Mcaple

I have a 1998 gs300. About 3 weeks ago I noticed that my radiator had a small Crack along the top. After the radiator cooled I learned that the fluid in the resuvoir was burnt red transmission fluid. So I bought a new radiator and put in green antifreeze. I then drained out all of the remaining transmission fluid and put in new fluid. Today(2 weeks later) I was checking my oil and noticed that the antifreeze in the reservoir burnt red again..the car runs good..I was just wondering why does it seem like the transmission fluid is mixing with the antifreeze...im not a mechanic but any advice will be appreciated.

Mr Jokster

iTrader: (8)

Is there a LOT of red fluid, or just residual but enough to discolor? When you drained the coolant, did you just drain from the radiator, or did you flush the engine? In a case like this, I like to remove the hoses from the radiator and run the car with a garden hose on the receiving end for a few minutes to completely flush the engine out. I believe you may not have flushed the engine and the red you see was what was still in the engine itself after you swapped the radiator.

shwalker07

I just want to make sure that you are aware the factory Toyota coolant is red and may look like transmission fluid but its not as slippery. Your old radiator could have has a cracked trans cooler which is built into the lower radiator but I never heard of that on these cars going bad like that. Maybe like Jokster said you have some red coolant left over in the system from your first coolant drain. I would also highly advise you to get rid of that universal green stuff and get that OEM red coolant back in their so your cooling system and aluminum parts do not corrode faster than they need to.

sakataj

iTrader: (182)

I was thinking the same thing, I don't know if the OP knows the factory coolant was red

Mcon

iTrader: (1)

I post before sakataj, the same comment that he made here and also I was said that the oem coolant it's a little expensive that the green one but at the end you save a lot of money in all coolant system parts on your car. But when I click on the button to post at second later I get a phone call and my post never past true. Anyway, I agree with all 3 members with the comment and the recommendation that said to you Mcaple. Change the coolant to what the the manufacturer recommends. But you must be sure that it is the one your car needs. The toyota coolant comes in various colors and are very similar in color. There are about 3 to 4 class of coolant that Toyota sells for its cars and more red or pink than others.

kevin3344

I think OP is thinking of the Nissan problem with antifreeze mixing with transmission fluid. Toyota transmission fluid is red, that's what the dealer used last time I had my timing belt changed.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/news/20...mplaints.shtml

ThomasGS4

iTrader: (19)

If you had trans fluid mixing with your coolant, it would look like a strawberry milkshake.