I have a 2005 4x4 Nissan Frontier King Cab with 145k. Three years ago antifreeze found it’s way to the transmission. The radiator was replaced and the transmission was flushed and worked fine until last weekend when it went out. I’ve decided to replace the transmission and not junk the pickup. It is a 2nd vehicle and I’d like to get another 3-4 years use of it. I’ve ruled out replacing the transmission with a used one. Should I replace both the radiator and transmission or just the transmission? The mechanic wasn’t sure he could get a new transmission without the radiator. He also said that if I didn’t get a radiator I wouldn’t get a warranty. Is it a mistake to get a new transmission only, assuming I can, use the same radiator and not get the warranty? Thanks for any advice.
Replacing both is the normal advice but I’m not a mechanic so I can’t tell you whether it’s best in your situation.
There is your answer . Do you really want to spend the money for a new transmission and not have a warranty ?
The transmission likely contaminated the radiator so it makes sense to replace it even though it is only 3 years old.
A new radiator will only add a few hundred dollars to the bill
I would just do both and get the warranty
you might also want to consider replacing the torque converter . . .
I like to recommend that YOU spend the money. There are remanufactured torque converters if the new trans doesn’t come with one. If you junk the truck it will be resold anyway because nobody just gets rid of pickups; for long.
They don’t have transmission shops near you? Personally I’d find a good transmission shop and have them rebuild it. Cheaper then new and probably as good or better then new.
You could always get a separate transmission cooler instead of using the little cooler at the bottom of the radiator.