'02 Alero 3.4 Catastrophic Sudden ATF Loss

[JHerriot]

Hi all,

So I posted a while back about my 2002 Alero with the 3.4 and 4T45E transmission. I dropped the pan and changed the filter at 150k miles and replaced 7 quarts of rotten old Dex3 with MaxLife. All seemed well and shifts had improved quite noticeably.

The other night, a cooler line loosened off or backed off enough that it contacted the fan and burst, spraying ATF all over the engine and causing complete transmission failure/shutdown. A shop completed an emergency radiator replacement and cooler line replacement a few months ago away from home and I think they may have installed one of the lines poorly. It was raining and dark so I couldn't see the ground, but I could smell the fluid burning on the engine and exhaust. I coasted it into a small village where I pulled over. Wouldn't go in any gear, totally done. I didn't know about the cooler line until later. I feared the tranny had just cooked itself (though with no warning at all).

Do you guys think it could survive total fluid loss like that unharmed? I'm worried that if I refill with MaxLife and go, it may be permanently damaged by the loss of coolant and will fail sooner rather than later.

Thoughts?

 

[gabriel9766]

A few yrs ago i bought a 99 Taurus from my votec teacher and i had replaced the trans cooler fittings tht were on the radiator because they were leaking. Omw 2 work from votec school the upper cooler line poped off a block from work and i lost a bunch of atf. I guess i forgot to put the Jesus clips back on. Pushed the car into the shop and refilled the trans and was good till the HG blew. So u may get lucky.

 

[nascarnation]

There's little downside in trying, unless you plan a long distance jaunt and are worried about being stranded well away from home base.

I'll bet it will work just fine. In some respects a fast fluid loss is kind of self protective because the line pressure drops and can't charge the torque converter, so the engine is essentially disconnected from the trans. Given that temps were likely cold (based on your location) should help too. Can we say your torque converter pump bushing and/or forward clutch pack are 100% ok? No, but give it a try you'll know soon enough.

 

[The_Eric]

Yup- give it a go. I've seen plenty come back from the grave so to speak.

 

[SirTanon]

Never know until you try. Luckily, MaxLife is cheap. I say go for it.

 

[meep]

very little chance of damage. Without pressure, it's unloaded. Fill it up and go.

 

[JHerriot]

I filled it up with Maxlife, changed the cooler line set, and it was as good as gold. The exhaust and bottom of the engine and bay were covered in ATF that with our cold temps lately stuck on like glue. It still smells like cat urine but shifts perfectly so I'm optimistic. If anything, now more of the fluid is new stuff and it seems to be responding very well to it.