Radiator fluid and my transmission fluid have mixed?

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.

2 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 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.