my radiator has some greyish, tan gunky stuff in it. My car is constantly running hot. when i added transmission fluid to the trans, the gunky stuff turned a little redder. does that mean my radiator is mixing fluids? can i flush it? should i get a new radiator? need a cheap solution if possible! single mother of 4 and cant afford a lot of money. please help!!:)
sounds to me as though your transmission fluid cooler has a hole in it my dear :0)
You might have given us some hints, like the year and model of the vehicle about which you are talking.
Your probably have a leak in your transmission cooler. It sounds like you need to replace your radiator and transmission cooler, and change the fluid in your transmission. The fluid that you are running through your transmission is no lounger transmission fluid. It is a mixture or water, antifreeze and oil (regular transmission fluid).
Jeff
How sure are you about transmission oil showing up in the coolant? Unless your transmission is already running on coolant instead of transmission fluid (hard to believe that it would still be working in such case), adding a bit of fluid shouldn't make a big change in what you see in the radiator. Overheating engine, coupled with gunk in the radiator could indicate engine oil mixing with coolant. Sounds like you need a decent mechanic to diagnose what exactly is going on before attempting any repairs.
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