Just picked up a '94 1500 test drove her for 30 minutes and then spent about the same amount of time underneath her. Absolutely clean. The undercarriage looks like she sat in a showroom the past 23 years. The engine compartment looks the same.. Immaculate. There are only two things wrong with her, needs new rotors and the carpet needs to be scrubbed. Well shoot after going over this truck with a fine tooth comb I couldn't pay the man fast enough. The drive home was amazing couldn't be happier. Pulled in the driveway, got out and grabbed a soda and got my garage ready to give her a tune up. Next thing I know theres a fountain under the radiator and a steady drip from the rear of the engine. The coolant reservoir was now bone dry and the radiator was leaking tranny fluid. I thought it might just be red fluid but when I checked the tranny fluid level it was about 3x's higher than max and smelled like antifreeze.

I've never had a radiator fail this spectacularly before so I got a couple of questions if anyone out there doesnt mind answering them:

Ive always gone with radiators that included the a/t tranny fluid cooler what is everyones opinions of running a stand alone tranny fluid cooler?

The fact that the fluid reservoir was completely drained and the transmission itself is filled beyond maximum has me wondering if in addition to a leak in the tranny line inside the radiator that there could possibly be a leak inside the transmission itself. I pressure tested the transmission but it seems to hold pressure is there another way to diagnose this without dropping it?

thanks

 

Not sure why you suspect a leak in the transmission. No antifreeze belongs in the trans. An internal failure in the radiator has let the two fluids mix.
I'd talk to a transmission builder about the best coarse of action. May need to scrap the converter, and possibly disassembled the trans.

 

I would flush the transmission, change the filter and add new fluid. It is worth a try as it might not be damaged. It is worth a try and much cheaper than a rebuild. Of course you need a radiator anyway.