Cant believe it actually happened to MY runner: Pink Milkshake

[1985taylor1925]

Happened just yesterday while driving up to go camping in the rockie mountains in Wyoming. Although mine did not actually look like the pink milkshake yet. I think I literally caught it right after it happened.

Had my brother tow me back to town with his GMC Sierra and that crazy powerful duramax.

This is my only vehicle, so I need to get going on the rapair asap. I browsed the threads on this on the tutorial page, but Im still left with several questions. Ive seen people use at least three different brands of tranny coolers on our 3rd gen runners. This is a topic I know next to nothing about. So I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation as to which one to get, and where to get it? Also, what other parts I will be needing. I will keep searching to see if I can find any of this info on my own. But any advise to make this process quicker and chaper would really be appreciated. Thanks guys

 

[4-Ripcord]

Happened just yesterday while driving up to go camping in the rockie mountains in Wyoming. Although mine did not actually look like the pink milkshake yet. I think I literally caught it right after it happened.

Had my brother tow me back to town with his GMC Sierra and that crazy powerful duramax.

This is my only vehicle, so I need to get going on the rapair asap. I browsed the threads on this on the tutorial page, but Im still left with several questions. Ive seen people use at least three different brands of tranny coolers on our 3rd gen runners. This is a topic I know next to nothing about. So I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation as to which one to get, and where to get it? Also, what other parts I will be needing. I will keep searching to see if I can find any of this info on my own. But any advise to make this process quicker and chaper would really be appreciated. Thanks guys

It is time to also get a new radiator, being from up north with all that rust and all. But as far as a brand or model on a cooler, get the B&M 70268. Summit racing is where I got mine, but amazon has them too.

From what I have seen, becuase you caught it so soon you should be fine after a few tyranny fluid flushes and the new Rad.

 

[1985taylor1925]

It is time to also get a new radiator, being from up north with all that rust and all. But as far as a brand or model on a cooler, get the B&M 70268. Summit racing is where I got mine, but amazon has them too.

From what I have seen, becuase you caught it so soon you should be fine after a few tyranny fluid flushes and the new Rad.

Why would I need a new radiator? Actually my runner is from Colorado, and has virtually zero rust. When I pulled over, the fulid in the coolant resorvoir was boiling, but not the pink milkshake at all. When it finally cooled down and I opened the cap, all the fuild was drained out of the resorvoir. But what was left over along the sides looked like clear tranny fulid, as strange as that is. It doesnt even look like it mixed. I think I may have stoped literally within
a few minutes of that seal failing.

Ya I viwed a few threads and I think Ill get the B&M. I guess my main question is how I would go about the whole process of flushing the radiator and tranny. Im guessing I will need to drain them both, then install the cooler, and then refill both, run it for a few minutes, drain again, and refill a second time. Is this the right idea?

 

[the great him]

either the B&M 70268 or the 70264(slightly bigger) both will work, one is just thicker than the other. its not hard to do, you need the trans cooler(as stated above) and about 4' of 3/8s rubber trans hose/line and 4 hose clamps. also you will need a new radiator, but bypass your facotry trans cooler in the radiator, dont even use it, leave it alone just use the B&M one

 

[zcruiser]

Why would I need a new radiator? Actually my runner is from Colorado, and has virtually zero rust. When I pulled over, the fulid in the coolant resorvoir was boiling, but not the pink milkshake at all. When it finally cooled down and I opened the cap, all the fuild was drained out of the resorvoir. But what was left over along the sides looked like clear tranny fulid, as strange as that is. It doesnt even look like it mixed. I think I may have stoped literally within
a few minutes of that seal failing.

Hold on. If the fluid you saw in your radiator overflow tank was "clear" red and not milky pink, then what you are looking at is just stock Toyota Red coolant, not a failed radiator. If you had a rupture in your tranny cooler at the bottom of your radiator, the tranny fluid and your coolant will mix immediately, and will NOT be pushing pure (clear) tranny fluid into your coolant overflow tank.

You need to figure out if the stuff in your overflow tank is tranny fluid or just Toyota Red coolant.

I'm not sure why the coolant in the reservoir would be boiling except if you blew a headgasket and you are pushing air through your cooling system (via the piston action) and it is blowing out through your overflow tank. Could be wrong, I've just never seen coolant "boiling" in the overflow tank.

