NEED HELP ATF leaking at radiator coolant line fitting on 2002 Envoy

Drec

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I just finished replacing a water pump, alternator, A/C pump and fan clutch. Then I started the car to find a leak at one of the coolant lines.

7A259AA5-A4F9-4D1E-B0A8-AB63ABBE38B6.jpeg

I tightened the fitting and it slowed the leak down a little. What do I replace this with? I never seen a fitting like this before.
 

Blckshdw

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Nov 20, 2011
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When I got my replacement radiator, both of my connections had slow leaks. Thought I was gonna have to replace them right away, but they just needed a half turn. Found these, before I had the common sense to try tightening them down first. :bonk:

 

Drec

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I did try tightening mine, but that didn’t do it. Are these a quick disconnect fitting and they just snap in? What does the black plastic clip do?
 
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Blckshdw

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Pretty much, screws into the tranny cooler, and the lines snap in under the E clips. The black clip is just a retainer for the E clips, so they don't get knocked out by accident. On 2nd thought, you could try removing the fittings you have now, putting some teflon tape, or thread sealant, on the threads, and screwing them back in, see if that stops the leak.
 

Drec

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When I noticed the leak, tightening the fitting eliminated the leak around the threads. Now it appears to be leaking through the fitting/tube interface. I’ll just replace the fitting and hopefully that will take care of the problem.
 

mrrsm

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Ordinarily... I'd hesitate suggesting this particular fix... But if Carlton's recommendation for installing the NEW $5.00 OEM 4L60E Transmission Coolant Line Fitting still refuses to seal due to possible problems with the Insert portion of the Line itself... THIS is an Old School Alternative that can work as a Last Ditch Effort.

It is not a costly repair... Just a bit Labor Intensive to arrange using a "FITZALL" Fitting Model # 31284G and some Teflon Pipe Fitter's Tape along with a Length of 3/8" Metal Brake Line. You will need a Pipe Flaring Tool Kit for this job to re-work the additional adjacent Brass Pressure Fittings-Hosing as needed.

The only mistake the VOP made during his application of this Clever Fix... was NOT using a section of "Braided Fuel Quality Flex-Hoses" or some Fuel Proof 3/8" Hose in between the Solid Line Repair Segment and the Transmission Line. It will be necessary to install one of those two intermediary solutions to take the place of the OEM "Free Floating Action" Line-To-Fitting present in the OEM Trans Cooler Line that ordinarily allows and adjusts for these movements (without leaking) during gyrations between the Transmission and the Engine under load ...and the mate-up with the "Solid State", body mounted Radiator-Transmission Cooler.

Failing to add in the Short "Flex-Line" will likely cause the Repaired Metal Trans-Cooler Line to Bend and Work Harden ...eventually cracking the Tubing or breaking out the line from inside of the Radiator TCL threaded port. Bad Motor Mounts can accelerate the 3/8" Cooler Line into wearing "Grooves" around the end of the Cooler Line Pipe-to-Radiator connection caused by those excessive Vibrations.


The VOP (Video Original Poster) shows how to use this Alternative Flare Pressure Fitting Technique that has Matching Threads to those nested in the Female In-Port of the Lower Radiator. That Nifty Item will allow you the use of a short length of 3/8" Steel Tubing that gets mated up with a "FITZALL" Pressure fitting at the Radiator In-Port and use either a Short length Braided Line or small section of 3/8" Fuel Proof Hose and several S/S Clamps to blend all of these components together ... and it will Never Leak Again:

 
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Drec

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Ordinarily... I'd hesitate suggesting this particular fix... But if Carlton's recommendation for installing the NEW $5.00 OEM 4L60E Transmission Coolant Line Fitting still refuses to seal due to possible problems with the Insert portion of the Line itself... THIS is an Old School Alternative that can work as a Last Ditch Effort.
...................................................................................................................................................................
First, I did buy some of the OEM coolant line fittings today and will install them or one of them tomorrow.
I appreciate this old school alternative and it would be a better fix; which I might consider doing as a more permanent fix.

Has this been a problem with the lines popping out, as was mentioned in the video? This is a reason that I don't like the newer vehicles, as they use cheap methods to save a few pennies; which cost more later.
 

mrrsm

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I would say No. The GM ACDelco Design of these unique "Jiffy-Tite" fittings is actually rather ingenious. It would be well nigh impossible to run an absolutely "Solid State" set of Transmission Coolant Lines from the 4L60E over to the radiator because at all times when running, the Engine and Transmission in combination move in dramatically independent directions from the Body-Mounted Radiator. That amount of flexing of those lines would soon work-harden the 3/8" Steel Tubing, eventually causing them to crystallize, crack open... and leak AT Fluid under pressure.

