why then would there be red liquid, that does not mix with other liquid???

If it is old red coolant then it would mix with yellow coolant or water just fine..

If it is oil based it would not mix

 

ah well then a new radiator

 

whats the mileage on the runner?

 

umm, there is still a chance it is coolant. did some more checking and found that
silicate based coolant doesn't mix with the organic acid type. organic acid is usually orange, not red. toyota red is the same green stuff dyed red and is silicate based. your could be organic acid red coolant not mixing with the green. they don't live well together... both will
act upon the other to destroy the protective properties

so, better to fully diagnose the substance and cause before throwing money at it

 

yep, need to look at tranny today, that will be test

thanks for the other info though it conflicts with many others', sources?

 

Jamie has a great write up on this hopefully he will give the link to help you out here edzo..

 

okay, looked again today, truck was now dripping red fluid... from the front DS corner. I opened the hood, and the coolant overflow tank was full of almost straight transmission fluid... poop

suctioned out a couple quarts from the tank, put a new quart in the transmission for now (all I had). Have to drive to work (1 mile) then I am buying a transmission cooler on the way back from work and running transmission directly through that, and plugging the leaking/broken trans ports in the radiator. External cooler should be enough by itself to adequately cool the transmission (no towing/etc)...

This summer I plan on changing timing belt/water pump, so the radiator will most likely get correctly replaced then.

Will a simple drain/refill of trans be enough you guys think? (assuming I do not see a ton of coolant in it) The fluid looked normal (also REALLY low) so I think it is fairly clean still

 

No, do at least one complete flush. I'd do 2 or 3 myself starting off with the cheap ATF then going to the good stuff. Don't drive it anymore until you get it flushed.

 

hmmm... more to the saga... mounted a Hayden cooler ran the lines, went to local QuikLube type place, they were too retarded to understand anything, so they wanted me to drive out of bay, connect lines just like they need to, then drive back in for them to disconnect, flush, and connect again....

so, I did the first line, on the second though, the whole fitting (threaded and glued into radiator) fell out, completely stripped, radiator and fitting, the rest of my tran fluid (strawberry milk) and all my coolant gushed out (in the parking lot of the QuikLube, lol)

There it sat, it's about 4PM and I'm out, called a few shops, no way to find a plug/new fitting, called a local radiator shop, they are having a new radiator overnighted in for tomorrow morning (place is actually across the street from my apartment "Dale's Radiator" it's a small town)... had the 4runner flat-bedded to a friend's house/shop (courtesy Progressive Road-side)

-So tomorrow,
-Pick up new radiator ($230) (express delivery)
-Pick up a case or so of ATF (NAPA Brand) (~$33/case)
-drop in new radiator
-run out old fluid, suck in new fluid with a few buckets
-fill radiator with water, dump in coolant cleaner, run, dump, rinse, repeat
-fill with new coolant

In a month or two, flush tran again, maybe drop pan and replace filter (a pain (the fill/dip tube frequently breaks off apparently (MI truck=rustier))

so in the end, I will still have the cooler, and a new radiator... poop

most un-cool mod EVER =)

 

I hope this is not repeating anything...I read through the other posts relatively quickly. It sounds like you have solved your leak. However, if you check the fluid coming out, smell it! ATF fluid has a VERY distinct smell, much more like oil than antifreeze. Also, as far as the red antifreeze is concerned, you must stick to the red, factory antifreeze which can be purchased from the dealership for about $20 a gallon (which is then diluted 50/50 with water). Not that much more expensive than the green stuff, and much better for your Toyota. It is not just dyed, it is chemically different. Call a couple of Toyota specific mechanics and they can explain it to you (some sort of electrolosis I believe). You are not supposed to use anything else. That's why we bought Toyotas. The engineers are the best! Anyhow, I hope this helps.

 

well, this thread may be confusing, because it actually started as someone else's problem, I just tagged on and kind of took it over... I know it is the radiator, and knew it the whole time, it just got a lot worse and my alternative solution (aux cooler and plug tran/radiator ports versus replace radiator will no longer work)

The red stuff in my coolant is definitely oil, no doubt AT ALL there.
The transmission fluid definitely has a little coolant in it.
My coolant and transmission fluids are both a mess...
Radiator is for sure trash, unless I want to take it out, send it for repair and be down a vehicle for a week (can't)

The red Toyota coolant may be slightly different, but the other new stuff (such as the Yellow) is by no means the same as the old green stuff, it has the same (similar) additives required (suggested) to be used for better performance with aluminum. Also, the old coolant that was in my truck was not red, it was also a yellow or similar, of course, it was definitely not green. This coolant was flushed/changed 30k ago when I bought it, by a trusted Toyota Dealer.

A Toyota Mechanic or any other will not be able to explain exact specifications and an engineering analysis of what the differences or any advantages/disadvantages are, he/she will only be able to recite was has been learned from bulletins and sales/marketing influenced materials.

I am an engineer(ing student, with 4+ years real work experience in a Tier 1 automotive R&D and manufacturing environment) I know how the process works.

I am not saying there are no differences, just that there are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation that is only spread by lack of first-hand knowledge or quality research

 

hmm, that was a long "ranty" post, don't take it badly =)

 

I have bypassed my radiator ATF cooler and just run an aftermarket ATF cooler. My ATF temps run cool <190, even in hot weather. I do have a fan attached to it:


Please let us know how your tranny handles the water, antifreeze, ATF mix, that can't be good for it.

 

info on the the red/pink and green/yellow coolants:

http://www.nulon.com.au/products.php...trated_Coolant

http://www.nulon.com.au/products.php...trated_Coolant