Here's a weird one guys...I need some help

I have a 99 4Runner with just under 70,000 miles. Auto tranny. I was running a short errand today and noticed the tranny was not downshifting to first well. Starting from a stop, the tranny would slip and then grab low gear suddenly. I was going on a 2 mile drive to Home Depot, so I made a note to check the fluid when I got home.

Came out of the store to find a large and growing pool of what I thought was tranny fluid (dark red, clear) under the truck. #@%^@%&! Took a peak under the car and the the left wheel well was covered with the stuff. I was with my 2-year old and it was freezing, so I figured I would idle the car while I figured out what to do. Started fine, runs fine. BUT...now I have strawberry milkshake (not the dark red tranny fluid like before) pouring down from around the radiator hose and out of the radiator overflow. Milky red. "That's funny," I thought. Never seen coolant like that before...

By now, I have created a superfund site in the HomeDepot parking lot and I have decided not to move the car at all. (I was figuring a gasket was cheaper than a tranny.) So I decide to check the tranny fluid. Barely anything in there except...you guessed it, strawberry milkshake. :-o

Well obviously something is not right at all. I'm going to get the thing towed tomorrow and am prepared for the worst, but WTF?? Even with the most catastrophic failure, how would tranny fluid mix with coolant? Any other ideas? Exactly how hosed am I?

Engine oil looked fine and uncontaminated and car still runs fine, so hopefully block and cylinder walls are intact. Ugh.

Thanks guys.

cgardnerma

The only place to two come in close proximity to each other is the stock transmission heat exchanger located in the bottom of the radiator.. Look at the bottom of the radiator on the back side and you'll see the two oil lines coming from the transmission.

Never heard of this one happening before <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Keep us posted on what you find out...

Heat exchanger? Is that the same as a tranny cooler? If there is a tranny cooler in the radiator (stock Landcruisers have this I believe), that's it right there. A bad failure in the radiator could easily mix the two. Hmm. I thought stock 4Runners did't have a tranny cooler. At least I never thought mine had one...

This is nothing new, alot of manufacturers cool the tranny fluid in the radiator. Most every replacement radiator out there has the cooler fittings in it, even if you get a radiator for your manual tranny it has the fittings...

Yes, there's a minimal tranny cooler built into the bottom of the stock radiator. It's really just a section of tranny line that runs across (inside) the bottom plastic section of the radiator. It's really small as far as cooling is concerned.

I think I paid $165 for a new radiator from www.radiatorbarn.com. Much better than the dealer price of $600. Note that when you select your year and model, the 4 cyl and 6 cyl engines use the same radiator so it's strange they only list 4 cyl - until you see the full specs of what that radiator is for. (I had cracked the bottom of my original radiator on rocks off-road).

Thanks, guys. Do I need to take any special care on the tranny flush to get all that crap out of there?

Definately. Have it flushed, reflushed and again.

Any water in the trans section will slowly destroy the clutches.

Helen's auto Feroza also has an Aisin auto and we just paid $3000 to have a complete rebuild. Why ? Same as you. The rad oil cooler line cracked and caused a slow leak and water got into the trans and eventually shagged the clutches!!!.

JD

Thanks for all the help guys. As suspected, I had a big time radiator failure that ruptured the core and punched through to the tranny heat exchanger. Mechanic said it was the firts time he had ever seen such a thing--especially in a Toyota. It took two cases of tranny fluid and many of gallons of water to flush both systems and get it all cleaned out.

All fixed now, but it cost me $750 in the end. If it weren't 10 degrees out when it happend, I would have done it myself, but sometimes you just gotta pay. Oh well...

cgardnerma

thanks for keeping us posted..

That sure was a strange failure.. any possibility of photos of the lower end of the radiator?

Other than freezing up solid at the radiator bottom or a physical strike (road debris or something) hard to figure... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I've had one of the plastic end caps split and start leaking, but the transmission cooler also being leaking at the same time is weird.

I believe the tranny "cooler" in the radiator is also a "heater" for the fluid to promote faster warmup. In case anyone was interested....