P0770 - Lesson Learned - Pink Milkshake Bypass

[smyrna4run]

I wanted to share a lesson learned. My 2000 SR5 2wd had popped out of R twice the past couple of days and then threw P0770 (Solenoid E). I went ahead and had a tranny shop do a $95 diagnostic before dumping money into a new solenoid as I didn't really know what was wrong.

Issue: It was low on tranny fluid - 3 to 4 quarts

Cause: My fault - I installed an external tranny cooler (bypassing the radiator) about a year ago to protect against the pink milkshake. When I did it - I did not do a great job of protecting the lines as one of them was rubbing and eventually started to leak.

Resolution: Top off tranny fluid, replace worn transmission line to cooler and put some metal flashing around the new line where it was rubbing.

I was lucky to have a honest transmission shop do the diagnostic work.

Hopefully this helps in case anyone runs across this in the future. Also - check your tranny lines from time to time if you bypassed the radiator.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

How does an External Trans Oil filter help protect against Pink Milkshake?


...or did you mean an External Trans Oil Cooler?

 

[smyrna4run]

Typo - External trans oil cooler, not filter. Bypassed the radiator and went with the external cooler. I'll edit the original post.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

Where exactly did the tranny lines wear down & start leaking?

 

[smyrna4run]

I'll take a look tonight and post photos. Just got the details from the shop on what was wrong so I haven't seen it yet.

 

[jgue467]

I thought 2wd units did not have the "pink milkshake" potential due to the lack of a factory trans cooler built into the factory radiator, is that correct?

 

[mmml4]

I thought 2wd units did not have the "pink milkshake" potential due to the lack of a factory trans cooler built into the factory radiator, is that correct?

Negative.

 

[smyrna4run]

Stock transmission cooler still goes thru the radiator in the 2wd - so I think its the exact same setup as the 4wd with the same risk of pink milkshake. Either way - I like the external cooler as it keeps the fluid consistently under 200 (more like 170 most of the time).

 

[BlueGuitar]

I'm getting ready to do this mod this weekend. I too would like to see pics of what went wrong. Thanks for the heads up as well!

 

[smyrna4run]

I'm getting ready to do this mod this weekend. I too would like to see pics of what went wrong. Thanks for the heads up as well!

I may not get to it till tomorrow or Sunday, but i'll get some photos and post where I had the issue when I do. For me the mod went fine - I just had a rub that wore thru the hose (pin-hole) over a year+. Just make sure anywhere the hoses have the potential to rub on metal that you have good protection. I plan to wrap some metal flashing around the hoses wherever there is potential to rub.

 

[smyrna4run]

Detailed photos/diagnosis: The cooler was mounted at a slight angle which caused the lower line to rub on the bottom support. To fix this I simply clipped the two zip ties on the bottom and straightened the cooler putting in new zip ties to hold it in the proper angle. I also cut a piece of tranny tub and put it over the support to protect against anything potentially rubbing in the future.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

Thanks, I'll double check mine tonight to make sure it's clear of that support/lip.

Seems like an easy enough fix for you with minimal damage to your tranny.

 

[kball]

Detailed photos/diagnosis: The cooler was mounted at a slight angle which caused the lower line to rub on the bottom support. To fix this I simply clipped the two zip ties on the bottom and straightened the cooler putting in new zip ties to hold it in the proper angle. I also cut a piece of tranny tub and put it over the support to protect against anything potentially rubbing in the future.

Looks like your lines have been leaking some. That trans fluid all over your condenser and probably radiator is attracting dirt which will clog them up. You should degrease and clean that off.

 

[kball]

I thought 2wd units did not have the "pink milkshake" potential due to the lack of a factory trans cooler built into the factory radiator, is that correct?

You're thinking of manual trans runners. Any t4r with an auto trans has the rad/cooler combo.