Possible Strawberry milkshake question

[Lineman1]

Hey guys .. looked at a 2001 4runner today. It ran good sounded good shifted smooth fluids looked good they were just chsnged.. It had a new radiator which I took instant notice too..and the 4wd was acting up a bit. Taking a really long time to engage / disengage. The center diff light would flash a while the make a ticking sound like a bad solenoid makes before eventually going into 4wd.. Would a possible milkshake issue cause a 4wd problem like the one I mentioned. It’s in pretty good shape but no service records found at local dealer

Thanks

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

No, milkshake would take out the transmission not the transfer case. Could be as simple as it's not used much and it's sticky, common Toyota issue. Use it a bunch and maybe it'll free up. Reality is though, it's an old truck, it's going to have issues, you should not expect perfection after 18 years of service.

 

[2016 4Runner SR5]

To add to this, I see you're in Maryland. Take a long hard look at the frame. Get under there with a screwdriver and poke around. Check the rear control arm mounts, inner and outer frame rails, strut towers, 18 years in MD is brutal on frames, especially Toyota frame which are known for having big rot issues.

 

[Jidaran]

is it a private sale? if so, ask the owner if he's been engaging the 4wd regularly. a lot of people aren't aware that you're supposed to run through all the systems every few weeks to keep things from getting gunked up.

also, ask when's the last time they changed the oil in the transfer case. if they have no idea, they probably didn't take great care of the truck.

 

[Lineman1]

To add to this, I see you're in Maryland. Take a long hard look at the frame. Get under there with a screwdriver and poke around. Check the rear control arm mounts, inner and outer frame rails, strut towers, 18 years in MD is brutal on frames, especially Toyota frame which are known for having big rot issues.

I don’t expect perfection I know it’s an older vehicle . I did crawl under the vehicle and the frame looks good. I went through a bit of a check list.. If I am buying a 4wd at retail+ I do expect that the 4wd work properly. It’s actually in pretty good shape.

 

[Lineman1]

is it a private sale? if so, ask the owner if he's been engaging the 4wd regularly. a lot of people aren't aware that you're supposed to run through all the systems every few weeks to keep things from getting gunked up.

also, ask when's the last time they changed the oil in the transfer case. if they have no idea, they probably didn't take great care of the truck.

It’s at a small dealer. Nice guy..I had the vin ran at the Toyota dealer just see if there was service record history . New Jersey vehicle with one recorded dealer maintenance history.

 

[jgue467]

If it looks OK underneath then drive it. Yeah the 4wd will stick if not used much, read over the buyers guide if you haven't already. 01/02 Limited's are very, very good - ask me how I know. :cowboy:

 

[HiLife]

I also got my 4r 2rd hand too. And during the test drive, the 4wd actuator would get hung up while engaging and disengaging.
Fast forward 5 years and the actuator engages smoothly now. Just got engage the actuator from time to time to free it up.

 

[thegipper]

Pink milkshake wouldn't do anything to the transfer case, it is a totally separate system. As others have mentioned, probably wasn't used much and is just hanging up.

The fact that the radiator looks new and the fluids all look new doesn't guarantee that the truck suffered a pink milkshake but it is concerning. I would do some more digging and see if you can find any other signs. When my truck suffered a PMS, frothy coolant went every where and made a big mess. Perhaps you can look around and see if there are any obvious signs.

After flushing gallons upon gallons of new tranny fluid, over time, the tranny fluid still had an opaque look to it (all of the coolant wasn't removed).

New fluid should be bright cherry red and should be totally clear, not cloudy at all.

The radiator could have just been replaced because it was old or leaking. Sometimes, you just never know especially when working with a stealership.

Without any kind of maintenance records, I personally would keep looking. Too many red flags unless you are willing to take a chance.

 

[thegipper]

Example. This is what my tranny fluid looked like after probably 8 gallons of fluid was flushed through the tranny and a couple thousand miles after the PMS. Notice how it's cloudy looking?

