tranny leaking coolant

[busta9]

Hello,

I have a 94 grand am with automatic transmission. The other day I was driving and my car started overheating as I pulled in the drive way. I stopped the car and there was a huge puddle of coolant on the ground and a trail that lead down the road. I filled the car up with water and turned it on to find the leak and there is a rubber "L" shaped boot that points to the ground on my transmission that is leaking out coolant I could not find broken hose that would connect to this boot anywhere. I am assuming it is a transmission coolant line but I am not sure. I have the Haynes book for this car but I cannot find any information about transmission cooling lines and their locations. Any help would be appreciated.

[skibum1111]

Welcome. I dont' think its a cooling line for your transmission, more likely the transmission cooler in the radiator has a hole in it and coolant is getting forced into your transmission. Get it fixed right away, you shouldn't be getting coolant into your transmission at all and its going to lead to major problems soon. You are probably going to need a radiator, the cooling system runs at much higher pressure than your transmission, thats why its forcing coolant into the transmission and not transmission fluid into your cooling system. Hope this helps.

[busta9]

thank you for your reply.
What is the "L" shaped boot used for? is that normal.

I am not driving the car at all right now. do you think my transmission will need to be serviced because of this even if I replace the rad tommorow?

[GTP Dad]

If I were you I would check the radiator for transmission fluid before I change it. The tranny actually works at higher pressures than the cooling system but coolant will leak into the tranny cooler when the engine is off. Pull the pan on the transmission and see if there is any water in the fluid. If there is drain as much fluid as possible and replace the fluid and filter. If the radiator has tranny fluid in it then if you don't want to spend the money on a new radiator, pull the transmission coolant lines, and plug the cooler. Flush the cooling system and then put on an external cooler. Much cheaper than a new radiator and will eliminate the possibility of it happening again. The cooler will also eliminate more heat and make the tranny last longer. Regardless of what you find, replace the filter and fluid in the transmission just in case. (

As for that tube I have no idea. If it were located on the firewall, I would say it is the drain for the duct work and you may have a leak in the cooling system.)

[ericn1300]

don't panic about the tranny, it's probably just a radiator coolant leak. most likely from something as simple as a blown hose, the water pump or the heater core. before you change anything like the radiator or something equaly as expensive, just have a pressure test done on the cooling system to find the leak. if you had a sudden pool of leakage it should be easy to find.

[skibum1111]

The tube you are asking about is the transmission vent. Coolant is blowing out of it because its overfilling the transmission and its got to go somewhere, rather there instead of an input shaft seal.