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Horizon Insight News

How do you know if you have water in your transmission?

Author

Rachel Hickman

Updated on February 27, 2026

Water in Your Car’s Transmission. Water in the transmission spells trouble, even a very small amount can create massive problems. If your transmission fluid looks like a strawberry milkshake, you’ve got water in the transmission. Once water gets into the transmission enough to affect operation, a rebuild is required.Click to see full answer. Hereof, what happens if water gets in your transmission?If water gets inside of an automatic transmission, the friction lining of the clutches absorbs it and dissolves the glue that attaches the material to the clutch plates. Usually, some amount of water will come out of suspension and form white gummy masses in various areas of the unit.Additionally, what are the symptoms of a bad transmission? These 7 symptoms are classics of transmission problems: Whining and Clunking. This may see fairly obvious, but those are often the symptoms we ignore the most. Lack of Response. Burning Smell. Leaking Fluid. Grinding Gears. Noisy in Neutral. Dashboard Lights. Subsequently, one may also ask, how do I remove water from my transmission? Jack up the vehicle and place jack stands under the frame. Lower the vehicle onto the stands and use a socket wrench to remove the transmission service pan. Allow the transmission to drain as much of the milky fluid that is contaminated with water as possible. Remove the transmission filter, if accessible, as well.Can transmission fluid get into your radiator?It may seem like a rather remote possibility, but engine coolant, or anti-freeze can get into automatic transmission fluid. The temperature of transmission fluid is regulated inside the engine cooling system. Any rupture of the internal radiator tank can allow coolant to mix with, and contaminate transmission fluid.