Transmission fluid in the radiator

[jerry05]

2005 Nissan Pathfinder LE 170K miles.

I recently went to have an oil change at Jiffy lube and while checking fluids they noticed a pink fluid in the radiator. I took it to Goodyear and they explained that there was a crack in the transmission cooling unit which was attached to the radiator and they replaced the entire unit. They flushed the system and all seemed well. The car started leaking out of the plastic reservoir next to the battery so they replaced the cap with a metal cap that looks similar to the actual radiator cap. There is a tube running off the back of that reservoir and it releases small amounts of water and radiator fluid when I am driving. The car is not overheating and the transmission is no longer slipping, but I can smell anti-freeze fluid when I have the AC on. In addition; when I was having all these issues the "Check Engine" light came on. Goodyear diagnosed it as a rear oxygen sensor not reading correctly with the catalytic converter. When I check the radiator, it can take a small amount of fluid, but will soon expel that fluid through the tube on the plastic reservoir. Evan after it expels that fluid, the car is not overheating at all.

I am not a car moron, but I am no mechanic. This all seems strange to me. After Goodyear made the initial repair, I drove it from Phoenix to Salt Lake City with no real issues. I took it to Goodyear here in Salt Lake and have an appointment on Thursday. They think it is a blown head gasket. That definitely does not make sense. Any ideas?

Thank you in advance.

[MisterH]

How can Goodyear in SLC diagnose it as a blown headgasket before they've even checked it out? Go to a different, reputable mechanic who makes a diagnosis AFTER looking at the evidence. If you had a blown head gasket you'd more than likely notice that you have white smoke coming out of the exhaust while driving. The excess coming out from your coolant overflow tank could just mean the radiator was overfilled. It's designed to do that when at operating temperature if too much was put in.

[jerry05]

Thank you Mister H. Mechanics seem to love the "Blown Head Gasket" approach. I know it is not a head gasket and feel a little relieved to know that the expelling of fluid is fairly normal.

Thanks

[EdBwoy]

Jerry, welcome aboard.
FYI, we also have the factory service manuals hosted on Nicoclub, if you would like to see the technical info. I have the link in my signature below.
Anyway, from the cooling section, pg 11 I see this picture that tells me:
1. Both caps should be that radiator type
2. Some hose/ connection must have been forgotten. The hoses should all tie into something and nothing should be dripping. Most older Nissan coolant reservoirs have an overflow spout as MisterH pointed, but I think this reservoir having a pressure cap is supposed to be fully sealed and pressurized like the modern ones are.




Maybe this leak is what you are smelling. Would you be able to post some pictures of what you have going on?
And yes, good advice on getting a different opinion.

[jerry05]

Thank you EdBwoy, I appreciate the feedback.

[jerry05]

Just an update. The smell is coming from the top of the reservoir cap or the run off tube attached to the top of the reservoir. It is not leaking, but the smell comes through the AC.

[04Chinook]

On these engines, to top off coolant you should only fill coolant through the reservoir. If you add coolant to the radiator it will just overfill the reservoir. http://www.thenewx.org/forum/11-powertr ... rflow.html

[Buzzman]

It's a known problem. Check it out:

http://www.nissanproblems.com/trends/co ... nsmission/

[QCtech]

I guess when you say that they repaired the entire unit you refer that they changed the whole radiator as a unit? If I am not mistaken, this is a problem with the 2005 and if you got already red fluid in your water, you also have water in your red fluid in the transmission.When you say they flushed the system, do you mean both the radiator AND the transmission?? If not, you need to flush and replenish properly your transmission fluid, or you will have a transmission failure not long in the future. My advice to you is to get an aftermarket oil cooler kit for your transmission that is not the stupid design of putting the transmission cooling tube inside the water radiator. They can be had for around 60-100 dollars and will guarantee you that you dont get a future expensive transmission repair.