Radiator fluid and my transmission fluid have mixed?

Tiny
GRANDMA9
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 TOYOTA 4RUNNER
  • 6 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 10,300 MILES
It appears that my radiator fluid and my transmission fluid have mixed. They are both the same light, milky, redish brown color. I noticed my engine pinging a little last week, (bad gas) and a small leak under the front of my car. At first I thought is was air conditioning condensation, but it took a day to "dry up" and it left not an oily residue but kind of like when something salty dries up.A white residue around the spot. Saturday the transmission started to shift hard and when we came out of the store there was a huge puddle of this milky fluid under the front of the car. I thought there was some protection between the radiator and the transmission to keep this from happening. I now wonder if I have ruined my transmission and my engine.
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 AT 11:17 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
  • 41,814 POSTS
Hi grandma9,

Hope the engine have not overheated due to coolant losses, however the trans needs immediate attention.

I suspect the trans cooler in the radiator is leaking and causing the coolant and ATF to mix.

Check and confirm if the problem is from the radiator and if it is, replace it and flush the trans and replace with new fluid.

Good luck.
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Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 AT 2:47 PM
Tiny
WWDUNE
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
I had the exact same problem 1 year ago with my 4 Runner 2000 with over 200 000km. I had my transmission fluid flushed and everything was ok til now. Now, it look like I'm going back to the same issue. It exhibited slippage on the firsk gear. Is this append to you as well?
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Friday, October 16th, 2009 AT 12:03 PM

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