From: N8N on
On Mar 16, 2:08 am, spasmous2 <spasm...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mar 15, 7:57 pm, dsi1 <d...(a)humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote:
>
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> > On 3/15/2010 4:47 PM, spasmous2 wrote:
>
> > > Car: Mazda Protege 1994, automatic
>
> > > History:  I had a radiator leak that was getting worse and worse for a
> > > few months. Once or twice the temp gauge went up to H. Yesterday I
> > > finally replaced it with a new radiator. It seemed to be fine - I
> > > drove 50 miles at freeway speeds with no overheating at all. Then I
> > > noticed the engine was revving very high and I started losing speed as
> > > if the clutch had worn out. I managed to get off the freeway and
> > > parked safely.
>
> > > Now I don't know how automatics work or if it's related to the
> > > radiator repair, but currently the car behaves just like a manual
> > > gearshift with a totally worn out clutch. I can get to about 5 mph
> > > max. The oil on the dipstick looks fine (thick black) and the coolant
> > > seems clear - I only put tap water in there in case it all boiled off,
> > > Also, no smoke/steam in the exhaust. There's oil(?) dripping from on
> > > of the small, lower radiator hose attachments - the hose is clamped on
> > > so I'm not exactly sure where the stuff is coming from.
>
> > > I'm taking it to a mechanic in a few days. Just wondering what may
> > > have happened???
>
> > You probably have lost your automatic transmission fluid from the leak
> > coming from one of the 2 lines going to the transmission cooler in the
> > radiator. The problem can be solved by stopping the leak and putting in
> > a quart of fluid and then measuring the fluid level when after warming
> > up the car. The leak from the skinny metal tubes going into the radiator
> > probably just needs to be tightened up a bit. If it's a push on type,
> > you might need to replace the fitting with ones that fit. If the
> > mechanic is not too far you could probably just drive the car there
> > after putting in a quart of fluid. Refer to your manual for the correct
> > fluid and location of the filler tube. Good luck!
>
> Wow, this would be awesome, I hope it's just a fluid leak! So those
> little metal tubes contain transmission fluid, huh? Who knew ;) I
> figured it was engine oil sneaking into my radiator, which would be a
> whole nother post.
>
> Thanks for the helpful replies guys.

Umm... does that mean that you didn't check the ATF level after you
finished the radiator install? That might be bad juju.

After topping up the transmission and verifying that it's not dead
(for your sake I hope that it is not) I would go ahead and change the
trans filter, because you might have put a lot of debris in there from
slipping clutches

nate