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03 Tranny cooler line..THANKS FOR THE TOW!!

13K views 23 replies 11 participants last post by  Scott Motor City 
#1 ·
SO.....................on the highway drivin home, all of a sudden no power..flashing through my head was all the horror stories on here and i did a quick check to see what i thought it was..no dic message...rpm flys up no power...bam its the tranny cooler line.
so i managed to get to the shoulder in a construction zone.....
look down..puddle of tranny fluid.
managed to get a tow form someone passing by that hooked me up with a ok cash deal..he had to put it on the dollys since its a rwd and he actually didnt know that till i told him..yes they charge extra for that..he did $120 for it all and right into my garage no charge for mileage cus he was heading that direction and he saw me in a dangerous spot on the highway. (also got his number and said thanks but no offence i hope i never need to see you again..lol)
got home popped the hood and reached down and grabbed the tranny cooler line..almost dead center on the bottom of the rad.

so... i know its happened to others on here, ive read about it before...
what am i in for? ive got 2 other cars to drive in the meantime so im gonna attack this 1 myself.

what is it that generally breaks the rad? the line? or both?

any input appreciated.. also im about to check to see how the pics of my car on the towtruck turned out..its dark out and i only took them with the blackberry.

thanks guys...oh and check your tranny cooler line to make sure its in good condition!!!!
 
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#2 ·
Well. Sorry for your misfortune to start with.

I found when mine let go it was the passenger side line (Feed line). The trans cooler isn't very big and it is the lines that hold it in place inside the rad. If the trans cooler is stripped I would think that you might need to get a new rad. That and the lines. If the line on the passenger side is the one that let go you should tow the car to the dealer to get the trans flushed. Reason being is that the trans cooler will move and pull in coolant into the trans. This will eat your tranny if you drive it anywhere.

I would think that you can get most of it done yourself in your driveway. But just make sure you get it flushed out.

dup
 
#3 ·
ok guys here is the hose.. and here is where it goes into the rad. it is the one with the sticker on it so its easy to see which one it is when its in the rad...well pushed into place on the rad. looks like whatever fitting it mounts to on the rad jsut split. i may be able to just replace a fitting...but i gotta rip into it tomorrow to see how its set up...the rad is over $500 retail...OUCH!!!!

thanks for the info DUP
 

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#5 ·
Mine doesn't see winter...but pervious owners drove it in snow.
But I agree..if possible replace this part before it fails and then seal it
 
#7 ·
I had the samething happend to my 03 cts with (180,000kms) in feb 2009. I was driving on Highway 400 Southbound when I heard a big clunk but I just ignored it and kept driving the car. Made an exit on finch ave and noticed my car started to act little sluggish(lost of accerlation). I pulled over in the parking lot and noticed a big puddle of transmission fluid on the ground. Called onstar they towed my car to marvin cadillac dealership located in scarbrough on eglinton ave where they gave me an estimate for $2400.00 (new lines, rad, labour+ taxes) :thepan:. Refused since I couldnt afford it that much. Towed (on my own expense $80.00) to my friends garage where my mechanic discovered the trannmision is toasted. Bought a used transmission for ($1200.00 incl tax + warranty life time) from standard auto wreckers and bought a tranmission cooler. Installed it things have been good so far "knock on wood".
 
#8 ·
if my tranny goes, thats it for her for the season...... and i may start looking at a trailblazer SS and get rid of my jimmy...we will see.
 
#9 ·
Well, I did something on mine that I don't normally do on a car like that.
I took out the rad, saw that the trans cooler was in the rad but not really hard mounted to it, (it would move inside the rad). So I got some good old JB Weld, put a bit in the trans cooler holes, places a bit a sheet metal that I had cut to fit the hole, and piled on the JB Weld. Used a heat lamp to dry up the weld and let it sit for 24 hours. Replaced the rad. Then mounted a external trans cooler from B&M.

