Trans-Cooler Lines
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Trans-Cooler Lines
I am confused!! I brought my 1999 Ford F150 xlt Triton V8 truck to get an oil change. A few day later I notised an oil leak.I brought it to a mechanic he said its the trans cooler lines, he can get the part today and the cost Was $750.00. The reason im confused wouldnt it be transmission fluid leaking not the motor oil? Is this hard to fix and how much for parts?
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It's just aluminum tubing. Pretty easy to splice in a small repair using tubing fittings for $20 instead of replacing a whole 6 ft length section of pre-bent tubing with flare fittings.
You need to get under your vehicle yourself and find out where the leak is coming from and not just assume it was motor oil because it was dark
If you could find the pre- bent tubing sections I would not be surprised if they ran a couple hundred dollars a piece new. But you can splice in or repair or you can bend your own even. Or you can pull one at a junkyard... Which gives you a practice run before you pull your own. Much of what he's probably charging for is transmission fluid drain, and refill, along with a filter change of course, in order to change the tubing.... Plus the cost and labor for the tubing replacement.
Couple hundred dollars for the transmission fluid change out/ service and a couple hundred dollars for the tubing replacement. That actually sounds reasonable for all that for doing it the right way. If you don't like that then you need to learn to do things yourself unfortunately. If you go taking an old vehicle to a mechanic every time there's something that's wrong, it will cost you more than the vehicle.
Back to the transmission tubing it's pretty rare to get a leak on those....... Unless you get damage somehow
You need to get under your vehicle yourself and find out where the leak is coming from and not just assume it was motor oil because it was dark
If you could find the pre- bent tubing sections I would not be surprised if they ran a couple hundred dollars a piece new. But you can splice in or repair or you can bend your own even. Or you can pull one at a junkyard... Which gives you a practice run before you pull your own. Much of what he's probably charging for is transmission fluid drain, and refill, along with a filter change of course, in order to change the tubing.... Plus the cost and labor for the tubing replacement.
Couple hundred dollars for the transmission fluid change out/ service and a couple hundred dollars for the tubing replacement. That actually sounds reasonable for all that for doing it the right way. If you don't like that then you need to learn to do things yourself unfortunately. If you go taking an old vehicle to a mechanic every time there's something that's wrong, it will cost you more than the vehicle.
Back to the transmission tubing it's pretty rare to get a leak on those....... Unless you get damage somehow
Last edited by mbb; Jan 14, 2026 at 01:25 PM.
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The problem is its motor oil. I was in my driveway and I saw the oil pressure gauge dropping, I shut the truck off right away. I had to add like 4quarts of oil. I went back to the place I got the oil change, I told them it was leaking, Of coarse they said they didnt see any leaks changed the oil and filter and it was good for like a week. My father called up and said there was oil spot on his driveway were I was just parked. I checked the oil I was a quart down, looks clean dont smell burnt just leaking.So my question would be that the trans cooler lines wouldnt be leaking motor oil or would it?
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From: Texas
The Trans line would not be leaking oil. That does not mean that you don't have a leak in your trans line and an oil leak. I would ask the mechanic to show you where it was leaking and explain to him that you know you are losing oil and you think you may have more than one leak.
If he can't show you where the leak is, then I would start to question how accurate his diagnosis was. Also if you developed an oil leak after an oil change it is most likely the drain plug or the filter. No place else is touched during an oil change. Both of those places are easy to access and see if there is an oil leak. If you are down 4 quarts or a quart in a week, that is a substanital leak and should not be hard to find.
If he can't show you where the leak is, then I would start to question how accurate his diagnosis was. Also if you developed an oil leak after an oil change it is most likely the drain plug or the filter. No place else is touched during an oil change. Both of those places are easy to access and see if there is an oil leak. If you are down 4 quarts or a quart in a week, that is a substanital leak and should not be hard to find.
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From: Brantford Ontario
The problem is its motor oil. I was in my driveway and I saw the oil pressure gauge dropping, I shut the truck off right away. I had to add like 4quarts of oil. I went back to the place I got the oil change, I told them it was leaking, Of coarse they said they didnt see any leaks changed the oil and filter and it was good for like a week. My father called up and said there was oil spot on his driveway were I was just parked. I checked the oil I was a quart down, looks clean dont smell burnt just leaking.So my question would be that the trans cooler lines wouldnt be leaking motor oil or would it?
You need to trust a mechanic's inspection & estimate or you can raise your truck & crawl under it...Wipe off any lines or area's that appear to be leaking & then start it & observe where any oil accumulates & drips etc. It should not take too long to determine aleak & where it comes from ...
Oill will appear to be a lighter golden brown in colour (especially after a recent change.....Transmission fluid will be red in colour but if old it can be a much darker red (almost blackish if burned or real old with a redish tinge to it ??) Note: tranny fluid usually leaks directly from a line??
Last edited by maco; Jan 21, 2026 at 06:34 PM.
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So you still didn't get under your truck and look? Your just pissing into the wind.
A mechanic obviously thinks you have a transmission fluid leak also....... Which might be bad..... And you very well may have an oil leak of some kind... But it's not from your transmission fluid lines.
Crawl under your truck and look. Takes a couple of minutes. If you're going to own old vehicles you need to be able to figure stuff out yourself
A mechanic obviously thinks you have a transmission fluid leak also....... Which might be bad..... And you very well may have an oil leak of some kind... But it's not from your transmission fluid lines.
Crawl under your truck and look. Takes a couple of minutes. If you're going to own old vehicles you need to be able to figure stuff out yourself
Last edited by mbb; Jan 21, 2026 at 06:20 PM.