1999 4Runner coolant problem

M

mstreck

New member
Just switched out the engine (on my third) and having problems already. Once up to temp, the coolant is shooting out the overflow tank and appears to be mixed with oil.

I'm color blind, so I can't tell if it's oil or tranny fluid. I put some of the overflow coolant on a paper town and wiped off the oil dipstick beside it. My girlfriend told me they were the same color, so I'm assuming that it's oil that I'm seeing in the coolant. I'm going to drain the oil this weekend and see what it looks like.

If it is oil, could there be causes other than a head gasket problem? Something as simple as a radiator swap? I bought the engine from Everdrive and it has a three year unlimited mileage warranty, but labor to switch it out again is gonna kill me.

Thanks!

Mike
 
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Are you sure the problem isn't a ruptured tranny cooler inside the radiator (aka strawberry milkshake syndrome)? Unless that new motor is a total lemon, that would be my guess.
 
mstreck said:
Just switched out the engine (on my third) and having problems already. Once up to temp, the coolant is shooting out the overflow tank and appears to be mixed with oil.

I'm color blind, so I can't tell if it's oil or tranny fluid. I put some of the overflow coolant on a paper town and wiped off the oil dipstick beside it. My girlfriend told me they were the same color, so I'm assuming that it's oil that I'm seeing in the coolant. I'm going to drain the oil this weekend and see what it looks like.

If it is oil, could there be causes other than a head gasket problem? Something as simple as a radiator swap? I bought the engine from Everdrive and it has a three year unlimited mileage warranty, but labor to switch it out again is gonna kill me.

Thanks!

Mike
Click to expand...

I had the same symptoms on my 99 back in December of '08. Oil was mixed with coolant in the overflow tank. We swapped out the radiator and did a coolant flush and it was good to go after that.

--Bryce
 
mstreck said:
Just switched out the engine (on my third) and having problems already. Once up to temp, the coolant is shooting out the overflow tank and appears to be mixed with oil.

I'm color blind, so I can't tell if it's oil or tranny fluid. I put some of the overflow coolant on a paper town and wiped off the oil dipstick beside it. My girlfriend told me they were the same color, so I'm assuming that it's oil that I'm seeing in the coolant. I'm going to drain the oil this weekend and see what it looks like.

If it is oil, could there be causes other than a head gasket problem? Something as simple as a radiator swap? I bought the engine from Everdrive and it has a three year unlimited mileage warranty, but labor to switch it out again is gonna kill me.

Thanks!

Mike
Click to expand...

hey just wondering are you talking about the 3.4 v6 or the 2.7 4cylinder?
 
I didn't get to drain the oil to check it over the weekend. I hope to do that this week.

This is a 3.4 6-cyl. pulled from another 4Runner (purchased from Everdrive, if that matters).

Bryce - was the coolant shooting out of the overflow tank? I've never experienced that before.

Thanks!

Mike
 
chris360hawks said:
How are you on your third motor?!
Click to expand...

Engine 1: Bought the T4R with 118k on it. Had the timing belts replaced at around 140k and the crankshaft snapped at the pulley shortly thereafter.

Engine 2: Bought an "el cheapo" reman from Advance Auto. Block cracked after two years (about 40k).
 
UPDATE: fixed and it happened again!

Got the 4Runner back two and a half weeks ago - and it ran the best it ever had since I bought it. The guy replaced the radiator and flushed the transmission to get rid of the coolant that had leaked in. Everything was great until Friday when I noticed that the coolant level was down (overflow tank was to the very bottom) and it had transmission fluid in it again. The transmission dipstick shows that's it's over-full with what looks like coolant - just like it did when I took it to get fixed.

Any ideas as to the root cause of this problem? Why did this happen so soon after it was just fixed?

This was my favorite-ever vehicle, but now my loyalty to Toyota is starting to go away.

Thanks in advance!

Mike
 
coolant in transmission is the dreaded "strawberry milkshake". Sounds like the transmission is going to have problems soon too. Had to tell you bad news but your radiator probably should have been replaced when you did the engine swap.
 
cj80cruiser said:
coolant in transmission is the dreaded "strawberry milkshake". Sounds like the transmission is going to have problems soon too. Had to tell you bad news but your radiator probably should have been replaced when you did the engine swap.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Any idea as to why this would happen again?
 
I'm confused.. so they put in a new radiator on your 3rd engine and it has already failed and it's mixing coolant and ATF after a couple weeks?
 
Are you sure it's fully milkshaked again? Maybe your mechanic didn't burp the coolant system all the way and that's why the overflow tank is near empty. Could be just some leftovers that didn't get flushed out of both the trans and coolant system.

Is the truck overheating/spewing fluid out the overflow again?
 
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