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1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant


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Brougham
New User

Feb 24, 2008, 1:34 PM

Post #1 of 7 (1515 views)
1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In

My 1994 Fleetwood Brougham has a milkshake looking coolant running through it right now. It has an LT1 Chevy SB 350 in it. I know that most mechanics assume a bad head gasket when they see the milkshake, but i have no other signs of a head gasket. I took it to an ACDelco shop and they said that it was the radiator mixing trans fluid with the coolant and that i would just have to replace the radiator and flush out all of my fluids. My question is that with me being a beginner in the auto industry (Still in school at UTI), is this a job for me to do or should i leave it to experienced professionals? And if it is a job i can do, how much work will it invole?


Double J
Veteran / Moderator
Double J profile image

Feb 24, 2008, 1:59 PM

Post #2 of 7 (1506 views)
Re: 1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In

IT depends on your mechanical abilities...

Replacing the radiator isn't that complicated....but your going to have to have the transmission flushed completely...
because coolant is in the entire unit including the torque converter....Do not keep driving this vehicle...further damage to the transmission can occur,then you have a much bigger expense..
Also the cooling system will have to be flushed very well including the heater core....and the coolant recovery tank...


What happened was the transmission cooler inside the radiator tank probably ruptured causing this..
Definitely change the engine oil and filter as well..

Post back if more help is needed...

Jim


Brougham
New User

Feb 24, 2008, 3:07 PM

Post #3 of 7 (1502 views)
Re: 1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In

I have checked the trans dip stick and the engine oil dipstick and neither show any signs of coolant. I feel confident about changing the radiator, but flushing all the fluid and disposing of it properly is where i am not. I plan on chaning the radiator this weekend but might have to drive a day or two this week. Would that cause serious problems over a day of driving??


Brougham
New User

Feb 24, 2008, 3:09 PM

Post #4 of 7 (1501 views)
Re: 1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In

Thanks a lot too. I appreciate the response


Double J
Veteran / Moderator
Double J profile image

Feb 24, 2008, 3:13 PM

Post #5 of 7 (1499 views)
Re: 1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In

How long has it been driven in this condition?...
I ,personally ,wouldn't take any chances with a transmission,its too costly to repair/replace..
If your confident,change the radiator ..take it to a qualified shop to have the transmission flushed.
You can probably flush the cooling system yourself...oil change ,no big deal...remember ,places like Autozone and Pep boys,Murrays,etc will dispose of the oil and coolant for you....no charge..


Brougham
New User

Feb 24, 2008, 3:43 PM

Post #6 of 7 (1498 views)
Re: 1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In

I've been driving the car with the milkshake coolant since about september. When i bought it i didn't know enough yet to check the coolant and when i got home i figured i could just get it flushed. I could see the car had some front end damage (Cracked grille, missing ambient temp sensor, and cracked harnesses around the lights) but i figured i could bring the car back to life. But everytime i flushed the system the shaky coolant would come back. It overheated on me two times since i bought it and the last time, which was about 2 weeks ago, i put it up and drove my other car. The first time i changed the t-stat and flushed it and it held up for about 2 months. So now i'm going to just get it fixed right and wait till im certified to deal with these jobs. Thanks a lot for your help.


idowindows
Novice

Feb 24, 2008, 7:59 PM

Post #7 of 7 (1493 views)
Re: 1994 Caddy Fleetwood w/ milkshake coolant Sign In


In Reply To
I could see the car had some front end damage (Cracked grille, missing ambient temp sensor, and cracked harnesses around the lights) but i figured i could bring the car back to life.

And that explains exactly what Jim mentioned when he said; "What happened was the transmission cooler inside the radiator tank probably ruptured causing this.."






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