When your car starts to overheat, the pistons in your cooling system start to move faster to cool the car. This movement increases the risk of a transmission cooler line leak.
Transmission cooler lines go from the radiator to the transmission. The line is attached with a clip that holds it in place. When this line leaks, it increases the risk of a overheating transmission. This can lead to poor operation and/or expensive repairs.
When this happens, you need to have your car towed or you will be without transportation until you get your car fixed. Luckily, this is an expensive fix so most owners just replace it when needed.
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What is the purpose of a transmission cooler?
When your car is driving, its transmission starts to heat up a bit due to the shifting and operating of gears. This can be problematic if you are looking to shift into a parking spot or starting your car in reverse!
Because transmissions are very hot devices, they require a cool area to stay locked in place while operating. A transmission cooler line is used to keep the transmission cooler in place while operating.
The lines that connect the radiator and the engine block are the only ones that can be removed and substituted with another, cooler line. This is what makes having a replacement line not necessary if you are looking to save some money!
A common way to fix a leak on your transmission cooler line is by using an immersion-gel technique.
Why would I have a transmission cooler leak at the radiator?
A transmission cooler is a critical part of cooling a vehicle. Without a properly sized and placed cooler, your vehicle will not cool properly or maintain its temperature while driving.
Unfortunately, there are some that are small or missing pieces. Some have been glued together, others have plastic tabs that matched with the receiver, and still others have no receiver at all!
The Receiver is an important piece of the transmission cooler. It holds water and allows you to regulate how hot the radiator must be in order for it to function. If this piece is missing or nonfunctional, then your transmission will not maintain its temperature!
The best way to check if a transmission cooler has enough water and heat capacity is by using a diode test. If it passes, then it has enough water and heat capacity! If it does not pass, then it may be necessary to replace the cooler.
How do I fix a transmission cooler line leak at the radiator?
When a transmission cooler line gets close to the radiator, it may start to leak at the line. This can be at random places, or it may be a clear line that is close to the radiator.
If this is the case, then we can do two things. The first is to find and repair the leak. The second is to add some thermal interface material between the lines and the tank of your engine coolant. This will help keep the lines from freezing up, which could lead to more severe problems down the road.
Is this repair worth doing myself?
If you have a transmission cooler line that leaks at the radiator, it is worth doing this repair yourself. There are several ways to repair this line.
Option 1: Buy a new one
This is the recommended method if you have a leaking transmission cooler line. A new transmission cooler line will cost you around $80-90 plus shipping, depending on where it is sold.
Option 2: Buy a replacement from OnlyGeniusTuning or another vendor near you
If you live in an area where there are few vendors that supply transmissions cooling lines, this option may be cheaper than buying a new one. Only Genuis Tuning has been very reliable with their transmissions coolers and shipping. They offer both US and International Shipping options.
What are the risks of not fixing this immediately?
If you wait until the heat and humidity of the summer season has passed, your transmission cooler line will have lost its cooling capacity. This could put you at risk of overheating your vehicle when it is hot outside or overthe course of the year.
When this happens, your radiator will Overheat and possibly Break!
To prevent this from happening, you must correct the leak as soon as possible. Once you do, your vehicle will stay cool and safe for a long time!
That is why it is important to get this repair done as soon as possible. You can do this yourself in a few minutes with a few easy steps.
What should I look for when evaluating whether to do this repair myself?
Before any work is done, it is important to determine whether or not the cooling line leak can be fixed by doing this repair yourself.
As stated before, a transmission cooler line leak can be fixed by buying a new one and putting it in place of the old one. However, this depends on where the coolant line is located as well as whether or not you have an overflow tank to put a replacement cooler in.
If the overflow tank isn’t present, then you can probably purchase a new transmission cooler and stick it in place yourself. You will need to check that it works properly before proceeding with the repair, however.
Both of these scenarios show that doing this repair yourself is recommendable, but only if there are no other leaks or complications with the cooling system.
What tools do I need to fix my transmission cooler line leak at the radiator?
While most people do not touch the transmission cooler line at all, it is important to properly disconnect it from the radiator as well as from the cooling system in general. This will ensure that you do not overheat your car while fixing it and prevent any further leaks!
This includes removing the coolant overflow tank, cutting the line at the radiator, and disconnecting any hoses. Once these steps are taken, you can start working on fixing the leak!
Cutting a 2-3 inch section of transmission cooler line is typically easy enough. Simply cut away some of the rubber coating around the connection points, pull out whatever old fluid is inside, and throw away the hard plastic container that held it.
Surprisingly, many supermarkets or stores that sell automotive parts have a liquid coolant line repair kit that contains all of the necessary tools to fix your leak! Just make sure to read and follow those instructions before using them though.
What are the steps to fixing my transmission cooler line leak at the radiator?
When driving with the engine at idle, the transmission cooler line can get warm from contact with the radiator. This can happen when leaving a parking lot or parking spot, or when going into drive or no-drive mode.
To prevent this from happening, it is best to turn on your air conditioning as soon as you entrance a vehicle to save heat from the hot air escaping during cool down.
To fix your transmission cooler line leak at the radiator, first check and make sure that your fluid is there. If it is not there, then you may have lost it in a Laguna Beach drain field!
Then, remove the thermostat and check for leaks. If there are none, then your problem may be in your cooling system. Your transmission may be starving itself of water which results in coolant coming out through the thermostat and radiators.