Pink Milkshake!! -Rookie-

[BlackCat914]

So how did you know that you had the strawberry milkshake then if there was no fluid on the dipstick? are you sure that you have the strawberry milkshake?



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Because he checked the coolant.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

His slipping could be low fluid level or the antifreeze already broke down the clutch material.

Only way to tell is drop the pan. See what is in their. And change the rad and start over. If its still slipping troll CL and look for a used one.

In my area they go for around 300 dollars.

 

[dnath28]

Yes the coolant was filled with it.. Just drained the radiator and it looks like there was green coolant in the radiator which probably led to pink milkshake in first place.. The green coolant came out first and then a half gallon later was all the "pink milkshake" looks brown rather than pink for me.

Going to now take off the supply hose going from transmission to radiator and start to flush out the old and put in the new ATF.

Just remembered though that I dont have a funnel.....

So I will just take off the old radiator in the meantime and drain out the old trans fluid.

Once I get the funnel I will begin the flush by turning 4runner on and off while pouring 1-2 quarts at a time (20 seconds) and I will keep an eye on the supply line that is going into my oil bucket. -- better yet I should just do all 4 gallons at once.. anyone know why you have to turn car off then on then off than on?

Love the help to this point. Thanks again

 

[airmax233]

:worthless

 

[dnath28]

to flush out the engine id first flush out your old radiator and get that cleaned out... then use a garden hose to flush out the motor using the the old radiator. run the heaters on high and make sure you allow the motor to get nice and warm(this is of course after you have done the trans flushes... [/url]

Okay I am prepared to remove the radiator.. just have to take out the 4 bolts that the radiator is bolted to front end.

I am confused on this garden hose and running it into the engine to clean out lines. First off, is it possible to do this without harming my transmission? I should flush trans first, but if I do this the old crappy radiator mix will go back into transmission. If I do the garden hose with radiator won't the trans suck in bad fluid? Or could that hurt the transmission if I turn the car on while cleaning out the hoses?

More details please! and THANKS man

 

[dphflytyer]

I got a pink milkshake about 220k. Had toyota change out radiator, flush all lines, new fluid...the works. My truck has over 300k and trans has been fine. The overflow on the radiator was changed out as well as all the rubber hoses and gaskets swelled and I couldn't get the cap on. All in all keep your fingers crossed...

 

[Nervo19]

I got a pink milkshake about 220k. Had toyota change out radiator, flush all lines, new fluid...the works. My truck has over 300k and trans has been fine. The overflow on the radiator was changed out as well as all the rubber hoses and gaskets swelled and I couldn't get the cap on. All in all keep your fingers crossed...

Out of curiosity, how much did it cost to have Toyota fix it? I doubt I'd do this myself. Now that I've read about it, it will happen soon...

 

[quicksilvr]

It sounds like there is a good chance that the "milkshake" went the best direction possible: ATF went into the cooling system, instead of coolant going into the transmission system.

If that's the case, you have a very good chance of the transmission being ok. If the truck started driving funny because of low ATF level, and you stopped right away, it should be ok.

Either way, it sounds like with the ATF being really low, and the coolant in the radiator being really milkshaked, you have a great chance of saving the transmission.

Good luck!

 

[dnath28]

Update...

So I took out old radiator and then poured water into top hose with a cup and it came out the bottom. I then flushed out the transmission and went through about 4 gallons of ATF and waited until the fluid that came out the supply line turned a nice red.

Next was putting in new radiator and I filled it up with orange coolant with the recommended base and also filled up the transmission with some ATF (1 gallon).

So I held off on the trans filter. I am going to drive around for 100-200 miles first then change out the old filter along with another flush.

After I did all of this I wanted to test drive to feel the transmission. I pulled out of the driveway and man the transmission felt like butter. Best its ever felt. However, after driving maybe a tenth of a mile the thermostat was above halfway point and slowly rising. I quickly turned around and parked it back before it reached the red.

I popped the hood and felt the radiator hose line above and it was very hot and also swelled up a lot. My buddy thinks my thermostat is screwed up or theres a bubble inside the line and Im completely lost..

Anyone have an idea of what this could be? My buddy says to replace the thermostat regardless cause its time and look into what this could be..

Any more help would be great! And atleast the transmission is okay!!!:cheers:

 

[Blitzkrieg]

His slipping could be low fluid level or the antifreeze already broke down the clutch material.

Only way to tell is drop the pan. See what is in their. And change the rad and start over. If its still slipping troll CL and look for a used one.

In my area they go for around 300 dollars.

$300 for a used radiator or tranny. Not clear on what you are saying. I am hoping you are saying tranny.

 

[dnath28]

Pink Milkshake again?!?!?!?

Hi all,

So I flushed the transmission. Washed out the engine lines with water where the coolant went in. I reinstalled the new radiator, attached the lines and added coolant. Took it for a ride and everything was great. Transmission feels smooth, engine was running normal temperature.

So I parked it again, and put it on a parking block to raise the front and proceeded to add the rest of the 2.5 gallons of coolant.

As I was adding the rest of the coolant into the radiator the picture shows what happened next. Pink milkshake rising to the top again????

Any ideas to what this could be? My guess was because I maybe not have flushed out the radiator lines good enough and left some oil? Thats the only way in my head that oil could have gotten into the coolant portion of radiator.

Any help would be great.. Could it be a bad radiator advanced auto parts gave me?? --->ToughOne or Ready-Rad Radiator Part No 431402

Ive already bought 3 gallons of orange anti-freeze and about 7 gallons of Dex 3 ATF. man.. I hope I can figure this out soon...

