temp went above the mid line after the loss of power, because the radiator was dumping coolant. no problems before that. Car was running perfectly smooth right up until this.

pic of transmission dip stick with a drop of fluid on the ground next to it to see the consistency (oily, not thick). Fluid low, but car wasn't showing any "no fluid" signs.

also a pic of the radiator crack and the blown off epoxy. theory here is the crack extended to the left past the patch and the pressure differential started pushing hot fluid out which melted the epoxy and caused the blowout.

LOL lesser vehicles have been resurrected from much worse

I can't see your pics. Are you checking the transmission fluid level with the vehicle parked on level ground and the engine running? (you should be) Wipe the dipstick with a white paper towel or rag and post that pic so we can see the level and the color. A drop of fluid on the ground is difficult to see.

There is no "low fluid" dash warning light.

The fact that you got 3 years out of a cracked radiator using an epoxy patch is a genuine miracle -- like contact the Catholic church immediately and get this thing certified.

Im not going to argue that what I did was "smart" but I think yall are underestimating what industrial grade epoxy can do. This isn't loctite or jb off the shelf stuff. Either way, the radiator is getting replaced if I can figure out why the car won't get in gear.

I dunno what's up with the pictures, they're loading fine for me. The engine wasn't running though so I'll get it another one anyway.

Edit: even I may have ubdersold jb weld YouTube

Pictures are only visible when logged in to your google account. Nobody else will be able to see them. It is very hard to externally link personal photos on google. Use Imgur or any number of other sites.

If the engine isn't running (and the gear selector hasn't gone through all gears first or the vehicle driven), the trans fluid level will show way too high.

-Charlie

So my radiator is gone, anything that goes into it falls right out the bottom, nothing to do with the resealed crack at the top. My transmission seems like it's shot as well, no strawberry milkshake, just won't gear. When I got my oil changed last the shop supposedly topped off my fluids, but the atf level was very low, so possible leak I guess? I topped it off but still no dice, and when I try to put it in gear I hear a slight grinding noise. I think it's time to part her out or see if someone wants a project. Just a weird confluence of events with the trans and radiator at the same time.

totally agree

No coincidence. The rad contains a tranny cooler in the bottom tank. The rad likely puked out the atf also.

Let’s consider this thread a warning for others. The rad is a maintenance item just like timing belt or lbjs. In this case delayed maintenance took a 4Runner off the road. Sad. sorry for your situation.



Edit: OP, when adding the ATF, did you put a piece of hose to bypass the tranny cooler in the radiator? Perhaps it is dumping ATF out as fast as you are dumping it in. And how are you running the truck to check ATF levels with a busted radiator? Maybe you should very temporarily loop the coolant hoses to bypass the rad and loop the ATF cooler hoses to bypass the rad. Get some coolant in the engine and get some ATF in the tranny and see what is really going on.

I kept the engine running for only about fifteen minutes to run through these tests (it's been off since it got towed) and kept an eye on the temp gauge the whole time. Never went above the midline. I didn't run a hose when adding the atf but I didn't see/hear it falling out like I did when I tried to fill the radiator. No atf underneath the car either (I did check afterwards).

Start with a new radiator, top off the trans fluid, and see where you are at. It's entirely possible you are too low on trans fluid. Anything close to the bottom line there will cause issues. What do you feel when you shift from P to D? You should feel the trans engage. If you don't, then you likely overheated and blew the trans when the engine overheated.