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Author Topic: Coolant in transmission fluid  (Read 914 times)

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Coolant in transmission fluid
« on: September 27, 2014, 02:02:58 pm »
Not sure yet if I have coolant in my transmission fluid but it was awfully watery in consistency toward the end of draining it. If I indeed do have coolant in my transmission that would likely mean my water pump seal is bad correct? Is there anything else it could potentially be I'm not thinking of? Thanks for any input.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2014, 05:27:27 pm »
Not sure yet if I have coolant in my transmission fluid but it was awfully watery in consistency toward the end of draining it. If I indeed do have coolant in my transmission that would likely mean my water pump seal is bad correct? Is there anything else it could potentially be I'm not thinking of? Thanks for any input.

If the water pump seal is bad it will leak out of the weep hole.  If someone plugged the weep hole and the water pump seal is leaking, water will be forced into the transmission.  A bad clutch cover gasket can also put coolant into the transmission.  A crack in the clutch cover in the water pump area will also put coolant into the transmission.


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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2014, 08:43:35 pm »
Thanks for the input motorgeek. No coolant from the weep hole but I'm pulling the hood tomorrow and checking my coolant level (since I'll have my new hood painted this week) and if my levels are low I'll be pulling the clutch cover.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2014, 08:00:35 am »
Not sure yet if I have coolant in my transmission fluid but it was awfully watery in consistency toward the end of draining it. If I indeed do have coolant in my transmission that would likely mean my water pump seal is bad correct? Is there anything else it could potentially be I'm not thinking of? Thanks for any input.

If the water pump seal is bad it will leak out of the weep hole.  If someone plugged the weep hole and the water pump seal is leaking, water will be forced into the transmission.  A bad clutch cover gasket can also put coolant into the transmission.  A crack in the clutch cover in the water pump area will also put coolant into the transmission.




I forgot to mention that a bad cylinder base gasket can leak coolant into the transmission if the gasket is bad from the water port to the power valve push rod area.

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  • Mitch Keller
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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2014, 02:21:12 pm »
More reasons to use the Cometic afm gaskets
F Mitch Keller

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2014, 06:21:20 pm »
I have all Cometic afm gaskets all new this time last year when I finished the build. I don't think I have coolant because I looked at the drained fluid today and there is no separation. I would think type F tranny fluid and coolant would separate if they were mixed together, like oil and water.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2014, 02:05:31 pm »
Well radiator is full of coolant so I'm pretty sure I don't have a problem where coolant is leaking into my gear box/transmission. Yay!!!

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2014, 02:52:42 pm »
You are using ATF Type F? When was the last time you drainned it? It really doesn't last long in a quad. I have seen it look watery from lack of changing it. I would suggest using belray gear saver this time.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #8 on: September 29, 2014, 07:16:17 pm »
last changed it two drag events ago so less than 4 hours of run time.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #9 on: September 29, 2014, 08:01:08 pm »
I'll switch to Bel Ray after my drag event Saturday, I just refilled with fresh Castrol type F tranny fluid.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2014, 07:30:53 am »
Ya, sounds like it broke down. Should have changed it after each drag race.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2014, 10:50:26 am »
You might want to use a lighter weight oil than the Gear Saver types. There has been some discussion that there could be a correlation between those heavy oils and gear pitting.

WCR did my transmission work. He recommended type F changed frequently based on transmissions he has seen.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2014, 11:31:47 am »
I am going on a limb and going to saying, that gear oil is not causing pitting. If anything, gear saver will do the exact opposite.
Gear Saver was designed for a wet clutch gear box.

If anything, thinner oil would cause pitting.

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #13 on: October 06, 2014, 02:21:54 pm »
BelRay caused pitting for me and light surface rust.   

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Re: Coolant in transmission fluid
« Reply #14 on: October 06, 2014, 03:01:38 pm »
My observations/opinions are:  the pitting is due to Suzuki's sub standard metallurgy they have used on their off road transmissions for the last 40+ years.  This is one of the reasons the LTR450s also have a lot of transmission problems.   They use good metallurgy in their street bikes, why not in their off road products??

Higher viscosity transmission oils will tend to slightly reduce the pitting but at the expense of the likely-hood of clutch slippage and a slight power loss. 

 

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