Did you overheat?

Can you take pics of the fluid in your rad and post?

Also check your tranny dipstick and see if the tranny fluid is clear (but oily) red.

 

[BrianSD_42]

What is your truck YEAR and MILEAGE ? I made it to 195,000 on my factory radiator before replacing it with a Koyo. I did not get a milkshake. There are many factors but year and mileage are big.

Buy a Koyo radiator. You probably won't need a separate cooler for at least 100,000 miles on the new Koyo, so save your cash for ... i don't know .. a new transmission (worst case).

Also zcruiser has a good point. Can you post a picture of this fluid?


Thanks
-Brian

 

[1985taylor1925]

Hold on. If the fluid you saw in your radiator overflow tank was "clear" red and not milky pink, then what you are looking at is just stock Toyota Red coolant, not a failed radiator. If you had a rupture in your tranny cooler at the bottom of your radiator, the tranny fluid and your coolant will mix immediately, and will NOT be pushing pure (clear) tranny fluid into your coolant overflow tank.

You need to figure out if the stuff in your overflow tank is tranny fluid or just Toyota Red coolant.

I'm not sure why the coolant in the reservoir would be boiling except if you blew a headgasket and you are pushing air through your cooling system (via the piston action) and it is blowing out through your overflow tank. Could be wrong, I've just never seen coolant "boiling" in the overflow tank.

Did you overheat?

Can you take pics of the fluid in your rad and post?

Also check your tranny dipstick and see if the tranny fluid is clear (but oily) red.

Ok, first off, thanks for helping me out with this. I'll try to give the most info I can, and we'll go from there.

I dont recall seeing that I was overheating, although I didnt actually think to look at the temp gage. The actual reason I stoped was to adjust a strap on my dirtbike trailer that had come loose. It wasnt because of the vehicle issue. But when I turned off the vehicle, i noticed the hissing noise coming from under the hood, and a little bit of white smoke (not alot). It hissed for a few minutes, and I waited till it calmed down to open the hood. When I opened it, thats when I saw the coolant in the reservoir "boiling". This continued for a few more minutes until if finally died down.

I just tried taking a picture, but I cant get enough light into the coolant reservoir to get it to turn out. All of the coolant drained out of the reservoir. What left it just a little pool on a flat spot where it couldnt drain. It does indeed appear to be clear red coolant, not mixed with oil. But, there is carbon in there for sure. It looks like when you get some tea residue seep out of a tea bag, sitting at the bottom of your glass.

I checked the trany fluid with the engine off (afraid to start it right now) and it does appear to be oily red, not clear brown. Its also well above the full line. I dont know if that is normal when the engine is turned off.

Let me know what you think

 

[1985taylor1925]

Bump on this. What about the thermostat? Its a 98 with 171K miles on it

 

[vthokie]

i believe when you check the tranny fluid it needs to be running and in park? isn't that right? Toyota coolant is red... maybe it just overheated? Possibly need a new radiator cap?

 

[Jon]

If you pill the trans dip stick (no mater what temp) and your fluid is a milky pink then see this

Here ya go http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/88642-sweet-strawberry-milkshake-fml.html just did the same thing. Running strong for months now. Only thing you have to risk is burning up your clutches but from what you say, you've caught it in time.

 

[zcruiser]

Bump on this. What about the thermostat? Its a 98 with 171K miles on it

I think you just overheated. You may be leaking coolant through one of your radiator hoses or your water pump is failing and leaking it out the weep hole and you just didn't notice. Your coolant must have just gotten low over time.

The "tea leaf" residue in the bottom of your overflow tank is probably just normal build-up of dried "stuff" over many cycles of coolant going in and out of your overflow tank (which is what the overflow tank is for as the coolant heats and cools), but your overflow tank should never run dry.

So... Drain and refill your coolant, using Toyota Red from your local dealer and mix 50/50 with distilled (not tap) water. Replace your rad hoses as normal Preventive Maintenance (PM). You may need other PM items such as belts and spark plugs while you're at it. If you do have to replace your water pump (unlikely) you should also replace your thermostat. Replacing your radiator cap as suggested is another good pm step.

