Hey folks,

I was looking under my hood today and found what I believe to be a slow leak that originated in one of the two little metal hoses leading out of the radiator and into the transmission. I believe it to be the transmission cooler lines, but my question is, what is this, and if I need to replace/tighten this, is it relatively easy to do or should I take it to a shop?

 

First off, is it leaking coolant or transmission fluid? If fluid, I would disconnect the line from the radiator, clean it up, inspect it for damage, and if ok, add some teflon tape to the threads and screw it back into the radiator. If the line is damaged, you will need to replace the line. You will have to determine also if the damage and leak is caused by the radiator.

The system works by circulating transmission fluid from the trans into the radiator and cooling the fluid before sending it back to the transmission. If it is leaking fluid (either transmission or coolant) from the radiator, you will need to remove the radiator and either replace it or have it repaired at a radiator shop. If it were me, I would just replace the radiator because fixing them at this area can be difficult and new radiators are just not that much money. Get the best price out on the internet.

And for your first questions, doing this work is not all that difficult and you can most likely save yourself hundreds of dollars if it is a complicated fix. Of course, if it is something easy like a loose fitting, a shop would most likely not charge you much money.