Paranoid about the pink milkshake...please advise

[2k1]

I have been reading a lot, but I am not of mechanical mind so a lot of what is being said is going over my head and I am just not sure what is needed...if you could advise me or confirm my assumption on this I would appreciate it.

I have 160k very temperate CA coastal living no towing, wheeling, or heavy loads.

As stated earlier, just a little confused on some things...

is there a way to check for this pink milk shake thing as it stands right now, I do not know of any problems, does it slowly leak and mix or is it one of those things where you are fine and normal one day and the next day it is spewing?

As I understand it, the external trans cooler B&M 70268 is the prefered cooler on this board, if I chose to go with the external cooler, do I just install the cooler and that is it? or do you need to do fluid flushes along with it?

Also being that I am at 160k, I realize some suggest swapping radiators but if the one I have is seemingly fine right now and I choose to put the trans cooler on, is there still a pink milkshake risk with this radiator once the external cooler is added?

I have friends that wrench a little bit on their own stuff and they could probably help me, but is this trans cooler and/or radiator swap something you have a shop do or can your average DIYer get it done?

I want to do something to ensure I prevent this from happening to my 4runner, I am thinking I would just like to do the trans cooler for now cost wise it is cheaper and seems to do the same thing and that way if i dont have to mess with the radiator it can stay...

$62 on amazon is not bad for preventative...
Amazon.com: B&M 70268 SuperCooler Automatic Transmission Cooler: Automotive

thanks...

 

[Diesel_Dog]

There are 2 special steps to resolving the pink milkshake:

Step 1) Open the rad cap and overflow and have a look. Does the red coolant appear to be frothy, pink, bubbling like a pink milkshake? No? Move to step two;

Step 2) Install new cooler, flush old tranny cooler section out with a garden hose and cap off by connecting the inlet and outlet together with leftover hose from the cooler install.

That's it. Assuming that you don't have the milkshake (and you should be able to easily tell) your good to go. Do a google image search for what milkshake looks like to compare to step 1. It's a fun little project that shouldn't take more then a couple of hours to complete, and will give you peace of mind for the future.

Cheers

I have been reading a lot, but I am not of mechanical mind so a lot of what is being said is going over my head and I am just not sure what is needed...if you could advise me or confirm my assumption on this I would appreciate it.

I have 160k very temperate CA coastal living no towing, wheeling, or heavy loads.

As stated earlier, just a little confused on some things...

is there a way to check for this pink milk shake thing as it stands right now, I do not know of any problems, does it slowly leak and mix or is it one of those things where you are fine and normal one day and the next day it is spewing?

As I understand it, the external trans cooler B&M 70268 is the prefered cooler on this board, if I chose to go with the external cooler, do I just install the cooler and that is it? or do you need to do fluid flushes along with it?

Also being that I am at 160k, I realize some suggest swapping radiators but if the one I have is seemingly fine right now and I choose to put the trans cooler on, is there still a pink milkshake risk with this radiator once the external cooler is added?

I have friends that wrench a little bit on their own stuff and they could probably help me, but is this trans cooler and/or radiator swap something you have a shop do or can your average DIYer get it done?

I want to do something to ensure I prevent this from happening to my 4runner, I am thinking I would just like to do the trans cooler for now cost wise it is cheaper and seems to do the same thing and that way if i dont have to mess with the radiator it can stay...

$62 on amazon is not bad for preventative...
Amazon.com: B&M 70268 SuperCooler Automatic Transmission Cooler: Automotive

thanks...

 

[Dirtyfingers]

Get a cooler, and you'll be fine.

 

[packweco]

I have been reading a lot, but I am not of mechanical mind so a lot of what is being said is going over my head and I am just not sure what is needed...if you could advise me or confirm my assumption on this I would appreciate it.

I have 160k very temperate CA coastal living no towing, wheeling, or heavy loads.

As stated earlier, just a little confused on some things...

is there a way to check for this pink milk shake thing as it stands right now, I do not know of any problems, does it slowly leak and mix or is it one of those things where you are fine and normal one day and the next day it is spewing?

As I understand it, the external trans cooler B&M 70268 is the prefered cooler on this board, if I chose to go with the external cooler, do I just install the cooler and that is it? or do you need to do fluid flushes along with it?

Also being that I am at 160k, I realize some suggest swapping radiators but if the one I have is seemingly fine right now and I choose to put the trans cooler on, is there still a pink milkshake risk with this radiator once the external cooler is added?

I have friends that wrench a little bit on their own stuff and they could probably help me, but is this trans cooler and/or radiator swap something you have a shop do or can your average DIYer get it done?

I want to do something to ensure I prevent this from happening to my 4runner, I am thinking I would just like to do the trans cooler for now cost wise it is cheaper and seems to do the same thing and that way if i dont have to mess with the radiator it can stay...

$62 on amazon is not bad for preventative...
Amazon.com: B&M 70268 SuperCooler Automatic Transmission Cooler: Automotive

thanks...

