nc t4r

Yes another thread about the dreaded "strawberry milkshake", but I have searched and was not able to find an answer to my continuing problem.

After getting the transmission and coolant all over my driveway, I had the radiator replaced and the transmission flushed yesterday. Today I have the mixture in the new radiator, and coming out the top of the transmission.....WTF!!!!!

So question is, faulty new radiator, or flushing the system out didn't get all the contaminated fluid out?? I think the tranny is shot now, it sticks between shifts, and then shifts hard.

Any input or advice as to what to do next would be appreciated.
97 4Runner 3.4 auto with 167k on the clock

mkgarrison5

take the radiator back and flush the tranny some more.. thats what i would do. i hate that happened to ya! personally if it doesnt do it the second time then sell the damn thing or trade it in

mt_goat

Bummer dude It depends on what part of the new radiator the strawberry milkshake is at. If its in the coolant part of the radiator (where you fill the rad) then you must have blown another ATF cooler, but I never would have thought someone could be that unlucky. If its in the ATF cooler part of the radiator (lower part at bottom of rad with the 2 tubes) then maybe you just didn't get it all flushed out.

If indeed you were so unlucky as to have blown 2 ATF coolers (with one being brand new) I'd have to say you must have a pressure problem either in the engine cooling system or the tranny itself. Is the engine coolant boiling causing excess pressure? Is the tranny vent plugged up and causing excess pressure in the tranny (more likely, especially if there is water in the ATF boiling and making steam pressure)? These are the type things I'd start to look at.

mt_goat

Ok here's what may have happened to the 2nd radiator. Maybe your old rad cap doesn't hold the proper pressure and so the coolant pressure was too low and the ATF still has water in it and makes excessive steam pressure which is unable to vent fast enough. That makes for a large pressure gradient between the thin walls of the ATF cooler inside the radiator causing it to fail. Of course the walls of the ATF cooler may have been defective (like maybe it was a cheap aftermarket rad with poor quality) or maybe the walls were just thinner than the normal stock radiator.

I have an old stock Tacoma radiator from a wreck, one of these days I'm going to cut it up and take some pics of the ATF heat exchanger tube inside. Once you see one of those you can understand better how one could fail.

nc t4r

Gentlemen thank you for the replies and yes starting over with a new truck has crossed my mind.


MT Goat I agree with the radiator cap diagnoses. I used the old cap on the new radiator and I guess that was a bone head mistake!! The new radiator blowing out isn't beyond my luck though, so what is the next move? Replace it again, or replace the cap and flush the system?? I like that idea, less money but I would want to flush the transmission again and that is another $100........ damn

mt_goat

Your rad should have a warranty right? Maybe the cap is bad, mine was showing cracks in the rubber seal when it went bad. Flush multible times, you can always start off with the cheap ATF then use the good stuff for the final flush. One option is to bypass the factory radiator ATF cooler and just use an aftermarket cooler. I have done this on mine, using one of these coolers (4454):
http://www.importperformancetrans.com/coolers.shtml

It keeps the temps down very well, I do have a fan behind it. It will automaticlly bypass the cooler when the ATF is too cold, an important consideration if you bypass the rad cooler because often the rad cooler will actually warm the ATF instead of cooling it.

Here's my cooler and fan mounted behind my skid plate. I use a controller to switch the fan on at 170 F. Its really suprising how cool the ATF runs with just that one cooler, even on 100 deg summer days.

nc t4r

From reading your previous post that is #1 on the list as soon as this gets straightened out. This should be something everyone should look at BEFORE lifts, tires, etc, IMHO ofcourse!!!

On the way home I stopped and got a few gallons of ATF and Coolant and ready to start flushing. This may be an ignorant question, but does it matter which I do first to prevent FURTHER contamination?? I had to order a gasket for the transmission pan and will be in the morning.

mt_goat

I'm not sure I understand the question. You don't need to order a trans pan gasket, Toyota uses FIPG (form in place gasket) for the pan. Any dealer should stock that or you can also get other types of FIPG at any auto parts store, the "Right Stuff" is one I've used and it was good, comes in a cheese whiz type can.

nc t4r

That would be even better, but I was at the dealer and the tech who flushed my trans said I would need to get a gasket in order to drop the pan.

Anyway should I flush both systems at the same time to prevent contamination, or can I do the coolant today, and trans this weekend??

mt_goat

I know the auto parts stores have some gaskets but I never heard of a dealer using anything but FIPG, that's what the FSM says to use and that's what Toyota used from the factory.

I'm still a little confused about the flushing question I guess you're asking if you should replace the radiator before flushing. If so, yes! I don't see anyway to flush either one without first replacing the rad.

mt_goat

I'd be most worried about that tranny, I don't think you understand how bad it is to run an auto tranny with water/coolant mixed in the ATF. Get it out ASAP. The engine cooling system shouldn't be hurt by the ATF, or I can't think of anything that would be too harmed by the mixture. Not saying you don't want to flush it though.

nc t4r

The tranny is definatly my biggist concern right now, and getting the water and coolant out is priority 1.

Guess I didn't ask my question the right way, I am going to leave the new radiator in that is contaminated and flush it out as well as the tranny. I was just trying to reduce the risk of contaminating of one of the systems by flushing the wrong one first.

So in short...... which one should I flush first??

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, and that is a kick ass ATF cooling system you got going!!

mt_goat

Ok, how about this for a plan. You plug up the ATF tubes in the busted rad. Something like running a hose from one tube to the other will work:



Then you flush the tranny with cheap ATF. If you have to drive a short distance to have the flush done connect the 2 ATF cooler lines together with a 3/8" hose barb to hose barb connector and hose clamps for the drive. I wouldn't drive very far that way because the ATF could over heat, not to mention the possible tranny damage from the water in it.

Then flush the engine cooling system and replace the radiator and reconnect the ATF lines to the rad cooler or an aftermarket cooler. Then drive it a short time to get the new ATF circulated through the torque converter and other areas of the tranny. You will probably still have some milkshake at this point.

Then drop the pan and replace the ATF filter and clean the magnets and refill with cheap ATF.

Drive a little more and flush again with cheap ATF.

Drive a little more and if no more milkshake flush again with good ATF.

nc t4r

That sounds like a good plan to me. I will keep my fingers crossed on saving the tranny.

Thanks again for all the info and help.

kiretul

So were you able to salvage the tranny? The same thing just happened to me this week and I'm trying to decide my course of action. I have a '99 with about 109K.

SpeedBro

to remove all the strawberry mix, you need to remove the pan, on mine, I flushed 20 liters of tranny fluid, I it was still pink, I remove the pan, and there was about 1/4" of thick strawberry mix that was stiil there, I cleaned the pan, and after It was clean , but unfortunetely for me, the tranny started jerking 10 000km after, I think the truck rolled too long with coolant in the tranny (It rolled enough to blow up the engine)

Boris