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From: spasmous2 on 15 Mar 2010 22:47
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???
From: Mark Olson on 15 Mar 2010 22:51
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???

Your ATF leaked out. The automatic transmission fluid is run through
a heat exchanger in the radiator. That's the oil you see dripping
out.

From: dsi1 on 15 Mar 2010 22:57
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!
From: spasmous2 on 16 Mar 2010 02:08
On Mar 15, 7:57 pm, dsi1 <d...(a)humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote:
> 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.
From: dsi1 on 16 Mar 2010 04:17
On 3/15/2010 8:08 PM, spasmous2 wrote:
> On Mar 15, 7:57 pm, dsi1<d...(a)humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote:
>> 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.

I don't like those transmission fluid lines going into the radiator. I
know that it's probably going to be a strain getting a wrench in there
to disconnect it which makes that the hardest part of replacing a
radiator. The newer ones have a quick connect snap-on lines whose main
feature is that they leak if not sized properly. Anyway, the most
important part for me when replacing a radiator is to insure that those
2 lines are not leaking. The guy working on your car probably had other
priorities.

On the bright side, at least you'll be putting some fresh new fluid into
the transmission which, I think, is a good thing.

>
> Thanks for the helpful replies guys.

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