Your tranny fluid should be checked while the engine is running, preferably after it's warm and you've shifted the tranny through forward and reverse gears and then checked on a level surface with the engine still running. Should not be over the 'hot' level mark.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Thanks for all the replies. The problem is resolved. Like several of you mentioned, it was an simple overheating issue . . . due to a broken radiator cap. Guess I showed my lack of knowledge here. Anyways, I got a new cap, and re-filled the coolant, and started it up. Ran it for about 15 minutes at idle, and then drove around for another 15 min. Temp gauge stayed right where it always does, just below midpoint. Coolant lines got hot which tells me thermostat and pump are working properly. I jumped the gun with the pink milkshake prediction. Although with my miles tranny cooler is something I'll be doing soon. Thanks for the help. It's good to have a network of knowledgable guys to help out with this stuff.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Update on this. I am in fact still loosing coolant. I thought the cap solved the problem as I drove it around for about 20 minutes after installing it with no coolant loss. However after driving up to the mountains a few days ago I lost a good amount of coolant. I refilled it, and when I drove back down into town from the mountains I again lost coolant.Today Im gonna check the hoses as recommended above. This is not something I am very knowledgable on, so if anyone can offer advise I would appreciate it. Im going to remove the skid and catch plates, let it run for a while, and then start looking for the leak. I know they sell dyes that you can mix into the coolant to look for leaks. Would you guys recommend this? I'm going to drain it and refill with Toyota Red either way once I find and fix the leak.

 

[Hepar]

The best way to do it is to do a compression test of your cooling system. That will show you exactly where your leak is.

 

[JohnsD90]

I know you SWARE there is no rust, but just humor me and crawl under the truck and see if the rear heater line under the passenger side next to the frame, its 2 lines running parrerall is rusted out or have a slice in it, thats where most of the mystery coolant leaks are.

 

[1985taylor1925]

The best way to do it is to do a compression test of your cooling system. That will show you exactly where your leak is.

Hepar, can I just go to autozone or napa for this?

I know you SWARE there is no rust, but just humor me and crawl under the truck and see if the rear heater line under the passenger side next to the frame, its 2 lines running parrerall is rusted out or have a slice in it, thats where most of the mystery coolant leaks are.

John, I checked them while it was running. They are rust free and no leaks. My fear right now is a head gasket leak

 

[JohnsD90]

Hepar, can I just go to autozone or napa for this?



John, I checked them while it was running. They are rust free and no leaks. My fear right now is a head gasket leak

Damn, for your sake i hope it is just a hose or something that fell off! Good luck with it!

 

[1985taylor1925]

Your tranny fluid should be checked while the engine is running, preferably after it's warm and you've shifted the tranny through forward and reverse gears and then checked on a level surface with the engine still running. Should not be over the 'hot' level mark.

I have been checking my tranny fluid the last few days and noticed it is above the hot mark. I dont ever remember it being high in the past. Is there a chance that im leaking coolant into the tranny without it severely mixing and causing the pink milkshake? The tranny oil is between a dark red and brownish color, which means if anything it needs changed. So could the coolant be mixing into it?

 

[chainring]

I went ahead and changed my radiator and hoses today, and the fluid was a dark brown with a tinge of red. I bet you are OK. I drove mine 11 miles to town, let it idle for 5 minutes while I got a Coke, checked the trans fluid and it was halfway between the hot and cold mark. Thought I'd top it off, so I bought a quart of fluid and stopped halfway home (6 miles of hiway driving) and pulled the dipstick to add fluid - it showed right at the hot. Apparently it makes a big difference when you check it. The dealership gave me two different versions of how to check trans fluid, naturally. I think the silly female "service rep" was describing how to check engine oil, even after I made sure she knew I was asking about the transmission. "Start it, let it warm up a little bit, turn it off, wait 5 minutes and check it." Wait, just letting it idle wouldn't warm the transmission, so should I drive it around for a bit and then leave it running and check it hot? "Yeah, that's what I said!" Okey-dokey...

 

[Hepar]

Hepar, can I just go to autozone or napa for this?

I'm not sure if they can do it there. If you go to a place that specializes in cooling systems, they should be able to do it. The shop I go to will do it for free, so I'm sure there are other shops out there who will do the same. Just call around.