Residual ATF still dripping? Possible leak?

rondoggnuts · 07-02-08, 06:11 AM

I've been lurking about here for a little while and I appreciate everyone's effort to make things easier for a newb like myself.

Of course, I ran into what I believe MAY be a problem, but maybe not so I'm hoping you folks can help me out. I'm still kinda young and inexperienced at this type of thing and some insight from you LC veterans should prove useful.

Anyway, it's a 2002 LX470 with about 45,000 miles, no maintenance done before I got to it (other than engine oil). I'm in the process of getting her up to par and recently did the ATF fluid exchange that I learned about in the FAQ section. I believe this is the last year of the 4 speed tranny that takes Dexron II/III fluid, so I bought 20 quarts of Mobil 1 ATF. I drained/filled the pan, then proceeded to remove the top hose from the cooler. This is where I ran into trouble.

Like an idiot, I failed to heed the advice of putting BOTH ends into a bucket. I read somewhere that the top hose will expel the fluid, so I just trusted this. Well, for the record, the fluid comes out of hose that leads to the top of the tranny fluid cooler. In other words, fluid enters the top hose of the cooler and exits the bottom. Hopefully, this helps someone who wants to know.

Anyway, when I started her up, fluid squirted everywhere on the bottom of the cooler and radiator for a few seconds. I tried to clean everything up as best I could, finished the exchange, and made sure the level was good (yes with engine running). Tranny feels great, hoses look good, and everything's fine.

The next day, I notice a very small puddle of tranny fluid on the floor directly under the driver side of the radiator. We have a garage floor coating so fluids don't really absorb into the concrete. So whatever spills will remain. At first, I figured it was some of the fluid that squirt everywhere when I screwed up. I decided to wait it out to see if it stops, but it has been a week now and I'm starting to worry. 24 hours will yield perhaps 10-15 drops worth of fluid, and to me this seems to be a lot for it to be the residual spill that I initially thought it was. But I just now checked the color by absorbing it with a paper towel, and compared it with the dipstick. The good news is that there is a clear difference in color (M1 pink vs. old stuff orange/red), but I'm not sure if this eliminates the possiblility of a leak.

So, is it possible that tranny fluid from the spill can still be slowly dripping down after a full week?

I checked all hoses and connections already, everything looks good and no apparent leak at any area I can see or reach. Thanks for your help, guys. Keep up the good work!

hkeller · 07-02-08, 08:01 AM

I'd say it could still be dripping out of the raditor slots, but you should keep a close eye on the dipstick. Does your year have one?

rondoggnuts · 07-02-08, 09:53 AM

Thanks for your input, I was thinking that was a possibility. And yes, the 2002 has a dipstick, but I doubt the level is low since so little fluid is ending up on the floor, but I'll keep an eye on it.

Trunk Monkey · 07-02-08, 10:09 AM

Very possibly if you got it in the fins like hk said. Spray down what you can with brake cleaner, wipe everything down, check the hoses for tightness and watch it. If you've got gunk built up and residual fluid sitting there it can be hard to spot new fluid leaking.

rondoggnuts · 07-03-08, 04:44 AM

I did like you said Trunk Monkey. Sprayed radiator fins and everything I could reach with brake cleaner and wiped down. I'll let you know how the little puddles of fluid look and/or if they disappear.

rondoggnuts · 07-17-08, 04:10 PM

Just an update: I sprayed a full can of brake cleaner on everything in the area. The "leak" seemed to lessen for a bit, but I was still afraid of a leak. I was getting a bit frustrated at this point. So I took a water hose nozzle and sprayed the area down. Well, it has been 4-5 days now and not a drop. It all makes sense, but I just had a hard time believing residual oil can leak for weeks. But the brake cleaner/water stopped it, so the conclusion is, yes - residual oil CAN leak for a longer period than a layman might suspect.

rondoggnuts · 08-07-08, 04:14 AM

UPDATE #2: Okay, I was wrong. The leak is still there after over a month and I think the oil cooler is leaking. How can this happen with a 2002 with ~ 44,000 miles? All I did was a fluid exchange and it definitely NOT in the vicinity of the hoses. So I guess the new fluid loosened up some crud in the cooler and started a very slow leak??

So I'm looking at my options and was hoping you guys can give me some advice. What do you think about the repair shops that offer to "fix" the leak? I'm guessing around $80, but I'm not sure about the reliability. Another option is an aftermarket cooler for ~$100. Finally, a new OEM one runs ~$400 I believe, but I haven't received the quote in response to my email inquiry yet.

So of my 3 options, what do you suggest for a lightly driven LC (LX)? By that, I mean NO towing, short trips usually less than 10-15 miles, but I still want to be able to make a longer highway trip if necessary. Or can it be possible that I can repair it myself? Hmmm... Also, the aftermarket ones sometimes claim a certain BTU rating, e.g. 14,000 BTU. If aftermarket is recommended, can you tell me how many BTU would be a good choice for my application? Thanks, again, for your help.