I replaced my radiator today and only a few drops of fluid dripped out when I disconnected the trans cooling lines. Im concerned there is little or no fluid circulation. Can this be checked by starting the car with one of the lines off? If I have no fluid squirt out, what could be the cause other than a blocked line?
I would recommend, with the driving you do in that car, and your anticipated trips to Dearborn and Texas for the Maverick meets, to get an auxiliary trans cooler.
....and yes....you can start the car and watch fluid shoot out on of the lines. Be prepared for a geyser.
I would be relieved to see a geyser, but I dont think the fluid is flowing to the radiator. There was literally 4 drops of fluid out of one line when disconnected, nothing from the other line. A little bit came out of the radiator AFTER it was out and tilted around a little. It still wasnt much, I expected much more. As for a cooler......I have a power steering fluid cooler, will that work of is it too small?
How long has it been sitting without being run? If the fluid is higher than the pan, it can drain back.
Um lets see, the last time I drove it was 8 days ago I think. Today, I started it and backed it out of the garage to swap the radiator. I dont understand the second part of your reply, sorry.
Well, if you drove it today, then I would guess drain back is not likely. I was saying that since the radiator cooler is higher than the transmission pan, it is possible for the fluid to drain back into the pan, leaving the cooler and lines relatively empty. I have seen that on cars that have sat for long periods of time, but you have started and moved yours, so probably not the case.
Oh, I understand now. Since the cooling lines come out near the top of the trans, I didnt think drain back was possible.
I don't think the ps cooler is sufficient for cooling trans fluid; the trans sys holds a lot more fluid than the ps system. I have my aux cooler in series w/ the rad cooler.
do you have tranny problems ? if not dont be too concerned, if fluid is red, and no shifting problems, i would not worry, you can check flow by removing a line, but like craig said, LOOK OUT.
I loosened a fitting to let out an overfill once, you may be able to tell by just doing that... in your case you may want to open one and see if you have flow and then open the other one to see if it is going through the cooler...
If it's shifting OK no slip etc, you can bet it's circulating fluid... As long as cooler isn't restricted or line pinched, it's good... Don't think you can't pull a line to check though... I often remove the line from cooler, connect a hose routed into five gal bucket and let trans change it's own fluid... After dumping in seven quarts while engine running and letting trans pump out the remaining old fluid, stop engine reconnect and top off... Done... No doubt if the trans hasn't been serviced in several years one should pull pan, but for a quick transfusion the hose method is great, used it for something like 40 years... BTW seven quarts plus top off(prob 2-3 qt) is for a C4, most other trans need nine or ten quarts plus the top off for a full change...
Thanks guys. I have no issues with driveabilty, it shifts great. The trans was out of the car for my engine rebuild. While out, I replaced the rubber seals (gear shift, speedo,servo and rear seals). I also replaced the paper gasket on the tail piece and pump. New filter, pan gasket and torque converter. I will double check the cooling lines for a kink, but Im pretty sure they are ok. I plan on taking the lines loose and putting them in a bucket. Im gonna crank the car but only it fun for a second. Fingers crossed. Edit: Is fluid circulating through the cooler in park or does it have to be in gear?
Get a TRASMISSION cooler. It is bigger than a power steering cooler. You can get one at Advance Auto Parts.
Don I have a trans cooler that I just took off my car... You can have it for the price of shipping... I would recommend that you fab up some brackets to mount it, I wasn't happy with the zip fasteners through the rad... I had my lines routed in series with the cooler in the rad worked great...