HELP!!!

-Dan

 

[kball]

This "Washed out the engine lines with water where the coolant went in" doesn't sound like you flushed out the coolant system at all. You need to put water in and run it till it gets hot, opens the thermostat and allows it to circulate then drain. Do this over and over till it comes out clean. Run your heater too so the core gets cleaned.

 

[dnath28]

kball,

Thanks for the info. When I did flush it last time I poured a lot of water into it while the car was running. I had a cup and kept filling and dumping water into the feed line and I watched a lot of milkshake come out the bottom.

Do you still think that I needed to pour more water into it? The thermostat had to be open if it was coming out the bottom. Maybe I need to do this again with more water?

As of right now, what should I do?

1. Drain radiator of ATF and Coolant.
2. Take out radiator.
3. Turn rig on, let the thermostat open up.
4 Garden hose into the engine? Let it flow for awhile?
5. reinstall radiator and fill up?

Let me know,
Dan

 

[kball]

Not sure if I'm understanding you right but putting water into the top of the radiator and having it come out the bottom of the radiator is not flushing the coolant system. It's just flushing the radiator. The water needs to circulate through the whole engine, heater core and hoses etc... You can't take the radiator out and run the engine, don't try that. You need to leave everything hooked up. Fill with plain water, close the rad cap and run it until it gets up to normal temp. Run the heater and make sure you get nice hot air out so you know it's up to temp. Stop the engine and drain the rad by opening just the bottom petcock. Leave the cap on so it will suck everything out, even the reservoir will empty itself this way (you might want to remove the reservoir and clean it first separately). Then fill with water and do it all again, over and over until it comes out clean. It's going to be time consuming and a chore but it's the only way to get it all out. You need it to get hot so it loosens up the oil and circulates everywhere, through all the heater passages. If you have the rear heater you probably need to run it too so it circulates through that as well.

 

[dnath28]

Not sure if I'm understanding you right

I poured water into the feed hose that ran into the engine from the radiator. I never rinsed out the old radiator from the original milkshake because the radiator was shot. The only flushing I did was pouring water into the big feed hose that ran into the engine and watching it come out.

Clearly I did not do this long enough. I will do this again, but this time for much longer and will also fill the radiator with lots of water as well. Also need to blast the front and rear heater to get everything circulated.

My questions are:

1. Do I disconnect the bottom hose from the radiator that is the return from the engine?
2. Do I just fill the radiator and fill the overflow reservoir and let it run?
3. Should I park my car with the wheels on a parking block so its lifted up? Or park with the rear wheels on it so its tilted down? (Maybe it would help with the flush). Although im sure the heat and pressure would take care of it.

Thanks a lot,
Dan

 

[kball]

I poured water into the feed hose that ran into the engine from the radiator. I never rinsed out the old radiator from the original milkshake because the radiator was shot. The only flushing I did was pouring water into the big feed hose that ran into the engine and watching it come out.

Clearly I did not do this long enough. I will do this again, but this time for much longer and will also fill the radiator with lots of water as well. Also need to blast the front and rear heater to get everything circulated.

My questions are:

1. Do I disconnect the bottom hose from the radiator that is the return from the engine?
2. Do I just fill the radiator and fill the overflow reservoir and let it run?
3. Should I park my car with the wheels on a parking block so its lifted up? Or park with the rear wheels on it so its tilted down? (Maybe it would help with the flush). Although im sure the heat and pressure would take care of it.

Thanks a lot,
Dan

1. No, leave it all connected. Letting water run right out as you put new cold water in will not let it get hot enough to circulate.

2. Yes!

3. You will want to have the front slightly elevated to help burp the system but this is mainly for when you are done and trying to get it completely filled and all the air out. Right now you are going to be filling and draining, filling and draining so I wouldn't worry about that for now. Once it's clean and you are putting actual coolant in for the last time is when you want to get all the air out.

 

[dnath28]

Right now you are going to be filling and draining, filling and draining

Great! I did not do this when I first had pink milkshake with my old radiator due to the ruined radiator. Never knew I had to flush the system with the new one hooked up! I thought I could just let it run out and fill with water.. Now this is making sense.

2 more questions.. lol.

1. How many minute intervals should I add water then drain it? Basically fill up radiator and coolant reservoir with est. 2.5 gallons total, then let the car run and let thermostat kick in. Run for 30 min? After this do I drain immediately? Or wait until it cools down? If I wait wont the oil settle? But if I do it too quickly will I get burnt?

1a. And you are saying drain it with just the petcock pulled off. So I should not remove the big return hose from engine to drain radiator?

2. And once this is all flushed out. When I am adding coolant with car elevated do I fill what I can into the actual radiator and then proceed to fill up coolant reservoir? Or do I just fill the radiator with coolant and that is all? And leave reservoir empty? I assumed reservoir was for coolant runoff...

 

[kball]

1. How ever long it takes to get up to normal operating temp. You can let it idle for a while or drive it for a short time and it will warm up quickly. Just be careful when you drain it so you don't burn yourself. It shouldn't be burning hot at the bottom of the rad.

1a. yes just open the petcock on the bottom of the radiator. Leave the lower rad hose on there.

2. Fill the res as well. Up to the "F" full mark. Then check it after a few days to see if you need to top it off. It will probably suck a little more into the radiator since there's always a little air that doesn't get burped out until later.

 

[dnath28]

thanks alot kball. Appreciate it!

 

[mooch91]

Try pulling the thermostat out too. Leave the housing empty and put it back together. This removes the variable of needing the thermostat to open to get good circulation.