Moral of the story, it is very hard to remove every drop of coolant after a PMS.

Hope this helps

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[Lineman1]

Example. This is what my tranny fluid looked like after probably 8 gallons of fluid was flushed through the tranny and a couple thousand miles after the PMS. Notice how it's cloudy looking?

Moral of the story, it is very hard to remove every drop of coolant after a PMS.

Hope this helps

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info..I’m kind of new to 4runners I had one years ago .. I kind of thought it wouldn’t effect the 4wd but wasn’t 100%. I may look at it in better detail ..The sunroof isn’t working and the front end has a sway to it. The 4wd mkes an electrical clicking noise when going into 4wd the guy had to play with it for a couple seconds before it would go in.. He is supposed to “fix” the issues but I know how these small car lots can be.

 

[jgue467]

... ..The sunroof isn’t working and the front end has a sway to it. The 4wd mkes an electrical clicking noise when going into 4wd...

The first two are very common issues on these machines, the clicking going into/out of 4wd and diff lock/unlock is normal yet use those as price negotiators. :cowboy:

 

[sawguy]

That is good looking 4runner.

 

[Lineman1]

The first two are very common issues on these machines, the clicking going into/out of 4wd and diff lock/unlock is normal yet use those as price negotiators. :cowboy:

The one I think you are referring to is the 1999 limited I was going to buy. The day after I posted on here about that I went to buy it and they had a deposit on it. This one is an 01 sr5 looks great. The sunroof is no issue for me. I know I sound picky but I’m not lol .. The 4wd sounds like the clicking a dead battery makes. It does it for a few seconds.. sounds like it’s coming from the diff ..it will go into 4wd but it takes some playing with the 4wd shifter. And it looks like the push button wasn’t working.

 

[T4R2014]

Radiators go bad on old cars. Doesn't mean milkshake. At the end of the day failures can happen at this age. Only way you'll ever know there never was a milkshake is if the radiator is original.

 

[sawguy]

The one I think you are referring to is the 1999 limited I was going to buy. The day after I posted on here about that I went to buy it and they had a deposit on it. This one is an 01 sr5 looks great. The sunroof is no issue for me. I know I sound picky but I’m not lol .. The 4wd sounds like the clicking a dead battery makes. It does it for a few seconds.. sounds like it’s coming from the diff ..it will go into 4wd but it takes some playing with the 4wd shifter. And it looks like the push button wasn’t working.

I was looking at the one at Shepards

 

[BeavStu]

Radiators go bad on old cars. Doesn't mean milkshake. At the end of the day failures can happen at this age. Only way you'll ever know there never was a milkshake is if the radiator is original.

Based off of what happened to me this past weekend, I can attest to this. 17 years, 181 k. Just put a new radiator in, because mine blew. Zero signs of pink milkshake just an old radiator.


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[Lineman1]

I appreciate everyones help. I guess I’m going to do another test drive .. hopefully today ( if it’s still there). Then decide if I’m ready to redo the front end and possibly some work on the 4wd right away .He did mention 4wd was not working when they got it and that his mechanic did something to it to get it working. Im definitely getting one ..hopefully soon ..I just don’t want to impulse buy.

 

[Lineman1]

One thing I did not realize when I decided I wanted another 3rd gen 4runner was how hard it is to find one. Especially without rust and in decent shape..being from the Mid Atlantic region. Has anyone ever had a 4runner shipped a long distance say half way across the country..? I’m just curious as to a ballpark price.

 

[thegipper]

One thing I did not realize when I decided I wanted another 3rd gen 4runner was how hard it is to find one. Especially without rust and in decent shape..being from the Mid Atlantic region. Has anyone ever had a 4runner shipped a long distance say half way across the country..? I’m just curious as to a ballpark price.

My 97 was my brothers who was living in Arizona. He was moving to Michigan in a few months and had no way to bring it with so he asked me if I wanted it.

It cost me about $1000 to have it shipped from AZ to Wisconsin (1800 miles).