sugargirl

In my 2001 4runner I discovered a small leak in my radiator after realizing i was very low on coolant. I filled it with the green Prestone coolant (all that was available). I have a new radiator on order so until i can replace the old one i have been checking the coolant levels frequently.

this morning i noticed red/pink fluid in the over-flow reservoir. Is this tranny fluid? i'm thinking maybe my problems are bigger than i first realized.

i did a search on this site for the same problem and found that most replaced the radiator and flushed the trans fluid. How can i be sure it is trans fluid?

thanks

amanda

4runnerchevy

My guess it is transmission fluid. You may have a damaged passage way in the radiator and it is leaking to the coolant. My only question would be, does your power steering use the red tranny fluid (dextron/mercon)? and if it does, does it cool through the radiator? Does your tranny have its own cooler? if so then it isn't the tranny fluid.

toy_tek

That truck wouldn't have a power steering cooler that runs through the radiator.

It could very possibly be tranny fluid, did you check the trans dipstick located on the passenger side, back of the engine? What is the level / color there?

Also, some coolants are reddish in color - are you sure that you didn't have any red coolant prior to adding the green?

The leak you mentioned - is it an external leak that is dripping on the ground or did you just realize your coolant was low when checking it?

mt_goat

Check your transmission dip stick, if it looks like a strawberry milkshake you've got big problems. If it just looks like normal ATF then it may just be the overflow bottle still had the Toyota red coolant.

SEAIRESCUE

STOP....DON'T RUN IT ANY MORE.

Hole in radiator pushing coolant into the transmission when you shut down. This is the death of the transmission unless you catch it quick. Check transmission fluid for strawberry milkshake condition. If so, you will need to drain, refill then pull both lines and do a complete flush where its at or tow to a transmission shop to do same. Obviously replacing the radiator is the first step in saving your transmission. Flush is about $100, new transmission is about $2000.

My $0.02

sugargirl

i just checked the trans fluid and the level is fine and it looks pretty normal (no strawberry milkshake). It is very possible there was red coolant already in before i filled it with the green stuff but i figured by now it would all be mixed up, etc. But thinking about it again- since the ATF is like an oil wouldnt it separate out of the coolant?

OK thanks... i'm thinking it is trans fluid in the radiator. I need that new one STAT!

mt_goat

ATF should float on the coolant, but when it gets whipped up by the pump it makes the milkshake looking mix. I think usually with a failure of the ATF cooler in the radiator more coolant goes into the tranny rather than the ATF going into the radiator because there is more pressure in the coolant side when its hot.

What color was the coolant that leaked out on the ground?

KZN185W

iTrader: (1)

The red/pink fluid could be the old coolant. maybe the PO or the factory used red/pink coolant. there was old coolant in the lines, maybe in the heater too so when the fluid cycled at high temp/pressure (this is normal), the rad cap opened and some of the old coolant went into the reservoir

toytech76

X2. Even if you drained your coolant till it stopped dripping you still would have some in the block. You won't be rid of it till you change your coolant a couple times. Don't get a flush. Flushed on cooling systems, radiators and such cause more problems than helping you

MTL_4runner

X3

Likely leftover coolant unless you find coolant in your tranny fluid.

ForeignMuscle

it could be your old coolant alot of vehicles are running a new coolant that is red in color. it also could be tranny fluid because you should have tranny fluid running through a portion of your radiator to cool it. but if it was tranny fluid in your overflow i would recommend that new radiator goes in soon.

sugargirl

when i filled the radiator with the green coolant i also filled the reservoir- so i just assumed that any red coolant left over would have mixed with the green creating some other color. so i was surprised to see the red fluid in the reservoir a couple days later. thats when i suspected trans fluid.

regardless, i am installing the new radiator asap.

toytech76

I think you are wasting your money doing that but if it makes ya feel better sure why not. lol

MTL_4runner

If you suspect it is actually tranny fluid, then check your transmission fluid dipstick because it should have coolant on there as well if the two did in fact mix due to a hole in the radiator.

4runnerchevy

I am amazed that some poor punk cant get an answer here but sugar can get 13 in a short time. Get some. Remember I was her first. Its WAS red fluid, I remember.

KZN185W

iTrader: (1)

uuumm.. it's not good to mix red/pink coolant with green coolant. the two will react and form scales which later on will cause blockage of the rad as well as substantially reduce the life of the red/pink coolant which is supposed to be an extra long life coolant. I would recommend that you:

1. ensure that the atf and coolant didn't mix. if mixture did occur, then have it fixed asap and that includes having the tranny flushed.

2. flush your cooling system including the heater (there's a lot of info about that here).

3. use red/pink coolant only. toyota has been selling the pre-mixed pink coolant (no need for diluting/mixing - just pour in the pink coolant) and that's better than making you own mixture of the red coolant.

toytech76

Not true. I see it done all the time WITHOUT any problems. I used to like Toyota red coolant but now hate it. I personally think its hard on seals. Mixing green & red is fine

MTL_4runner

It's less than ideal but it won't damage anything to have the red and green mixed to some extent. I definately prefer the premixed pink Toyota coolant because it's alot easier to use and you don't need to worry about ensuring you have the right mix of water/coolant when freezing temps come around (that has bit me once already and I won't ever use the red stuff again).

wjwerdna

I think I have this same problem... a week or two back I dipped my overflow tank to check the concentration... it looked like a bunch of clear/water like (maybe the yellow coolant) and red that was not mixing well at all in the tube when suctioned up. I never even thought about tranny fluid in the coolant. Tomorrow I will have to look into this!!!

Also, it's not good to mix green/red, you can flush it all out and use green... Or you can use new yellow stuff made to work just fine with red (Prestone)

edzo

it is old red coolant

better to be safe and get toyota fluid back in there
and flush out the green. it will be easier on the water pump
in the long run to use the same goo it's always used