Its a bad day...

[PK99TJ]

...when your radiator fails internally mixing coolant with transmission fluid, turning your 5.9L ZJ into a beautiful paperweight.

[Jerry Bransford]

Whoops. That sounds worse for the transmission than for the engine which I'd think would be ok after a cooling system flush. I'd do a real fast complete flush of the tranny and hope for the best.

[PK99TJ]

Sadly, I am taking the safe route and parting ways with the car. I'm not qualified to perform or interested in funding a transmission swap, even though its my favorite car ever.

Everything I read says that antifreeze is a transmission killer, and it is a frothy pink soup in there. It's over, I'm sad to say.

[speaceman]

Why wouldn't you be interested in repairing "your favorite car ever".

I've known several people who have gotten rid of their favorite car ever only to go through great lengths and considerably more $ than they would have spent keeping it, to get one back later on in their life.

[PK99TJ]

I'm interested in repairing it, but not in funding the repair.

[speaceman]

I hear yah. Assuming only the tranny is busted, it'd still probably cost you less $ to fix your jeep than what it would cost you to get a new or new used vehicle, assuming all the systems on your jeep are mechanically sound and nothing else will go wrong with it any time soon.

If the jeep has been reliable, it may cost you less to fix it, than to get a different car.

It couldn't hurt to just try to get the fluids all swapped out and correct just to see what will happen. That's not an expensive thing to try before you go through the trouble of losing the $ on selling your jeep in non-functioning condition and finding another car.

[Provelogear]

Let's see what it would cost.

Radiator $250 (2 hours to replace and flush)
Tranny Fluid $60 (1 hour to flush completely)
Coolant $40

Transmission if bad $1000

I'd keep my favorite car in a heartbeat! I know it seems bad now but you really should keep it or at least do the repairs and get alot more for it should you decide to sell it.

Gerald

[PK99TJ]

It will have a good home. I am giving it away to a forum member, so I fully expect to see it back on the road in short order. He's going to do the repairs.

So, the story has a happy ending for someone. And, I am happy to know it won't be parted out, sold for parts, or crushed into a cube.

[ukjeeper]

Couple of months after i moved back here from CA (bringing the YJ with me), i started to notice brown streaks in my rad. Eventually my rad was filled with thick gunge.

Turned out the block had cracked and oil was pushing through into the coolant...


Cost me about a grand for a new 4.0 (from an XJ) and labor.