You know, I just went out and got a sample of coolant, brought it into the house, sat down and really looked at it closely under good light.....It does look red!!! Praise God!!! you mean all I have to do is replace the radiator????

The oil in the coolant looks dirty though....could it be that sediment/corrosion particles from the coolant system get caught up in the tranny oil making it look like engine oil??? Reddish?..Brownish?...very similar!!

Based on this observation, I'm leaning toward the cross-connection in the radiator between coolant and tranny fluid.

How do I definitively check this???

(Thanks again to all)

Mark

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1984 300TD Wagon, 407,800 mi (current daily driver)
1985 300DT Sedan, 330,000 mi (gone to that great autobahn in the sky)