# 2003 Ford Taurus - Water in the trans pan **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** ford\ **Created:** [August 4, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275 "2020-08-04T19:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kingLeo1203](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kingleo1203/32/22060_2.png) [@kingLeo1203](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kingLeo1203)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/1 "2020-08-04T19:51:00Z")
Found water is transmission pan and I do not know where to begin to fix this problem. No check engine lights are on. Has 172,457 miles on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/2 "2020-08-04T21:29:43Z")
There’s probably a leak in the transmission fluid cooler in the radiator. Tester ---
**Author:** ![1977Cutlassjones\_169686](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/c2a13f/32.png) [@1977Cutlassjones\_169686](https://community.cartalk.com/u/1977Cutlassjones_169686)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/3 "2020-08-04T21:43:33Z")
I think what Tester is saying is that it may look like water but actually be coolant/water mixture. If so, then yes the transmission cooler could be leaking coolant into the transmission fluid. However if it is actually water, the dipstick could be missing, loose, or have a bad seal, letting water into the fluid. ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/4 "2020-08-05T01:50:42Z")
Trans cooler leak likely. However it got there this is a big problem and must be corrected before driving again. May have already damaged trans. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/5 "2020-08-05T02:35:09Z")
What inspired you to remove the transmission pan? I suspect the transmission has failed due to the water contamination. ---
**Author:** ![kingLeo1203](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kingleo1203/32/22060_2.png) [@kingLeo1203](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kingLeo1203)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/6 "2020-08-05T23:51:06Z")
I initially started to change the transmission fluid when I saw this milky pink color instead of the dark red. having been under the hood of a car previously I knew what oil and water mixed together looked like. Then I started to wonder how does water get inside a trans. This equation does not make sense as I had never seen a car come with a transmission cooler installed. In fact this is where I focused my attention. In my opinion a dealer who installs a transmission cooler to a new car has a design flaw they have not fixed or found a remedy, so they placed the trans oil cooler on the car to instill it would continue to run. Leo Duckworth ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/7 "2020-08-06T00:12:00Z")
> [@kingLeo1203](#): > > In my opinion a dealer who installs a transmission cooler to a new car has a design flaw they have not fixed or found a remedy, so they placed the trans oil cooler on the car to instill it would continue to run. > > Leo Duckworth Well that idea is wrong . If a vehicle has a towing package a transmission cooler is a good thing . And many vehicles come from the factory with transmission coolers. ---
**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2003-ford-taurus-water-in-the-trans-pan/168275/8 "2020-08-06T00:41:59Z")
Calling it a cooler is really not reflecting it’s whole purpose. It’s more a temperature regulator as it also heats the transmission in cold weather. It’s to regulate the transmission temperature using the engine coolant thermostat and radiator. Reflective of a design deficiency? Hardly. No more than the components used to regulate the engine temp… > [@kingLeo1203](#): > > does not make sense as I had never seen a car come with a transmission cooler installed. You should change your name to Rumplestiltskin.