Thanks !!!!! I'm officially injected by Southbay.... Now I'm looking for orange spark plug wires to match my orange injectors ,, Mine are blue......

 

TP,, did my transmission cooler lines come all steel or did some have steel then rubber then steel ????? Like,,,, a small section of hose with clamps on a steel line ???? The line is under the car !!!!!! Did they come like that stock ???

 

The trans cooler lines are all steel, sounds like it had a leak in the line or some dumbass cut it. If the line is swollen replace it with ATF approved line and double clamp it on each side or replace the hard line. If its a tiny section a union fitting is a good repair as well.

 

TP is correct that rubber really has no place in a transmission cooler line since it is a 100% certain failure at some future point in time . The rubber will become saturated and spongy from the hot transmission fluid and the clamps will not be able to hold it . When it pops off , it'll take about 90 seconds to empty all of the transmission fluid onto the street and the car will need to be towed . Now that you know about this problem , the good news is that it's really not a horribly expensive thing to have properly fixed . Like TP mentioned , if the metal lines are close enough together , a compression fitting can be used to join the two lines . If there is a big section missing , then the fix would be to get some line of the appropriate size (is it 5/16" ?) from the auto parts store and run it from the fittings on the radiator to the transmission . The lines themselves are really cheap , but bending them to proper fit is an art that is learned through practice and the fittings on the transmission can be a bit tough to reach (I usually just unbolt the cross member and lower the transmission somewhat using a floor jack for better access) .

In other words , no foliage runs to New Hampshire or Vermont till ya get that evil rubber out of your transmission cooler lines !

 

Thanks !!! I am definitely replacing those lines....I heard this could be a PITA job so is it easier to put my car on a lift and do it ??? I have access !!!!!

Had a loose clamp and replaced clamps and now the leak is back,, not a big leak but a leak just the same...

The tranny has been rebuilt 20,000 miles ago by GM GOODWRENCH in Conneticut for $1500.00,,, and engine was rebuilt 14,000 miles ago it was sent to Pennsylvania and rebuilt then sent back.. I have the crate slips and receipt..... I don't know why those lines were overlooked,,, I think when the engine was removed ((which was after the tranny)) they may have twisted the lines and then had to cut them... THAT SUCKS !!

Thanks for the post, it is really important for me to know that !!!!! Another job I will be doing myself.......

Meliss

 

A lift always makes life easier....

 

It sure does !!!!!

 

TP,, My "cork" transmission pan gasket is leaking.. Which gasket should I replace it with,, the rubber one ??? that would be my only other choice,, right ??? I read that some people think the cork ones are the best and others say they are junk,,, I want the best on my car !!! So,, which one do I buy or do you recommend something other than those ???????

Thanks
Meliss

 

Cork sucks, use a rubber gasket. I have had good success with napa and fram service kits. Running dextron 6 costs more but really lowers the transmission operation temperature.

 

Thanks TP,, Yea, just bought a quart of tranny fluid (incase I ran low) from NAPA and it was $6.00 I think it is just dextron ATF... I don't mind paying a little more for the good stuff though,, I'll buy the dextron 6 !!!! Would that happen to be a synthetic fluid ???????

Meliss

 

valvoline makes a synthetic , it is from 6-8 a quart but drastically lowers the trans temp from around 240 to 160f.

 

how about royal purple or asmoil transmission fluid?

 

I use Valvoline engine oil (but not synthetic) when I do oil changes.

I'm glad the dextron 6 is not synthetic.... I'm not a fan of synthetic oils and don't use them.....I'll be sure to read the product !!! there's sooooooo many different products on the shelves these day's !!!!!!

thanks again TP..........

 

TP,, I pulled my tranny dipstick and it says to use "Dextron 11 fluid only".....

The one I bought at NAPA is dextron 111 mercon performance ATF Required for dextron 111 mercon !!! The guy told me this is the new stuff !!!!!!!

I can't find Dextron 11 anywhere,,,, they still make it ,, right ????? Also, this new stuff smells terrible,, when I opened I couldn't believe how aweful it smells !!!!!! Never smelled tranny fluid like that before !!!!! I didn't put it in my car !!!!!!!

 

That is actually Dex 2 (Dextron-II), use the Dex 6, great stuff. Even if you need to go to a GM dealer to get it. Same for PS fluid, I'll only run the true GM stuff.

RBob.

 

dextron 6 is worth the money if you plan on keeping the car.

 

O.K.,, thanks !!!!

 

RBob,, are you using it for your power steering also,,, or does GM sell a PS fluid (separate product) that is great for PS ????

 

TP, I put my car on a lift and pulled the tranny pan,, a piece of the cork gasket just fell off (junk)...When I pulled the filter off the o-ring attached to it stayed in the tranny,, (oh great) didn't expect that !! So I had to dig it out VERY carefully piece by piece ( it came out in pieces) till I got it all (took a while),, everything else looked really good and I installed the new filter and RUBBER gasket ....While I'm under there I gave it a check up, a grease job and tightened up any loose bolts (found a few)...

I was focusing on the frond end because I've heard a loud bang coming from the front passenger side when making a sharp right turn. I had some help checking things out !! The ties rods are good,, control arms are good, bushings look good,,... I did NOT pull the tire off to check the ball joint but I'm thinking that is where it is. (not too much play in either tire) and tire is NOT wearing out...

Do you think that it's a bad ball joint or sway bar ??? I checked the sway bar it seems normal !! Do our cars have adjustable ball joints ???? Would adjusting it fix the problem or should I just replace it ?? I am just curious about the adjustable thing !!!!!!!! Also checked near the steering box for any cracks and there are none...........

Thanks
meliss

 

It is a P/S fluid, costs more then the stuff at the auto store. But it is better fluid.

RBob.

 

The ball joint is non adjustable, It is a two person job to do a dry park test . I doubt it is the anti sway bar you might look at the condition of the control arm bushings. You can check the ball joint with the suspension on loaded and a pry bar or 2X4 under the tire and pry up feeling for give in the ball joint or visual slop.

 

O.K. TP,, Thanks !!! I'll check the bushings !!!


RBob ,,,, thanks for the P/S info !

 

How DANGEROUS is a bad control arm bushing ??? I just had my car out and it is worse than before,, something is definitely wrong in the front end.. the steering does not feel right,,, vibrating pretty bad too .... I got a little scared and drove it home..... Will this wear out my power steering pump,,, among other front end parts.........

Guess I'm gonna learn all about the front end now !!!!!

 

how are the wheel bearings ?

 

Drivers side didn't look too good so I replaced both sides along with a ball joint and idler arm,, then went straight to an alignment shop ....