If you look at the fitting(s) up close before you install them, just inside of where the short end of the "Ridged" pipe fits inside, there is (1) Fat and Robust Silicone "O" Ring tucked inside of the deep inner groove. Once that Pipe "Ridge" passes the point where the Tri-Lobe Spring Clip snaps around behind the "Ridge"... The Short Pipe cannot ordinarily retract.

However, at ALL Four Short Pipe Insert locations... Those "O" Rings allow the Short Tube segments to "roam comfortably" in and out of the fitting(s) in very small increments as the Engine and 4L60E bounce around and torque from right to left on the Two Motor and Single Transmission Mounts during changes in the Power Band and Shifting... just as the Solid Mounted Radiator remains rigid to the front of the SUV-Truck Body.

Meanwhile... in spite of all those disparate movements, those Durable Silicone "O" Rings ordinarily manage to stay snugly wrapped around those Short Pipes... maintaining good seals and retaining the pressurized Transmission Fluid within.

The body of this Steel ACDelco "Jiffy-Tite" Fitting is Very Well Made. However, the Tri-Lobe Spring Clips CAN be Over-Stretched to the point of allowing the "Ridges" of the Short Pipes to pull out during vehicle operation, even when Brand New.

Also... Bad Motor mounts present ALL of these components with a Hellacious amount of vibrations; such to the extent of wearing a circumferential groove around the pipe section, just outside of the "Ridge"... eating its way into the OD of the Short Pipe. The last component subject to Failure is the Silicone "O" Ring itself. Excessive Rubbing and Friction caused by so much repeated exposure to "Gyrations and Vibrations" can of course wear them out hidden inside of these fittings.

In time... Both the Clip, the Short Pipe and the Silicone "O"Rings will break down from loose, vibrating contact. The Clips can accidentally get Over-Stretched even during Brand New Installations and will soon lose their ability to keep the Short Pipe tucked on the INSIDE of the Three Lobes of the Spring Clip(s).

The attached images show this amazing design of these 4L60E Fittings at various angles and completely dis-assembled so you can observe just how deep inside of these things the Silicone "O" Rings reside.

Take Note of the Hayden 3/8" Brass Adapter as it illustrates what that built-in retaining "Ridge" design looks like so as to keep the Pipe INSIDE the Fitting... just in front of the Tri-Lobe Springs Clip. That After-Market Brass "Ridged" Pipe can also be used for the purpose of allowing the installation of an After-Market Trans-Cooler when used with Flexible 3/8" Fuel-Proof Hosing as an alternative to Pre-Bent Steel OEM Cooler Line Pipes-Tubing:

4L60ELINEFITTINGDISASSEMBLED.jpg4L60ELINEFITTING.jpg4L60ELINEFITTING1.jpg4L60ELINEFITTING2.jpgBRASSHORTPIPEADAPTER.jpg
 
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Drec

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The ACDelco part number (19125677) is what I stared looking for; which wasn’t showing up locally. So we cross referenced it to a Dorman 800-604. I bought them yesterday and went out to replace them this morning. They wouldn’t work. The threaded portion of the fitting was too small. Back to the parts store; which doesn’t seem to have any manuals, only their computer, so using the old fitting to compare to we found a Dorman 800-605.

Anyway, got it back together, now just waiting for the next adventure to pop up.
 

Drec

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Drove it a few miles, and no leaks. I’m taking it out in a few minutes for a longer run.

In the next week, I’ll replace the A/C Accumulator and charge the system. Then replace the serpentine belt.
 
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mrrsm

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For the sake of Future Transmission/Lines Repairs...

Check out @Mounce 's Great Tool Find (Lisle Part # 22720 "Jiffy-Tite" Transmission Line Quick-Disconnect Tool that neither Destroys the TCL Spring Clip nor requires its Removal!).

His imagery and information is in Post #343 at the Link shown below and I've sub-linked to a site where you can STILL get THIS Tool in Post # 347:

 
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Mektek

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May 2, 2017
656
FL
I just replaced the o ring inside the fitting. Fortunately I had a replacement on the shelf so it was just a question of unscrewing the fitting, prying out the old ring, popping in the new Oring and screwing the fitting back in.
 

Drec

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After looking at the fitting when I pulled it out, I thought about putting a new o-ring in it. After all of the trouble I went through to get the correct fitting, I just decided to replace it. Next time I’ll replace the o-ring.
 
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