New radiator and trans serviced. Cause for concern?

[mrpanic7]

Hey guys had a quick question for you 3rd gen gurus. I'm going to be looking at a 3rd gen 98 limited, that has ad mentioned of new radiator and trans fluid/service. I'm aware of the strawberry milkshake scenario but my question is if it did occur to this vehicle, and they serviced transmission and new radiator, would I be able to tell by test driving? I do realize it could just be actual regular maintenance that was done, but also know those two replaced/serviced together could have been because something did happen.

Thanks guys!

 

[3bears]

my first guess would also be that it had the milkshake

no you might not know by driving, for a few thousand miles,

 

[mrpanic7]

my first guess would also be that it had the milkshake

no you might not know by driving, for a few thousand miles,

See that's what I'm afraid of. Do you know if anything that can be done to try and "test" the trans?

 

[AntleredRuin]

Were the services done at the same time, or are they just mentioned?
If it was the same time it's most likely a red flag. They would have to be done at the same time to get the vehicle back into 'working' order.

But like you said, it could just be normal maintenance. Did they say all new fluid, or just a quick drain and fill?

 

[mrpanic7]

Were the services done at the same time, or are they just mentioned?
If it was the same time it's most likely a red flag. They would have to be done at the same time to get the vehicle back into 'working' order.

But like you said, it could just be normal maintenance. Did they say all new fluid, or just a quick drain and fill?

I have to find that info out. The ad right now says new radiator and new trans fluid and filter. Doesn't say they were done together ID have to ask once I go look.

 

[St Runner]

It might be difficult to tell while driving unless it is very obvious, sometimes radiators fail for other reasons. I would check the trans dipstick and the coolant overflow for signs of pink residue, should be some indication of milkshake

 

[mrpanic7]

It might be difficult to tell while driving unless it is very obvious, sometimes radiators fail for other reasons. I would check the trans dipstick and the coolant overflow for signs of pink residue, should be some indication of milkshake

Thanks for the tip I'll post what happens. Thanks!

 

[JohnMc]

Danger, Will Robinson!

Let someone else who doesn't read up on 4Runners jump onto that hand grenade.

 

[Drcoffee]

If you have the vin, go to toyota owners website and see if the work was done at a dealership. They record every service record.

 

[fblainen11]

I'd keep looking.....

 

[AntleredRuin]

It might be difficult to tell while driving unless it is very obvious, sometimes radiators fail for other reasons. I would check the trans dipstick and the coolant overflow for signs of pink residue, should be some indication of milkshake

The problem with this is that the radiator is supposed to have Toyota Red (Pink) coolant in it. The coolant 'simply being pink' might be just fine. I've never seen tranny fluid mixed with other fluid, but I'd think that it would look wispy, or cloudlike.

 

[St Runner]

A lot of the pictures I have seen of the pink milkshake have overflowed the coolant overflow with a nasty frothy pink milkshake. Even if you power wash the motor after you change the transmission fluid and radiator, you are still going to have a lot of residual crud in the overflow unless you take that off too and clean it. I doubt people go through that much effort

 

[Tundra9er]

Was looking for a used 4runner several weeks back and automatically closed out any ads where the tranny and radiator had both been serviced or replaced as part of the description. I may have passed on a good truck but just not worth it to me personally.

 

[LookAtThatDog]

My transmission was replaced because my torque converter took a dump. IMO, if it had a new radiator/trans flush/trans replacement more than 10k miles ago, I wouldn't really worry about it. If it was done more recent than that, I'd hesitate.

 

[AntleredRuin]

A lot of the pictures I have seen of the pink milkshake have overflowed the coolant overflow with a nasty frothy pink milkshake. Even if you power wash the motor after you change the transmission fluid and radiator, you are still going to have a lot of residual crud in the overflow unless you take that off too and clean it. I doubt people go through that much effort

I would hope people would go through the trouble to clean the reservoir if they had a Pink Milkshake. That's just lazy if they don't. If the person didn't do that, they probably didn't clean the insides of the tranny well either.

 

[jeremyc74]

I'd go take a look at it, and look very closely for signs of the pink crud. Try to find out how long ago the service was done. If it was really recent I'd be very leery of this particular truck.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

A lot of the pictures I have seen of the pink milkshake have overflowed the coolant overflow with a nasty frothy pink milkshake. Even if you power wash the motor after you change the transmission fluid and radiator, you are still going to have a lot of residual crud in the overflow unless you take that off too and clean it. I doubt people go through that much effort

THIS

And to add to it, even if they do clean it out, it will keep coming back a little at a time. It floats in the reservoir and coats the side. I had a friend have the Milkshake. Caught it early, but it was a bear to clean out. The coolant flush didn't work as it's more for calcium and rust deposits and not for oily substances. I eventually ran liquid dishwashing detergent through it and that cleaned it up. He's still driving it 2 years later with no ill affects, although admittedly, it had to take some life out of the tranny.