hey guys, there's a small crack in my radiator that i have just been dealing with for a few weeks now i.e. adding 50/50 mix when it gets low. well my trans was slipping like crazy yesterday between 1-2 and 2-3 so i left it running and put it in neutral to check the trans fluid. trans fluid looks dirty but its at the right level. The thing that cought my attention is that instead of my coolant level being lower than it was previously, due to my leak, the fill bottle was full to the cap! i know its a pressurized system so i turned it off to see if the level would drop to the "full" mark with no luck. i did use liquid aluminum to try and stop my radiator leak. could this have plugged my system causing the fluid to back up? could this be causing my trans to slip too because its not geting to the right temp? im lost here and am putting off taking it to a shop. any ideas?

 

Here's my first thought. Is it overheating? Get it to operating temp with the rad cap off an wait till the thermostat opens and look into the rad to see if you have circulation and the waterpumps working. Next thought. If it's getting to temp n not overheating that shouldn't make the tranny slip and shouldn't be related. If it did overheat and burn the bands that would cause the slipping but not sure.
Just a guess. Good luck man.

 

The motor, rad & heater core are pressurized.....the overflow bottle is not or should not be. Radiator cap is a KEY component as it is a 2 way valve and must work correctly. The rad cap is what raises the boiling point of the coolant. All leaks need to be eliminated. If not, air replaces the coolant that has leaked out, as the motor cools. Probably only adding half the coolant back that leaked out....the other half is air, causing a overheat and filling the bottle. When the motor is cold, coolant level in the bottle should be in the vicinity of the lower mark and full to the top in the rad.

 

The jeep hasn't over heated yet, i think because I don't go more than 5 miles or work. I took the cap off and let it get to the proper temp and.... No coolant flow. So my first move should be to remove and replace both the cracked radiator and since there's no circulation the water pump too?

 

It is a pretty easy process to change the radiator and the water pump. While you are doing that I would highly recommend changing the rad cap and thermostat. You don't need any special tools or anything fancy just a lil mechanical skills.... flush your system to while you have everything off.... best time

 

Okay sounds like a days worth of work. Thanks for all the help/advice guys, hoping this will work.

 

New belt, and fan clutch wouldnt hurt, the 4 main parts of the coolant system, will be new. When you flush the system flush the engine, rad, heater core separate from each other to prevent the crud from the engine, rad from clogging the heater core.