TNrunner

Well, after 10plus years of reliable service my 97 4runner with 223k miles left me stranded. I was planning on adding a trans cooler but hadn't done it yet... now my transmission is full of coolant. Hope it's okay, we'll see next weekend when I have time to tear into it.

rworegon

Bummer! Several good threads around here on what was done to save the tranny. Good luck.

Leviticus6432

You should be able to keep your radiatior... just flush it out and plug the transmission cooler fittings, and run an external cooler like you said you were going to do... Just trying to be positive lol

TNrunner

Thanks, I've been looking at some of the other threads on the trans and to save money i'm gonna reuse the original radiator for now...unless i have any overheating problems once i get it done. I need to do the same thing on my 06 Nissan Frontier (hate it, POS) before i have the same problem.

TNrunner

Well, 1 radiator and 17 gallons of trans fluid later and I think I got it all cleaned out. Didn't have time to drive it yet, maybe tonight... see how it goes. If its not slipping I'll drain it again then change the filter and hope for the best!

skjos

Interested to see how it turns out, hoping for the best.

Team420

Dont mean to pee in your cheerios, but... if it was slipping b4 you changed the fluid, that generally means the coolant already did the damage... just sayin cuz I have had the strawberry milkshake in my 93 a couple times... all due to high water crossings... The 1st time I didnt check my fluid after the high water crossing, 2 weeks later, i was left stranded, and in need of a replacement tranny....
The second and third times, I knew enough to check my fluid after, and sure enough, the strawberry shake was there, it takes several gallons of tranny fluid to flush the system completely free of water, but if caught b4 it starts slipping, should b fine... last time I did it to mine was 4 years ago, and the rig still runs strong!

TNrunner

Thankfully it was not slipping before the shake. I got it running last night and it is shifting smooth and no signs of slipping. Fingers crossed!

Team420

Good Deal!! But, you said you only flushed with 17 quarts of tranny fluid, right? Just so you know, 17qt is about what the system holds(If Im not mistaken, been a few years...) I would give another full system flush just to be on the safe side. I do remember when I did mine, I bought 2 five gallon buckets of tranny fluid(yes, it was expensive, but cheaper than a new trans) I flushed the first one thru, and saw no more strawberry shake, then drove it 50 miles or so, and repeated, and had light strawberry shake again, another 5 gal flush and all is still well... SO make sure you check the fluid regularly over the next couple humdred miles to avoid that...

TNrunner

I'm not trying to be a smart a$$ but read again...17 GALLONS! Thanks for your concern though. The manual says drain and fill is 2.1 qts. I just went by the dipstick and the 2.1 doesn't account for the tranny cooler being empty, seems like it was closer to 4 or 5 qts. I am going to flush it at least one more time after I get a few more miles on it and then check the condition very regularly.