Voyager leaks transmission fluid

[gordonwhitney]

My daughter kept driving her '92 Voyager SE w/ 3.3 engine, rear heater and A/C, while it blew most of its coolant out through the overflow tank. After a new radiator, hoses, thermostat, and fan fuse (They all couldn't have gone bad at once -- I know!) the engine no longer overheats. But it is now leaking transmission fluid from somewhere at the front of the car. In fact, I found puddles in nooks and crannies at the bottom of the new radiator. I read in someone's post that the radiator may have a built in transmission fluid cooler. If so, how does the fluid get in and out of the cooler -- hoses, pipes, teleportation?

Can anyone help with this?

[GTP Dad]

The transmission is cooled by the fluid flowing to a small heat exchanger located inside the radiator. There should be two lines connecting into the side of the radiator usually on the drivers side. If one of these lines is leaking or if the connection is not tight or cross threaded then that may be why you are finding this fluid alongside the radiator. I would suggest that you get this looked at by the radiator shop or do it yourself before she pumps all the transmission fluid out and either ends up stranded on the highway or you put a new $1700 transmission in this van. If they cannot fix the problem don't spend money on a new radiator either, go to a shop that installs auxillary transmission coolers and have one installed. They only cost about $50 for a good one.

[gordonwhitney]

Thanks, GTP Dad. I talked to my daughter's mechanic and he said, "Oh, yeah, I knew the cooler hose was leaking, but I thought it might stop if we left it alone."
Don't you have to know something about the basic nature of liquids to actually be a mechanic? Have you ever heard of a hose that quit leaking on its own?

Anyway, he'll replace the hoses tomorrow. I'm beginning to see that the idea is to replace the entire van, one piece at a time! I'll keep you posted. No pun intended.