John Archer
Tasmania
Q
Until recently my 1996 EL Ford Fairmont has been reliable, but it has recently been overheating and using coolant. I was advised to replace the radiator, which I did and the overheating stopped, but it's still using a small amount of coolant. I have also noticed that the auto trans is labouring through the gear changes. Should I change the transmission fluid, or have transmission serviced?
Graham Smith
Ask Smithy
A
I'd say the transmission cooler failed in the old radiator and allowed coolant into the transmission. Replacing the radiator has fixed the coolant leak, but it sounds like it's too late for the transmission. Try a transmission service, you might be lucky, if that doesn't do the trick you could be up for a transmission rebuild.
