I just joined the Pink Milkshake club

[Bugalooob]

:moping:Coming home from work on the thruway, smoke coming from under my hood, pull over, open hood...Pink milkshake all over engine, in my tranny and in my radiator........Noooooooooo 97 SR5 149,000 miles

 

[THatfield]

A moment of silence for the terrible events that transpired.


Now time to put on your doctor gloves. It's time for emergency organ transplants and surgery! :rockon:

I spy a new radiator making its way into my 4R very, very soon.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

That sucks man, sorry to hear. Drain that tranny as soon as you can. Side of the road if you have to. Sooner you get that crap out, the better chance you'll have of saving it.


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[Bugalooob]

I got some time on my hands so I'll tell the rest of the story about by poor 4runner, well, after I discovered the milkshake I had my baby towed to a local garage where I live ($179) , 2 days later I get it back ($590), mechanic says he replaced radiator, flushed tranny and radiator..drive it that night and smoke starts coming out from under my hood, open hood , pink milkshake all over engine again, in my radiator and in my tranny...This time the top radiator hose blew...I throw on my spare hose and drive it back to the mechanic, he flushed system again for free this time but doesn't have machine to do it right...I then drive it to other mechanic that does have machine but on the way...get this...I blew my lower radiator hose and one of my heater hoses..I finally get to the new mechanic and thats where it is now..the mechanic said its a good idea to change all your hoses after a milkshake because either the pressure from the bubbling milkshake or the tranny fluid itself weakens the hell out of radiator and heater hoses

 

[PitbullRescuer]

How long have you owned the 4Runner?


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[Bugalooob]

I bought it a year ago and put 10,000 miles on it...I knew I should have changed the radiator when I bought it with all the pink milkshake storys I've read...heed my warning, if your 4runner has over 100000 miles on it change the RADIATOR and avoid my shame : (

 

[PitbullRescuer]

I hate to say it but it sounds to me like there's a bigger issue with your truck. Almost sounds like it is loaded up with BarsLeak or something like that.

Whoever flushes it next, make sure they pull the thermostat to do it and also make sure they flush both the front & rear heater cores.


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[xcmtb83]

Sorry about your luck guy. You seem to be taking it better thanI would.

What is weird is I literally just got done installing new Koyo radiator in my rig with the exact same miles. Glad I did this after reading this.

Again sorry to hear about your rig.

 

[slapdappy]

I hate to say it but it sounds to me like there's a bigger issue with your truck. Almost sounds like it is loaded up with BarsLeak or something like that.

Whoever flushes it next, make sure they pull the thermostat to do it and also make sure they flush both the front & rear heater cores.


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why pull thermostat and flush cores?

 

[curtperry]

because the whole cooling system need to be flushed to get the tranny juice out, and no T-stat lets it flow while cold (like with water from a garden hose)

 

[Jon]

I tried to save mine by doing a few home flushes. Drain, refill, run, drain, refill, run..... It got me a few more months out of it but eventually the clutches gave in and I was left with no forward or reverse.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/88642-sweet-strawberry-milkshake-fml.html

 

[Jdrum1]

Note to self;

If/when I get a 3rd gen t4r, replace the radiator ASAP!

Is there a DIY on here for it?

 

[JWaldz]

Some just have better luck than others I guess. I have nearly 180k on my factory radiator and this rig has been put in many strenuous positions throughout it's late life. I added an external cooler this time last year and have been monitoring very steady temps from my scangauge. I just recently did the very first timing belt/water pump maintenance and decided to keep the same radiator. Seems to be doing just fine.

OP, sorry it happened to you. I hope it all works out in the end.

 

[cdrewferd]

I'm with ARKRWLR. I have 257k on my stock radiator and it's doing just fine. I am installing a B&M trans cooler tonight, but that's more for my new tires than trying to get away from milkshake.

Wonder if they got a huge batch of radiators that were messed up?

 

[TheeMikeB]

It's not all about mileage, it's about many factors. Driving conditions, climate conditions, proper maintainence, age of coolant, coolant flushes, accidents, etc...

So some people are going to get lots of miles and be fine, others not so much.

An oz of prevention is worth a pound of cure right? It takes about an hour to install an external tranny cooler and bypass the radiator completely. A tranny cooler costs about $50 and about $10 for proper hose. I don't understand why members who know about the milkshake don't take the steps to prevent it?

 

[snivilous]

What he said^ If you don't want it get an external tranny cooler. Replacing the radiator might help, but it doesn't prevent it like an external cooler would.

 

[slapdappy]

because the whole cooling system need to be flushed to get the tranny juice out, and no T-stat lets it flow while cold (like with water from a garden hose)

thank you

 

[nodixe]

What is pink milkshake?

 

[Supergleep]

What is pink milkshake?

From Rip's awesome 3rd Gen buyer's guide in the stickies: Pink Milkshake

 

[tre9er]

Just ordered the larger of the B&M tranny coolers. Will look into radiator replacement in the coming months. I have 113K