[iwk2much]

Happy holidays Camaro 6.

I've been searching the forum and youtube on how to top off / bleed the diff coolant fluid with zero results. The shop that installed my new engine left one of the coolant lines disconnected and spilled a substantial amount of red fluid.

Anyone know how to top off and bleed this fluid? This is the fluid that goes from the diff all the way up to the manual transmission then to the heat exchanger mounted perpendicularly to the ground in the front then back through the tranny then the diff.

I know it is not Diff oil(this is dark gray), and Manual Tranny fluid (I use Royal Purple) as the fluid is red.

Any help appreciated.

[bishopts]

If it went to the transmission then whatever is in the transmission is in it. Otherwise its just going past the transmission.

Im interested in this. If i get a chance i will get my car up on a lift and figure this out with you.

[iwk2much]

Originally Posted by bishopts

If it went to the transmission then whatever is in the transmission is in it. Otherwise its just going past the transmission.

Im interested in this. If i get a chance i will get my car up on a lift and figure this out with you.

I was hoping it was that simple but based on the fluid color - not manual tranny fluid

[bishopts]

https://youtu.be/hQXK3_lTgtU?si=jjx5VFhKv4cq12lg

Looks like the cooler is transmission fluid. The diff fluid never leaves the diff but inside of it is a little heat exchanger that has transmission fluid inside of it. The transmission pumps the fluid around the fluid circuit. I would guess its a low flow fluid system so metal wearing particles are settling in the line. That's why it looks kinda grey.

To bleed it you need to fill the transmission, drive it for a little while. Then go check the fill level again.

[iwk2much]

Originally Posted by bishopts

https://youtu.be/hQXK3_lTgtU?si=jjx5VFhKv4cq12lg

Looks like the cooler is transmission fluid. The diff fluid never leaves the diff but inside of it is a little heat exchanger that has transmission fluid inside of it. The transmission pumps the fluid around the fluid circuit. I would guess its a low flow fluid system so metal wearing particles are settling in the line. That's why it looks kinda grey.

To bleed it you need to fill the transmission, drive it for a little while. Then go check the fill level again.

I saw this as well but this is why it is puzzling, my transmission fluid is purple, the fluid in the heat exchanger is red. I've had the car since new, always used royal purple since my first tranny fluid change, must have done it 8 times. I would thing the fluid would cycled through by now.

[bishopts]

Originally Posted by iwk2much

I saw this as well but this is why it is puzzling, my transmission fluid is purple, the fluid in the heat exchanger is red. I've had the car since new, always used royal purple since my first tranny fluid change, must have done it 8 times. I would thing the fluid would cycled through by now.

Maybe try flushing the line.

[Patriot Motorsports USA]

Originally Posted by iwk2much

Happy holidays Camaro 6.

I've been searching the forum and youtube on how to top off / bleed the diff coolant fluid with zero results. The shop that installed my new engine left one of the coolant lines disconnected and spilled a substantial amount of red fluid.

Anyone know how to top off and bleed this fluid? This is the fluid that goes from the diff all the way up to the manual transmission then to the heat exchanger mounted perpendicularly to the ground in the front then back through the tranny then the diff.

I know it is not Diff oil(this is dark gray), and Manual Tranny fluid (I use Royal Purple) as the fluid is red.

Any help appreciated.

Here's what you wanted to know...

The transmission fluid M6 or A10 both have a circuit that runs the full lap of your car. I have several videos on my YouTube channel that show this insanity, and its one of the items my transmission HX kit remove from the engine's radiator. So buckle up, here it goes.

From the factory your fluid leaves the transmission and makes a close run by the passenger side Cat (A10 owners, your line leaves from the driver's side making a turn under the torque converter towards the pass side) then heads forward to the radiator core support. It then turns to the left side of the engine radiator, jumps up to the top going in to share its heat to your coolant before exiting the bottom and jumping to the TransAuxHX laying flat to grab all the debris to puncture its soft thin aluminum skin. The "Gender Neutral Shift Juice (formerly known as tranny fluid) now moves back across the front of the car to the passenger side again and makes its way under the hot exhaust Cat, around the midpipe and along the tunnel just mere inches from the radiant heat pipe, then over it to the eLSD where it goes through the most ludicrous HX then back out again, jumping over another hot exhaust pipe to run forward in the tunnel climbing over the top of the transmission and ultimately back into the assembly.... ALL IN THE NAME OF COOLING!!!

Its a joke... but somewhere in GM land there's a guy just laughing about this and how he put the Starter in the Northstar V8s!!

Watch this video... you will see how cheesy this system is. I must share when I first figured out the way this system was routed, I made the assumption of flowpath and it is actually opposite of the routing I shared, the eLSD is cooled BEFORE the transmission is.

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by Patriot Motorsports USA

Here's what you wanted to know...

WOW, I hope I never need to know this...... Thank you for this info

[iwk2much]

I am still puzzled by the fluid color. Maybe I am confusing fluid.

Based on what I've read, the ZL1's eLSD & diff has two fluids. Ahigh-quality 75W-90 synthetic gear oil for the main differential and a small amount of DEXRON VI ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) for the eLSD clutch pack.
Key Fluids & Specifications:
Main Differential (Gears): A high-quality, full synthetic 75W-90 gear oil, often the GM OE part.
eLSD Clutch Pack: A small amount of DEXRON VI ATF, sometimes included in the differential fill or added separately, depending on the year/procedure.

Electronic Limited-Slip Differential (eLSD): This system uses a clutch pack that needs the correct fluid to engage and disengage properly, affecting performance and handling.

I assumed the "cooling fluid"(fluid that goes through the tranny and the HX at the front) and the eLSD hydraulic fluid are one and the same. If it is, I have a manual transmission and I don't use Dexron IV ATF fluid, I use royal purple manual tranny fluid.

Maybe my question is - how do I top off the eLSD hydraulic fluid?

[SWFLZL1]

No, the “cooling fluid” and the ELSD fluid are not the same. The ELSD is a sealed system.

[iwk2much]

Originally Posted by SWFLZL1

No, the “cooling fluid” and the ELSD fluid are not the same. The ELSD is a sealed system.

Got it. Crazy that there are 3 different fluids in the diff.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by iwk2much

Got it. Crazy that there are 3 different fluids in the diff.

Merry Christmas Everyone.

To be clear for future readers of this thread, it’s (3) fluids in the *eLSD* diff version *only* (gear oil, e-diff fluid, and trans fluid used for cooling). Non-eLSD diffs will just have the gear oil and trans fluid used for cooling.

[Vtor_ZL1]

ZL1 1LE as @patriot showed


Diff fluid runs from rear all way up front, through its cooler and back.
Same for transmission.


I dont recall stock fluid color of either, but you can easily power purge old fluid out.. low pressure air or by the new fluid w some type of "power bleeder"

Snail's eye view of all the oil coolant hoses under a ZLE - at least the ones you can see without removing panels.

https://youtu.be/63RUCEO9O1s

[bishopts]

Originally Posted by Vtor_ZL1

ZL1 1LE as @patriot showed


Diff fluid runs from rear all way up front, through its cooler and back.
Same for transmission.


I dont recall stock fluid color of either, but you can easily power purge old fluid out.. low pressure air or by the new fluid w some type of "power bleeder"

Snail's eye view of all the oil coolant hoses under a ZLE - at least the ones you can see without removing panels.

https://youtu.be/63RUCEO9O1s

the diff fluid never leaves the diff. the transmission fluid is pumped into the diff to a heat exchanger in the diff.
try to not confuse people