New coolant suddenly dark.
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xtremewlr
Member
My first thought as well. Possible that the ATF cooler in the radiator ruptured and they are now mixing.
MikeinNH67
Senior Member
Nissan had issues with their radiator transmission section failing. That seemed to always lead to a milky mess of coolant in the tranny though as the pressure pushes it in there.
Moist
Member
Both smell nasty. Can't smell too much though because it's so cold out. Is there any way I can prove it? They are just about the same color. I was thinking of adding a dye to my coolant and seeing if it appears in the trans fluid.
EDIT, trans fluid level really high.
Last edited:
xtremewlr
Member
What's really high? Like more than it should have? I'd advise you not to drive the vehicle any longer and change out the trans fluid and coolant.
IF coolant is mixing into the trans fluid, it is degrading it and the more you drive it, the sooner the trans is going to take a shit because of improper lubrication.
Drain the coolant from the radiator and disconnect the transmission hoses from it. You can then pressure check the radiator and see if you get any leaks from the transline inlets. Or just bypass the radiator completely and use an external trans cooler.
Either way, your radiator is suspect and needs to be checked or just replaced.
someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but if you drain some of your coolant into a clear container and also some of your tranny fluid into a different container you should be able to let it sit for a few hours and see if it settles out in different levels (an oil and a water level). but your tranny fluid being overfull is a pretty clear signal in my opinion.
Make sure you drain it after its been run long enough for the thermostat to open and the transmission fluid to circulate, otherwise you're just collecting whatever is in the sump and it likely won't separate.
Make sure you drain it after its been run long enough for the thermostat to open and the transmission fluid to circulate, otherwise you're just collecting whatever is in the sump and it likely won't separate.
