Precursor to pink milkshake or paranoia?

[RunninInGA]

Noticed this today while deleting the DRL and checking for my fog project. See the pink along the bottom seam of the radiator. Checked tranny fluid and it looks and smells good. Checked the oil and it looks and smells good also. I may have lost a slight amount of coolant although I can't be 100% sure just yet, however it looks and smells good as well. Is this possibly a precursor to the pink milkshake, signs of a radiator needing replacement, or am I simply paranoid? As far as I know, this is the original radiator, however I planned to order a tranny cooler this week prior to finding this.

What do you guys think or suggest?

 

[the great him]

change that radiator ASAP!

 

[RunninInGA]

kid - is that a general replace the radiator because of its age and to avoid the milkshake, or is this a warning sign of bad things to come that you have seen or experienced?

 

[the great him]

i would replace it and drain your trans too, take a look at what it looks like. might want to drain and fill your trans several times to make sure that you get all new fluid in it as much as possible. the trans pan only holds about 1/4 the total capacity of the trans, the majority is in the torque converter. if your trans fluid that comes out of the pan is "clean" then id just to the at home flush over the next month, but if its pinkish and foamy or milky then id just take it to a shop and have them flush it(not using a detergent) to try and save it. even that is no guarantee that your trans will be saved. again not saying that you have the pink milkshake, it just looks too close for me to want to gamble, know what i mean?

 

[PitbullRescuer]

I can't see anything in that picture but I'm on my phone. But based on what you said, I agree with TheKid. Cheap enough to change and better safe than sorry.

 

[LittleCaesar]

I had a car where a row of fins got crushed and a small leak developed inside the bottom like yours but not that much.

And the leak got bigger, so I had to replace it. Like the kid says, change it if it is coolant.

 

[combatmedic]

What do you guys recommend for trans fluid?

 

[RunninInGA]

OK - ordered a trans cooler and new radiator this morning. Total cost was less than $200. As stated, I do not believe the seal has failed and allowed coolant and tranny fluid to mix, however I do not know this for certain. Is there an easy way to find out? If not, I will have some of the tranny fluid analyzed by Blackstone Labs.

In the meantime, the hoses look and feel very good, so I don't think I'll replace those. Previous owner stated the thermostat was replaced recently and I remember seeing it in the stack of receipts he gave me upon purchase (I just can't remember the date off the top of my head). As far as coolant, will a gallon and a half fill me up or will I need more? How about tranny fluid - are you guys running the high dollar Redline or Amsoil or regular old house brand at Autozone?

 

[T4R_Finally]

If you don't drain the block, you will probably get by with less, but I think the empty capacity is almost 9 quarts, which is over 2 full gallons. Of course, if you get Toyota Red, you have to mix it 50/50 with water so a gallon and a half is plenty. If you get the pink or Zerex Asian, they are premixed, so you might need more than 1.5 gallons. I'll be changing my radiator very soon, so I went ahead and bought 3 gallons of the Zerex Asian. Even if I use the full amount, I'll still have some left for topping off later on.

As for the trans fluid, you should probably do more than checking the dipstick to make sure it is okay. As recommended above, the easiest option is to drain it and take a look at what comes out. If there is any question about it, go get it flushed and refilled or do the home method of several drain, fill, and drive cycles.

 

[Nunyabiz]

I would always change the trans fluid to 100% synthetic, either Redline or Amsoil.
I use Amsoil probably mostly out of habit because I have used it in every vehicle I have owned since 1977, but Redline is just as good I am sure.

Take it to a T-Tech machine so you can get a true fluid change, will probably need a qt or two extra, probably about 15 Qts.
It uses the engines own pump to replace the fluid, so it is not a "power flush" just a slow easy replacement of fluid.

 

[LittleCaesar]

+1 with doing a full flush of new ATF with a synthetic; however if it is not in the cards for ya, grab a qt of Castrol Import ATF.

While your are at said Autozone, grab a 6ft piece of transmission cooler hose for the install.

 

[RunninInGA]

Ok - you guys have me more than a little worried about the tranny now. Not knowing whether or not the fluids have mixed, I'd rather not chase good money with bad (or is it bad money with good?) and although my budget would allow synthetic tranny fluid, I'd rather not spend the coin then have to replace or rebuild the tranny within a year. I'm thinking regular ATF flush drain / fill for now (I'm guessing 2 pan drains / flush / fills should suffice, no?) and see what happens. If all is good, next year I will switch to Redline (which I've run in the past with great outcome). That being said, below is my shopping list - is there anything to add that I'm forgetting?

1 - New Koyo radiator - purchased fro GoPart.com
2 - Hayden external tranny cooler - purchased from Amazon
3 - 6 feet tranny hose
4 - 2 additional gallons pre-mixed coolant (already have 1/2 gallon)
5 - Drain Bolt Crush Washer (P/N 35178-30010)
6 - OEM FIPG (P/N 00295-01281) or Permatex "The Right Stuff"
7 - 32 quarts ATF (if I'm reading the DIY correctly, you're using about 16 quarts per)
8 - trans filter - this can be CLEANED AND REUSED, correct?

 

[jacob7071]

I wouldn't think a brand new radiator would be at risk of failure, so the external cooler probably wouldn't be an immediate need (unless your new radiator doesn't have any way to cool the transmission fluid).

But, if you're installing an external cooler, I'd get more like 8-9 feet of hose. I just installed mine this weekend and only had about 2 feet of extra (I bought 9 feet). I was able to use some of the extra to insullate the hose at points where it comes in contact with other parts of the truck.

