Trans cooler lines pulled out of radiator???

caddydaddy · #1 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 05:08 PM

I was driving my Mom's '04 CTS 3.6L when the transmission just stopped transmitting! We had it towed to a Cad dealer and they said that the trans cooler lines pulled out of the radiator!
Has anyone heard of this happening? The car only has 43k miles, so it's pretty absurd that she now has to spend $1,500 to replace the radiator.

I put a call into Cadillac customer service to see what they can do, since it's just past warranty.

Dan_W · #2 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 05:33 PM

That does seem pretty odd. I have worked at a local Chevy dealer and haven't seen that happen in the 2 years I've been here. They do fairly often leak from the line itself, usually where the rubber hose is crimped to the hard line. Do you know if there were any leaks noted at past oil changes?

caddydaddy · #3 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan_W

Do you know if there were any leaks noted at past oil changes?

No, if they had said something, I'm sure my Mom would have had it taken care of right away.
I was just driving it up a long hill, suddenly there was a lot of white smoke behind me, the engine revved up and the car slowed. I've never heard of anything like this either!

Spyke · #4 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 08:27 PM

been there, done that! It was in february 2008. The 11th to be precise! My 05 did the exact same thing and from 2 differents dealers, they both said it was a common problem from the cts. Its been 70k miles since the new radiator and everything seems fine!

The other problem I had was the heat shield touching the transmission line next to the transmission pan causing rust on the line until it started to leak a little. Changed that one too.

Wait up! 1500$ US or CAN? My bill was 1350$ CAN. New rad, new dexcool, labor time, engine cleaner products etc.

cadmobile · #5 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 08:32 PM

So you are saying that the entire problem was the radiator only? cuz im having the exact same problem engine rev but the cars doesn move properly lol

Spyke · #6 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 10:16 PM

My car is running from 6-7 in the morning and doesn't stop until 4-5 in the evening. I'm a sales manager on the road and all day, the car was running fine, shifting fine etc.

I was waiting on a red light. The light turned green. I pressed the accelerator normally when suddenly, the rpm went from 2k to 4500 rpm. I said to myself, thats strange! I gunned it and the car would accelerate very slowly but the rpm was at like 5k. I pulled over and as soon as I pulled over, the check coolant level showed up on my DIC. I shut off the engine, open the hood and white smoke everywhere! It was like -20C outside, freezing like hell!

The transmission line's connector that are in the rad is part of the radiator and cannot be changed or repaired because its a one piece unit with the radiator. The problem wasn't the transmission line, it was the connector that breaks and cracked and you could see a lot of transmission fluid + coolant everywhere.

1350$ later, its fixed! Since then, every time I do my maintenance on my car, I check the connector to make sure everything is perfect!

caddydaddy · #7 (**permalink**) 07-02-09, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyke

Wait up! 1500$ US or CAN? My bill was 1350$ CAN. New rad, new dexcool, labor time, engine cleaner products etc.

The quote was for just over $1,500 US + tax. The tech said a lot of it was labor, since it was a pain to replace the radiator in a CTS. Rock Auto sells new radiators for $392, so that must be a lot of labor!
Hopefully, since you did say it was a common problem with the CTS, Cadillac will take a little off the bill, since it is ridiculous for this to happen at only 42k miles.

Spyke · #8 (**permalink**) 07-03-09, 09:17 AM

when caddilac replaced my radiator, they replaced it with a new designed radiator so the connectors wont corrode or suppose to corrode. That what they said! I saw my old rad and it broke due to corrosion.

dup's Cadi · #9 (**permalink**) 07-03-09, 02:24 PM

When I had this happen to mine, I pulled the rad out and plugged the holes. Then mounted a B&M external cooler. I had the worst case on this, the trans sucked in all the coolant from the rad and fried itself. Not a good day.

cadmobile · #10 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 03:27 AM

can you take a picture of the connector that went bad please?

Spyke · #11 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 09:41 AM

cadmobile, is yours leaking or not?

cadmobile · #12 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 05:06 PM

it doesnt look like it is leaking but the car has the same simptoms, that is the reason im asking

Spyke · #13 (**permalink**) 07-05-09, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadmobile

it doesnt look like it is leaking but the car has the same simptoms, that is the reason im asking

If its not leaking and your transmission seems so slip, maybe you'll need someone to look at your transmission fluid level.

I already tried myself and couldn't level the car on ramp so I went at the dealer so they could check it with the engine running and transmission at operating temperature.

Since there's no dipstick to check the fluid level on the transmission, you have to level the car with the engine running, transmission at normal operating temperature and unscrew the fill plug slowly. If at 3/4 of the plug when you unscrew it (sorry, dont know if its the correct word), there's some fluid dripping from the plug, the fluid is at correct level.

cadmobile · #14 (**permalink**) 07-06-09, 03:03 AM

i personally changed the tranny fluid so thats not the problem besides when i took out the old tranny oil it looked fine old but fine also the coolant but the description of the probem is basically the same, the car suddenly stopped acceleration but reved very high.

Spyke · #15 (**permalink**) 07-06-09, 08:16 AM

check first of all your transmission fluid level, first of all. Then, If its full, maybe a bad transmission valve/solenoid...

The connector, if it breaks, it will leak a lot of transmission fluid and you'll lose coolant also.