Hey guys!
I need advice from a camaro-mecanic expert.
I drive a 94 V6 camaro. I bought it with an engine collant leak(s) which were fine for a wile. Last week as i was driving, i started seeing thick white smoke coming out of the hood. When i looked at it it was coming from the transmition fluit dipstick tube and right to the left of it from what looks like a sparkplug with a little wire coming out of it. The transmition fluid has since then changed from a nice red colour to a browner color, which makes sence as it literraly burnt.
Does this mean i have to change the transmition? (the gears have had a hard time shifting, tend to get stuck at 2500 rpms not wanting to change to upper gear) Orwould a simple change of fluid and filter do the trick?
Could the engine collant leak have provoked this? in that case should I just change the entire coolinghoses (i was told they would need a change anyways).
the car has 186,000 miles on it but the engine sounds and runs like new. That thing makes me have faith in the car
Thanx a lot for the help guys!!

G.

 

Well you definitely need to change the Trans. fluid & filter ASAP, and use Dexron 6, not 4 -- fully backward compatible and lasts much longer...

As for Trans. system damage -- you will have to check for problems, grinding -- best to get a shop to evaluate it. But it sounds like due to the trans fluid not being changed regularly or not keeping your fluid filled may have caused some damage...

If you have a coolant leak and/or bad hoses, get that fixed ASAP, and flush your coolant system too.

 

Thanks a lot, i havnt driven it since then..I was fearing it would be costly. Change of filters and liquid can be done easily? i'll hit autozone tonight.
So the transmition does not require an imidiate change?

Cheers,

Gerland.

 

I would be extremely cautious and change the fluid with Dexron 6 and trans filter immediately. I just did that this summer on my '95 -- not hard, just messy and a little time consuming. Make sure you don't strip the bolts screwing back in, and be sure to clean the pan and magnet of shavings/clay metallic stuff. If there is no magnet, be sure to add one in the pan to attract metal particles.

If you have a trans problem, then the fluid/filter change will not fix it, but if there is some bad fluid gumming things up it will help.

Just dropping the pan will not flush all the fluid as some is up in the trans itself and would have to be power-flushed. Doing a trans flush is sometimes risky for problem transmissions and high-mileage and could make your car undriveable.

The safer thing to do is to drop the pan, change the filter and add back Dexron 6. Also resolve all your cooling system issues before you start driving it again. Tread lightly on your car after that, and see how it behaves, if there is a problem still get to a shop for inspection ASAP.

 

Check this out too:
http://www.valvoline.com/carcare/art...cid=2&scccid=1

Let us know how it turns out...

 

While the pan is down, add a drain plug.

 

Not a bad idea, but have you seen a kit for doing this? Or are there replacement pans with an angle on it for proper draining with a plug you have seen?

Update: I called Napa, and they sell a drain plug install kit for ~$7...

 

You need to find out how coolant got into the transmission, otherwise you will be wasting your time. The usual cause is that the transmission oil cooler inside the radiator has rotted out. Chances are you now have transmission fluid in the radiator & turning the coolant into sludge..

 

Thanks a lot for the advices guys. I have loong days with work and commuting to work (perks of living in New Jersey and working in NYC) I'll get the car up on saturday and try to to all that myself. Can't be rocket science, and might actually be fun...
I don't think engine coolant gets into the transmition, last week the level of the transmition fluid was perfect and it still had that nice red color.
I bought the filter and the dextron VI, i just need a good grease or something to have the gasket sealed.
This forum rocks by the way!
Cheers,
Gerland.

[IMG]local://upfiles/10166/30692F113E1A4A72B66BACC5E76D96C9.jpg[/IMG]

 

Dude it is DEXRON, NOT dextron. ;-)

Be sure you clean the surface with a scraper where the old gasket was, and attach the new gasket to the pan with oil-soluable grease—not gasket sealer or adhesive.