Orrrrr...

Just buy a new radiator for a bolt in solution. No mods required. Happy for another 160k.

 

[fourwd1]

Just install the new cooler. You're not swapping the radiator, you're just no longer using the trans cooler section that is part of the stock rad.
Any flushing of anything is up to you, nothing is required.
You may have to add some trans fluid, depending on how much spills during the change over.

 

[2k1]

Orrrrr...

Just buy a new radiator for a bolt in solution. No mods required. Happy for another 160k.

yeah that was kind of the question, the cooler is cheaper, is it more complicated to install than a new radiator?

the trans cooler is a permanent fix though, right? isnt the new radiator still prone to this issue down the road?

 

[PitbullRescuer]

yeah that was kind of the question, the cooler is cheaper, is it more complicated to install than a new radiator?



the trans cooler is a permanent fix though, right? isnt the new radiator still prone to this issue down the road?

Cooler and bypassing the radiator is absolutely your only guarantee against the milkshake. A new radiator will probably do the trick but replacement parts can and do fail. If you eliminate the tranny fluid running to the radiator, you'll never have to worry about it ever again.

Buy a cooler. Install is pretty simple. I can do them in about 20 minutes now a days. Novice could do it in an hour with basic tools.

 

[packweco]

yeah that was kind of the question, the cooler is cheaper, is it more complicated to install than a new radiator?

the trans cooler is a permanent fix though, right? isnt the new radiator still prone to this issue down the road?

This is just my opinion, and I think I am one of the few, but I think putting the trans cooler in is just band-aiding the problem. The point is, you have an old ass radiator in your car.

There are tons of vehicles that have internal trans coolers, they just typically have other major parts fail long before it can corrode away. I agree that the trans cooler may be a semi permanent fix, but you're also modifying the stock setup that has performed for 160k miles flawlessly. I wouldn't be surprised if your radiator failed within another 160k miles anyway.

As far as cost, by the time you're out the door with hardware and any other small items, you're probably close to a new radiator anyway. Don't quote me on that though, because I haven't done the mod. Maybe someone else can chime in with the total cost. I have read threads on the install and it does take a fair amount more time. I swapped my radiator in about 30-45 minutes.

That's just me though, not saying anyone else is wrong for doing it. Obviously, it works great, otherwise no one would do it.

 

[amalik]

Orrrrr...

Just buy a new radiator for a bolt in solution. No mods required. Happy for another 160k.

I agree with this post. I was lucky enough to go about 210k miles without even knowing what the pink milkshake is until I stumbled across it in this very forum. I figured if my OEM radiator made it to 200k+, hopefully another one will and I don't expect to drive the truck too much past 400k miles.

Fast forward, I spent a lot of time reading the tutorials on the B&M install and I didn't want to deal with some of the issues you encounter when installing an external cooler (Albeit some of the more advanced technicians here probably wouldn't care) -- so I bought a new radiator from 1-800-radiators that had a lifetime warranty and put it in, have been fine ever since.

Another thing I want to mention is the B&M coolers are also for people who tow heavily and put extra duress on the transmission, not just people who want to avoid the milkshake. If you don't tow, a new radiator would also be a good fit for you.

The radiator swap is not that bad, you just need basic skills. Pop the grill off, radiator hoses off, coolant drain, radiator out, etc. There's a tutorial on YotaTech, make sure you read the fine details and are prepared for it. For example, when you pull off the transmission lines from the radiator, the tutorial on YT recommends a sharpie as the best plug stopper. Well, I thought I could use one of my screws that is of similar size, and boy was I wrong. I wasted a day from just that step cuz I had to go pick up sharpies and some transmission fluid from what I lost -- Also, I did have some issues with the radiator coming out with one of the brackets still on (The radiator has 2 brackets holding it in, one of my 2 bracket screws were covered by a bunch of crap and impossible to get to), but I got past it. Just make sure to use new OEM hoses (Upper/Lower) and if you are due for a coolant flush (As opposed to just a drain and fill), get one done right after the swap (Use your old coolant with the radiator swap, then do the flush through a shop). I recommend this point only because of experience, I happened to do my coolant flush at the Dealer for like $160, and then did my radiator swap afterwards and re-used the coolant I drained. In hindsight, I wish I had done the steps in reverse.

Don't read too much into people's posts like mine and others, like Nike said -- JUST DO IT !!

 

[Mc1337sauce]

I installed a new OEM Toyota radiator after ~160K miles on my original one. It was fairly easy to do, and now I don't have to worry about the pink milkshake for another 160K miles. I made a YouTube video on the process; it is embedded below.

 

[pat24]

i do the trans cooler i lost my transmission on replacing with a new one i got a cooler and trans temp gauge i ran out of time and only got to installing the gauge for about a week or two over that time i watched the gauge hit temps of 210deg mind you it was 30deg out side and i wasn't towing when this happened after hooking up the cooler i never get past 170 180 unless im really hard on it i just think the sock setup runs to hot
just my 2 cents