I wouldn't normally use this stuff in a place like that because it is a pressurized system. But, I put over 60 000kms on the car and did not have a problem.
The cooler cost me 80 CAN, and was an easy install.

dup
 
#10 ·
well i ended up ordering a new rad from the dealer....
shipment got stolen from the warehouse on thursday(my dad works at the dealership so i know its the truth)
they ended up getting me one friday afternoon and i put it in, rad cost me $340, now i just have to fill up the coolant and tow it to the dealer to have the tranny filled, im going to be getting a full transmission service, drop the pan clean the magnet, change filter and re-seal it, i figure its all appart and only $50 mor than just having the tranny filled so ill just do it.

the new rad came with fittings to attach to the hoses and thats good because both fittings on the tranny cooler lines are bad, one is stipped (the 1 that came off) and the other 1 was looking like it had clacium building up in the threads. i was worried i needed new cooler lines...which retail is around $400....

i really cant believe how big of a job it is to change rad...you have to take everything out of the car..ill post pics later. im luckey my gf was there to help, you need a second set of hands to hold things to get them properly lined up, and to have tooles passed :)
 
#11 ·
well i got the cts back today from the dealer... well......expencive repair list...
rad
trans cooler lines
trans fluid flush
trans filter and gasket kit

i figured, the tranny was gettin new fluid so now would be a good time for gasket and filter. the mechanic was a friend of my dads and he said the fluid was really bad so he flushed the fluid, drove it, then dropped the pan again and flushed it all again to make sure it is all fresh clean fluid.
cooler lines..well they were too rusted to get the fittings off......so ouch...bill goes up

so i welcomed her home with a new set of HID FOGS!!! no more repairs this season please.....
 
#13 ·
my dad works there but.....

cooler lines - retail $ 450 i paid $260
tranny filter $91 i paid $44
gasket $27 i paid $14
tranny fluid $50
some sort of kit - retail $33 i paid $30
enviro and shop fees
they only charged me $231 for the tranny service including install

shop cost about $700

plus rad - retail $550 i paid $340 that i put in and saved some shop time.
plus 1 tow for $120 and then buying CAA 1 year membership for $100 for 4 tows.

so about $1200............

ouch...i felt better before i just looked at all that and added in my tows,own time and rad.....
 
#17 · (Edited)
I have uploaded some shots of the rad and fitting after I have removed it from the car and nursed the rust out of the quick couplings so I wouldn't have to get new trans cooler lines!:banghead: Rad will be here on Tuesday. No stupid $1,000+ repair bill for me. My total repair bill.. $250 plus towing. I WIN! I WIN! :p
 

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#18 ·
i would be carefull if i were you with that fitting. yours released from the line so you lucked out. mine was sooo bad that they had 2 guys trying to get it off the line and it just wouldnt release.

its usually the threads that are the problem and the reason for it pulling off, so maybe you should try and get new fittings, you are luckey you saved yourself on the lines.
for min 1 fitting came with the rad and 1 came with the lines.

but you definatelly have the lowest quote as of right now. i dont think this would have been such a common issue if GM would have just made it with a different metal and maybe a couple extra threads deep.
 
#19 ·
wait...which fitting did you clean off? the one closest to the driver side or the one in the middle of the car???

the one clesest to the driver side is the one that comes with the rad, that one on mine was fine. this one it solid 1 piece bolt and fitting.

the one in the middle is the one that blew off mine, that is the one that the threads stripped. they were unable to get it off tranny line. ths was 2 pices, bolt to attach spins.

it looks like you are only showing a pic of 1 fitting and the rad where the line stayed attached. ???
 
#22 ·
If you had the problem that ghettomike had, your car wouldn't move at all, period.

When was the last time your transmission was serviced? Periodic fluid flush and refills are very important to keeping automatic transmissions happy.
 
#23 ·
I understand this is an old thread, but since it's already on page 1, I'd like to ask the following question:

Is this transmission cooler line issue exclusive to 2003/2004 models, or this something that plagues the entire generation? Have manual transmission models shown to be more resistant to this failure than the automatic cars?
 
#24 ·
06 CTS 115K miles - Same thing just happened to me. Going down the freeway, big cloud of smoke behind me, loss of power - I knew it was the transmission. Pulled over right away and had it towed home. My mechanic friend said to look at the two tranny lines going to the radiator and sure enough one of the lines fell out of the radiator, fitting and all. One new radiator, 8 quarts of Dexron VI and 2 Gallons of Dexcool and I was good to go. Really dodged a bullet not needing a new transmission! My mechanic friend charged me $500 total for the job.
 
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