strawberry milkshake syndrome

[caparks]

Hello all,

I understand that having the strawberry milkshake syndrome means my trans fluid is mixing in with my coolant in the radiator. I am told that I need to change my rad. Unfortunately i need to get my 4Runner to the garage to do this. Does anyone know if i can drive the vehicle to the garage without causing any damage? The vehicle is not over heating or anything (yet).

How do i know if there has been any damage to the transmission?

If the trans. is OK, do I just need to change the radiator and flush the system?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!




Thanks in advance for any replies.

Not sure if this info is required, but just in case:
99 4Runner
Auto.
V6

[humanoid]

I'm sure if you drive to your mechanic it shouldn't do much damage if at all. Let us know how this turns out for you, good luck.

[MR2Jedi]

You'll be alright as long as it's not too far of a drive. Or you could always pull the radiator yourself and swap in a new one.

[jetwhine]

caparks,

If it were me I would have it towed to eleminate any problems. If you do this project yourself you will need to do a good flush of the tranny to make sure you get the milk shake out.

[kball]

Originally Posted by caparks

Hello all,

I understand that having the strawberry milkshake syndrome means my trans fluid is mixing in with my coolant in the radiator. I am told that I need to change my rad. Unfortunately i need to get my 4Runner to the garage to do this. Does anyone know if i can drive the vehicle to the garage without causing any damage? The vehicle is not over heating or anything (yet).

Why do you think you have the milkshake problem? Is your coolant red/pink and milky looking? Some coolants are red so that might be normal.

How do i know if there has been any damage to the transmission?

Check your trans fluid. It should be red and clear like wine. Not milky pink/white.

If the trans. is OK, do I just need to change the radiator and flush the system?

I've never heard of -just- the radiator getting contaminated. It always goes both ways. When the engine is running the trans fluid system has more pressure and forces fluid into the coolant system. Once shut off the trans has no pressure and the coolant system still has 15lbs give or take. So it gets pushed both ways.

I agree with Jetwhine to get it towed. I would flush the trans really good now with cheap fluid. Wait about a week and do it again with cheap stuff. Wait about 2 more weeks and then flush and put in synthetic.

Then wait and see if it survives...

Oh, and get an external cooler and never worry about this again!

[caparks]

Thanks for all the feedback!
I did get the vehicle towed. I wanted to put as much luck on my side as possible.
Kball, the coolant was pink and pasty. The first signs of trouble was the sight of coolant dripping from my wheel well. When I popped the hood the overflow was tank was full and looked like a strawberry milkshake.I stopped driving the vehicle at that moment.
I checked the dip stick from the trans. there was some white and pick at the very bottom.
I had the vehicle towed to a transmission shop and they are going to flush the trans.
Then I will be taking the vehicle to a rad shop to get the rad changed and flushed.
The trans shop is going to bypass the rad once they are done so that I can get the vehicle to the rad shop. What a week

I just pray that this is all worth it and my trans is saved!

[kball]

Even if they bypass the coolant system when they are flushing the trans your coolant system will still be full of milkshake. This will definitely cause overheating. You said before that it hasn't over heated yet but in your last post you said the milkshake was dripping from the wheel well so it sounds like it was already starting to overheat. Don't take a chance on blowing a head gasket. I'd get it towed to the rad shop as well.

[caparks]

thanks for the quick reply Kball,

When I said that it never overheated, I meant that the temp gauge remained normal the whole time. The mechanic thought that if the rad was bypassed
we could just add water to the rad in order to get it over to the rad shop.
Are you saying that this is taking a risk in blowing a head gasket?
I certainly don't want any more trouble then what I already have.

Kball you seem to have some experience with this, hopefully not personal experience, do you think a good flushing of both systems (trans. & rad) will save the transmission? or will I just have to wait and see?
What will be the signs of trouble to look for?

Thanks for all the help

[kball]

If the trans shop can drain the coolant system and refill with water that would probably get you to the rad shop okay as long as it's not a far drive. Problem is once the coolant system is milkshaked the goo is very thick and doesn't move/drain well. So your temp gauge may not go up a lot but the heat around the heads may be very hot. It depends on how well the coolant/shake is moving through the system.

I have not had this happen to me. I've read so many posts you wouldn't believe... I bypassed my trans cooler with an external one right after I bought my runner.

From what I've read, it's a total crap shoot. 50/50 depending on how long it was like this. Some people have had the trans die quick and some had it last another 10K miles and then died.

If it were me I'd do the flushing like I described earlier, multiple times over the next few weeks starting with cheap stuff. Then I'd start a piggy bank for a new trans because it is in your future... sooner than it would have been.

[azcat90]

What coolant does the 2000 4Runner Limited take? Toyota Red? Anyone have an opinion if its OK to repalce with AutoZone universal coolant?

[kball]

I've done some searching and so far haven't found a site that says exactly when red coolant went on the market. I think it was around 2000 though. If the replacement coolant you are using says it's universal I'm sure it will work fine. I would still do a thorough flush of the system with distilled water to get all the old coolant out first.