt by another shop not 15k earlier and he was just changing the break in fluid. There was nothing wrong, it ended up lasting at least another 75k when he sold the truck. He never went back to Aamco, told everyone they were thieves.

 

[ivin74]

your dipstick is somehow working loose and water is running off of the cowl and finding its way in the tube.

I think this is the only way water is going in the tranny if indeed the radiator was bypass. There is a vent hose on the tranny that can also let water in if its not installed properly, I suggest you check that hose out.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Jesus

So.... If THEY did the radiator, transmission, and install. Don't dick with it. Take it back and let them sort it. Once you start poking around, you give them cause to deny warranty.

As far as the milkshake: See if you can send a fluid sample out for an analysis. See what's going on. Will tell you if it's coolant or water in there, and can start down the path from there.

 

[newtek007]

Correct. AAMCO installed the radiator, bypassed it and rebuilt the transmission. Now that they have found "water" in it, they stated they will rebuild it one more time but they will no longer honor the rest of my warranty.

 

[Alex_M]

I've be looking very closely at the terms of my warranty to see if they even have the right to deny you. I doubt they do. If it dies and they try to deny you, I'd be demanding a refund, under threat of legal intervention if necessary.

I'm with everyone else. Only four points of intrusion. Radiator (now bypassed), dipstick tube, somehow an improperly installed vent tube, or AAMCO is lying to you.

I've start with the dipstick tube. Take some kind of plastic bag and zip tie over the top. That will stop water coming in the top of the tube.

Vent tube is a little harder to check. I'd request they reroute it while the trans is out this time. I have mine run up under the intake manifold.

And AAMCO, I've be checking my fluid a couple times a week to see if it's starting to turn strawberry milkshake again. Also, like has already been stated, make sure they are flushing the cooler lines *and* replacing the torque converter every time.

*If* it fails again after all this, I'd be asking them to use a different core. Offer to pay their core charge, but do not pay for another rebuild. If there's a problem with the core they should have found it while it was apart. Whatever the problem is they should have found it by now.

All else fails, get your refund and head to Amarillo. Those Precision boys are pretty slick.

 

[rockola1971]

*If* it fails again after all this, I'd be asking them to use a different core. Offer to pay their core charge, but do not pay for another rebuild. If there's a problem with the core they should have found it while it was apart. Whatever the problem is they should have found it by now.

I agree with all except copied above. I dont understand the logic in asking for a different core to be used since the transmission has absolutely nothing to do with an engines cooling system. So the core isnt bad and causing water or coolant to get into the tranny. I also believe the tranny shop are morons for bypassing the part of the radiator used to cool the tranny. The tranny needs that cooling. Unless there is a substantially large add on tranny cooler installed, the tranny will fail prematurely. It will get too hot from the lack of designed cooling being bypassed.
The dipstick idea being filled from the cowl is very plausible but GM dipsticks snap down and lock at the top. Definitely worth installing a zip tied baggie over the top to rule out though.
OP never affirmed or denied the vehicle being driven in substantially deep water, so I wouldnt rule out the tranny vent line missing or dangling down either.

 

[newtek007]

OK. Update. I have the truck back. Talked with them. Everyone was reasonable to talk to. They are not going to deny the warranty. They did a pressure test of the core and it held. The cooler up front is not leaking. I got it back home and went ahead and replaced the transmission dipstick with a new one. The old one was very easy to flip the locking thing and when I touched the top of it, the rubber did indeed pop up about half way. I could shove it down in the locked position. Installed the new one and it was much harder to lock and it isn't going anywhere. I am pretty confident this is where the intrusion has been happening.

 

[Rocket Man]

Unless you regularly pressure wash under your hood, there’s zero chance imo that any more than a drop or two of water is entering through the fill tube. Or do you drive around in rain storms with no hood on? Other than those 2 scenarios I don’t see any way.

 

[Mudsport96]

Unless you regularly pressure wash under your hood, there’s zero chance imo that any more than a drop or two of water is entering through the fill tube. Or do you drive around in rain storms with no hood on? Other than those 2 scenarios I don’t see any way.

Same with the breather/vent tube. You have to be in some deep water to get intrusion that way. Just driving in the rain is not going to introduce enough to make strawberry milkshake. Hell, with just the plastic 3 inch tube i would regularly go through floor deep water in my blazer. After i moved the vent to the top of the dipstick tube i would go seat deep and never once made milkshake, even with a leaky pan gasket.

 

[rockola1971]

Im gonna have to agree on the "dipstick theory" too. My advice is keep your doors locked. Someone has a beef with you and is intentionally putting water into your tranny. Get a video camera setup on your vehicle while its in the driveway.