Transmission fluid in cooling system

KMITCH

MEMBER
JEEP CHEROKEE

'00 Jeep GCL 4.7 V8, 160Kmi.
Had to replace tranny & radiator. Cracked cooler, coolant in tranny.
Before leaving shop had "low coolant" display. Shop says it's a "pressure" situation and will be OK. 2 days later still a prob.
Brought it back, shop says ooops. Leaking heater hose.
Not stocked, ordered, told to keep eye on coolant level.
3 days later coolant in expansion tank looked funky. Pink.
Opened radiator. Strawberry milkshake!
Diagnosis: Must not have gotten all the ATF out of the cooling sys! It looked like more than "a little" to me. (They did, and charged for, a "hot flush).
QUESTION.
What effect did the ATF have on my cooling sys.
and did it ruin my hoses.
What questions should I ask and what responses should I expect?

1 Reply

2CARPRO JACK

MECHANIC
11,533 POSTS

The ATF will have an adverse effect on the hoses due to the high detergent state of the fluid. They should have flushed the cooling system when they replaced the radiator in the first place. You probably wont see the damage to the hoses for some time if at all, due to the fact it is from the inside out. Keep an eye on them, if they begin to get mushy or soft replace them before they leave you stranded or cause the engine to overheat due to a leak