Hello,

So it finally happened. After about 14 years of a pretty much trouble free relationship , My faithful 1999 4Runner Limited is outright sick. For the past 2 weeks I have been trying my utmost to bring her back to life, but its been tough going.

It all began two weeks ago when the engine shut off due to over heating. A removal of the radiator cap showed a nasty pinkish colored thick milkshake substance.
Yup, the coolant and A\T fluid had been mixing together.

Since discovering the milkshake I have:

Replaced the water pump, timing belt, Accessory belts.... Drained coolant system, Installed new radiator and added fresh coolant.

Drained A\t Fluid, dropped pan, cleaned pan, replaced filter and added fresh A\T fluid.

Since the above mentioned work was performed:

When i remove the radiator cap, I am still seeing a slight build up of milkshake on the top of the radiator. No doubt the nasty pink stuff is still floating around the coolant system. If i continuously flush the coolant system, every week or so, and add fresh coolant while using my Uview 550000. Will the milkshake eventually disappear?

In regards to the transmission, I know that just draining the transmission in itself is not going to eliminate the milkshake. Will a flush at my local dealer totally remove the milkshake from the transmission? Also, the transmission has been slipping when going from first to second and I don't know how I should approach this latest problem.

Any and all Advice is greatly appreciated.



Thank You Kindly

 

If only i could rub my 4Runner and a little green dude named Yota would pop out and make it all just go away............

 

the a/t should have been flushed, not drained because draining alone only changes the atf in the tranny pan. there's milkshake in the lines and torque converter. it may be late but still worth the try to flush the tranny.

same with the radiator. it should have been flushed with clean water. better if distilled water is used. complete flushing will have the milkshake removed from the heater (front and rear), engine, and lines.

 

You may want to run a degreaser of some sort in the cooling system to remove the ATF. Of course dont drive it that way but a couple of flushes with a low foaming detergent may help. Then fresh water, then new coolant. Drain the block as well.

as for the tranny, if it wasnt flushed right away, the coolant has soaked into the clutches. It will probably fail in the next few thousand miles. Consider sourcing a used transmission for when it craps out.

 

to avoid future milkshake issues, bypass the stock atf cooler by installing an external atf cooler such as the B & M supercooler

 

Do that!

If you got to the point of overheating the engine then I can't imagine how hot your transmission must have gotten!

I was luckily only a couple miles deep in the trail when mine popped but I noticed trans slip first and that baby was HOT, the engine was heading in that direction. Towed it home, external cooler and did a drain/refill every few days for two weeks. was great till I let it sit for 6mo while I went to go play in the sand box and came back to a truck that wouldn't move. Swapped for 5spd.

I'd get the flush, coolant sys and trans. If yours never slipped then your clutches are probably ok..ish.

Long Story
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...shake-fml.html

alternative
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/5...nuthin-247293/

 

if you don't have one yet, i have a tundra OE trans oil cooler i can sell ya.