I recently bought the car from someone who lived in a very foggy town near the Pacific ocean. The drive train seemed sluggish but it ran ok. It developed a whine which varied with the speed of the wheels, and then the transmission froze due to lack of oil on the differential side. I happened to have a dead 1991 Corolla with a working transmission, so I had this put into the 1990 Corolla.
Now the car works ok, and at first the sluggishness was gone. However, after a couple weeks it seemed like a faint whine could be heard and a slight sluggishness came back (these might be my imagination), and an oil change shop found water in the transmission fluid. I had the transmission flushed and differential fluid checked. After a week or so, the water is present again. Two shops have said they don't see the signs of radiator leaking into transmission.
Is there another way the water could get in there? It has been raining a lot here. Also, is there a symptom of this water that will show up before the transmission is damaged, like sluggishness? I still have to drive the car to work everyday.
Now the car works ok, and at first the sluggishness was gone. However, after a couple weeks it seemed like a faint whine could be heard and a slight sluggishness came back (these might be my imagination), and an oil change shop found water in the transmission fluid. I had the transmission flushed and differential fluid checked. After a week or so, the water is present again. Two shops have said they don't see the signs of radiator leaking into transmission.
Is there another way the water could get in there? It has been raining a lot here. Also, is there a symptom of this water that will show up before the transmission is damaged, like sluggishness? I still have to drive the car to work everyday.
Jan 26, 2010 at 4:24 PM