 

[T4R_Finally]

I wasnt going to say it, but since jacob did, i agree. External tranny cooler is probably overkill with a brand new radiator. But you ordered it already so may as well put it in. I opted out on the tranny cooler based on the same logic. Existing radiator almost 12 years old and no issues - new radiator should be fine for more years.

 

[RunninInGA]

I wouldn't think a brand new radiator would be at risk of failure, so the external cooler probably wouldn't be an immediate need (unless your new radiator doesn't have any way to cool the transmission fluid).

But, if you're installing an external cooler, I'd get more like 8-9 feet of hose. I just installed mine this weekend and only had about 2 feet of extra (I bought 9 feet). I was able to use some of the extra to insullate the hose at points where it comes in contact with other parts of the truck.

OK, 9 feet it is.

I wasnt going to say it, but since jacob did, i agree. External tranny cooler is probably overkill with a brand new radiator. But you ordered it already so may as well put it in. I opted out on the tranny cooler based on the same logic. Existing radiator almost 12 years old and no issues - new radiator should be fine for more years.

I hear ya both, however I ordered the tranny cooler thinking that since I'm doing the job anyway (and I have some Amazon bucks I needed spend) I might as well do it all at once. I am going to run it in series however. Any thoughts on the rest of my shopping list?

 

[wildryan]

Koyo Q

<EDIT> Never mind...

 

[brian2sun]

OP, if you currently have red or pink coolant in the radiator, and your tranny fluid isn't milky, then I don't see any reason to think your tranny was affected at all. From your pic, it just looks like you have a pinhole leak in the radiator and the red/pink coolant residue just gets gunky like that. Your tranny wouldn't drive very long without shifting problems if it was mixing fluids all this time. You'd know about it and see it. I think you are ok.

I wouldn't think a brand new radiator would be at risk of failure, so the external cooler probably wouldn't be an immediate need (unless your new radiator doesn't have any way to cool the transmission fluid).

But, if you're installing an external cooler, I'd get more like 8-9 feet of hose. I just installed mine this weekend and only had about 2 feet of extra (I bought 9 feet). I was able to use some of the extra to insullate the hose at points where it comes in contact with other parts of the truck.

I wasnt going to say it, but since jacob did, i agree. External tranny cooler is probably overkill with a brand new radiator. But you ordered it already so may as well put it in. I opted out on the tranny cooler based on the same logic. Existing radiator almost 12 years old and no issues - new radiator should be fine for more years.

I agree with the others above. If you just replace the radiator at this time, you'll be good for another 5-10 years without a tranny cooler. If you want the tranny cooler for more efficient cooling, or for towing or something like that, then go for it, but I think it's overkill with a brand new radiator if it's just for normal driving.

 

[RunninInGA]

OP, if you currently have red or pink coolant in the radiator, and your tranny fluid isn't milky, then I don't see any reason to think your tranny was affected at all. From your pic, it just looks like you have a pinhole leak in the radiator and the red/pink coolant residue gets gunky like that. A tranny won't drive very long without shifting problems. If it was mixing fluids all this time, you'd know about it and see it.





I agree with the others above. If you just replace the radiator at this time, you'll be good for another 5-10 years without a tranny cooler. If you want the tranny cooler for more efficient cooling, then go for it, but I think it's overkill too.

Well, initially this is what I was thinking too, but the paranoia kicked in after some of the above posts were made. Both coolant and tranny fluid look and smell good to me, but given my luck in the past year, the time and money involved in flushing the tranny is cheap piece of mind. Tranny shifts smooth as butter (knocks on wood hard) and engine temp is right where it ought to be.

I'm guessing in addition to milky tranny fluid, there'd be some visual sign in the coolant and perhaps overflow container, which I have not seen. Any where else I would see a sign or anything else to look for? I drove the Runner to work today, but will likely park it until the new radiator, cooler, and flush is complete. I'll drive the Taco in the meantime I suppose.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Shopping list looks good but I don't think you'll need 32 quarts of ATF. If you're doing the drain and fill method, you won;t get more than about 4 or 5 quarts out at a time, most of it will be in the torque converter. If you use t T-Tech machine, 16 quarts will be fine for a full flush. (maybe have 1 or 2 extra on hand for good measure, especially if you do add the cooler too.)

 

[brian2sun]

Well, initially this is what I was thinking too, but the paranoia kicked in after some of the above posts were made. Both coolant and tranny fluid look and smell good to me, but given my luck in the past year, the time and money involved in flushing the tranny is cheap piece of mind. Tranny shifts smooth as butter (knocks on wood hard) and engine temp is right where it ought to be.

I'm guessing in addition to milky tranny fluid, there'd be some visual sign in the coolant and perhaps overflow container, which I have not seen. Any where else I would see a sign or anything else to look for? I drove the Runner to work today, but will likely park it until the new radiator, cooler, and flush is complete. I'll drive the Taco in the meantime I suppose.

I think the DIY flush is a good thing so I recommend it just as maintenance..
Dropping Pan And Flushing Transmission
But, I personally would not do a machine flush on my truck. Some people consider machine flushing as opening "Pandora's Box" (and I agree).

The tranny pump really pushes a lot of fluid through the tranny cooler - about a quart every few seconds. If there was a hole in there, it would mix the fluids quickly and you would see some warning signs (if not full-blown tranny failure). From what I can see, all you have is a little residue on the radiator.