Need some advise had a transmission cooler go bad on the wifes 4runner,and put water in transmission,going to replace radiator,so what's the best way to remove water from transmission? Planning on having it flushed out at transmission shop but they are saying it will help but wont get all the water out.iis that true? What's my best next move? Thanks for any replys.

SEARCH - some good out comes by drain n fill process.

You unfortunately got the dreaded "pink milkshake". The transmission cooler which is within the radiator fails and mixes coolant and transmission fluid (pink milkshake). You're going to need to do a few things, replace the radiator, flush the cooling system and flush the transmission.

The tranny shop is somewhat correct that it is VERY hard to remove all of the coolant from the tranny.

Did the truck overheat? If you look in the coolant reservoir you should see the mixed fluids which looks like a pink milkshake. Depending how long you drove with the fluids mixed will determine whether the tranny and possibly the engine (if it overheated) can be saved.

Do a search on here for "pink milkshake", there will plenty to read about what people have done after it happens.

Keep in mind though, the vast majority of people who got a pink milkshake ended up having to replace the transmission even after flushing it ( I did). It could last a couple thousand miles (most likely) or 100k miles (VERY unlikely), most fail within a few thousand miles though. If the truck overheated badly, the head gasket may fail soon after also (mine did).

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. This is a known issue with these trucks but unfortunately many people show up to these forums after it's too late.

Good luck!

Next best move is to drop the trans and send it to a trans tech for disassembly and inspect for damage. Trannies do NOT handle water well by any means.
I wouldn't doubt them on the flush, trannies have countless nooks and crannies that would all have to be completely removed of contamination. I imagine they were trying to nudge you towards a full teardown with this information as that is what should be done. It's your call obviously, but I have a feeling it'll be a waste of a couple hundred bucks and something is bound to be toast. What was the scenario, how long was water in there for? Was the trans running at all while contaminated?
Realistically I'd start getting ready to pony up for a new unit.

If you want to flush the tranny yourself, follow this video with the exception that you will just continue to exchange fluid until only brand new fluid comes out. Buy the cheapest compatible fluid you can find, you're going to need LOTS of it.

Transmission Fluid Flush - YouTube

You'll need to replace the radiator and drain/flush the cooling system first though.

Do not drive it until you fixed it or you will definitely destroy any chance of saving the tranny.

My friend at a trans shop says that as long as you caught the milkshake before the trans started slipping you should be ok.

The coolant breaks down the glue on the friction plates.


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Thanks for the replys it happened a week ago today,already replaced radiator,next move is to trailer to transmission shop for a flush......will keep my fingers crossed!!!

the flush is not a hard job if you watch the video. I had done it several times. I would plan on flushing a lot. Then maybe even drop the pan and replace filter. Then fill again. I would flush at least one to 2 times b4 dropping pan so no gook in new filter.

If caught early enough you MIGHT be ok. My previous one, b4 I bought it ( and did not know till after), had been into a toyota dealer for drivability issue. The dealer did a new radiator and a trans flush. To me that sounds like it had the milkshake. So if I did have milkshake in that rig, that was near 120k ago before I totaled it on ice. It had 240+k on it at the time. I was nervous for a while after buying. Then kind of did not think of it much.

SO maybe not all pink milkshakes are a death call for the tranny.

my new to me 2001 is at 260k and on 2nd tranny. So you never know.

When the milkshake happens. Its best to exchange all the fluid at least twice. IF its a V6 its about 3 gallons each exchange.

I exchanged the fluid in one twice when someone I know bought a milkshake one and didn't know it. Was thousands of miles ago and still going strong.

I am almost convinced my Tetanus 1 was milkshaked at some point the PO caught it quickly and when I got the rig it had 215K on it. now has over 270K and I exchanged the fluid when I got it with a new filter. When it his 300K I exchange it again. My clue on this one was the radiator hoses looked stretched especially on the overflow tank hose it was noticeably larger the the oem hoses and like a wet noddle.

I tried this a couple of years ago... I actually purchased a pink milk shake truck for cheap. actually I have purchased 2x trucks that had it happen.

I grabbed a new radiator, also purchased 5 gallons of ATF and you will want to flush out the cooling system with a hose. I removed the thermostat to make it easy.

it took all 5 gallons of ATF for the fluid to look good again. it takes a long time to get all the mixed up ATF out. it also took a long time to get all the ATF out of the cooling system.

it ran fine for a while... like maybe a month I think? then it started shifting really hard and would slip bad, but not all the time. I'm sure I could have kept driving it for who knows how long and it would have kept going places, mostly.

so while I know there are stories of people doing it... more than likely... your trans was cooked, the other truck I had overheated so I know the owner drove it a bit after the shake happened. I did try to rescue that trans but it leaked like crazy... pretty sure it generated so much heat that it melted things. however... that truck still ran just fine and the trans shifted.... they are tenacious little trucks. but there are limits. you might have found that limit.


EDIT: and I never would think to say this... but replacing a trans is really not that hard of a job on these trucks. as long as it's not your daily driver and you have a place to do it... you can do it in a weekend for sure.

I agree, worst case scenario swapping the transmission isn’t really that hard, it’s kind of a pain in the ass but not hard and I could probably have one done in a day if I really wanted to, plus the auto transmissions aren’t very expensive used, I sold my functioning auto trans to Brillo for like $75

It's a chance either way. I know the one that I exchanged the fluid for someone in is still going. I suspect the main issue would be how long it was milkshaked and driving around like that.

Thankfully there are plenty of auto transmission around.

Best of luck keep us posted on your progress.


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Pray that the transmission is still savable. I say that flushing the entire system with cheap atf to clean it up THEN put the good stuff after is a good idea.

When pink milkshake happens, most trucks often will need a transmission replacement since it's rare for them to be saved. The non-car guy will just junk the car and not deal with it.

It usually isn't, just very tedious like you said. Albeit some cars are easier than others - I've seen 2 guys swap out a blown trans on a miata in an afternoon with time to kill.
If I recall, our trannies aren't even that expensive, relatively speaking. Think it was in the $1000-2000 range