Radiator Replaced!

[scott-o]

No idea why pictures arent showing!

[RichGS11]

6 hours ago, scott-o said:

No idea why pictures arent showing!

No idea, but great idea keeping the thread going. I am just about to order the rad from LPD. What else did you buy in prep for the rad change?

[scott-o]

On 3/5/2021 at 9:52 PM, RichGS11 said:

No idea, but great idea keeping the thread going. I am just about to order the rad from LPD. What else did you buy in prep for the rad change?

Hi Rich, thanks. I ordered enough coolant for a full change (7L from memory) and a couple of bottles of transmission fluid, although only used a small amount of that, managed not to spill much and there wasnt much in the cooler. Also did the air filter whilst the airbox was apart and i ordered a few spare trim clips but did end up finding a load of them inside the airbox!

[C.B]

My car has been in at Lexus for a new head unit the last week (ordered wrong part initially) and since its now out of warranty I decided to have the radiator done. £570 all in which is less than £100 more than my trusted indy wanted including me supplying the parts from LPD.

[scott-o]

On 5/7/2021 at 12:45 PM, C.B said:

My car has been in at Lexus for a new head unit the last week (ordered wrong part initially) and since its now out of warranty I decided to have the radiator done. £570 all in which is less than £100 more than my trusted indy wanted including me supplying the parts from LPD.

That's a great price at a main dealer, seems they've been robbing others out of £800+ for the same thing! 

[RichGS11]

Apologies for digging up an old thread, but I am about to carry out the rad change on my F.  I have one question as the rest of the swap is very similar to the GS. Is it necessary to drill out the rivnuts? Will the old fan not just mate up to the new rad?

The GS is a straight swap with no redrilling or tapping, so I'd expect the ISF to be similar. So just asking if this was for personal preference rather than required?

Thank you.

[4969_LXS]

35 minutes ago, RichGS11 said:

Apologies for digging up an old thread, but I am about to carry out the rad change on my F.  I have one question as the rest of the swap is very similar to the GS. Is it necessary to drill out the rivnuts? Will the old fan not just mate up to the new rad?

The GS is a straight swap with no redrilling or tapping, so I'd expect the ISF to be similar. So just asking if this was for personal preference rather than required?

Thank you.

I didn't have to redrill anything when I replaced the radiator on mine. I just unscrewed the fans from the old radiator and put them onto the new one. Looking at the service history of mine, it underwent the radiator fan recall off the top of my head in 2015. So that may of played a part in them being easy to unscrew

[RichGS11]

6 minutes ago, 4969_LXS said:

I didn't have to redrill anything when I replaced the radiator on mine. I just unscrewed the fans from the old radiator and put them onto the new one. Looking at the service history of mine, it underwent the radiator fan recall off the top of my head in 2015. So that may of played a part in them being easy to unscrew

Thank you. Mine is a 2010 so hopefully those issues were addressed.

[mr_s81]

As @4969_LXS says no drilling is required. Everything bolts on and off.

I did mine about a couple of months ago and to be honest if you take your time and do everything methodically, it's not a particularly difficult job and can be done with basic tools.

I removed the fans while the radiator was still in situ and also reattached them again after putting the radiator in. Not having them bolted to the radiator gave a fair bit more room to get the old one removed and new one installed in my experience. It's all personal preference though. I don't think there's a 'right' or 'wrong' way to do it.

[scott-o]

My bolts snapped so needed to be drilled and tapped, that was the only reason.

[zeespeed]

I had mine replaced in February. Here is a photo of what came out:

 

[RichGS11]

All done. Took 2 hours in total, which the GS radiator took.

Thanks for the advice @mr_s81 I took the fans off before removing the radiator, and it made it an easier job in regards to space as well as not having to lay the new rad down on the floor to attach the fans.

All in all it went really well. Always nervous about that first moment you fire it up and try to bleed the system, but it looks as though it's all gone OK. Test drive shortly.

Thanks all.

[mr_s81]

2 hours is good going. My radiator looked fine when it was off, but I guess it's corrosion on the inside that is the potential issue.

Either way, it's good to have the peace of mind knowing that it's been done!

[RichGS11]

1 hour ago, mr_s81 said:

2 hours is good going. My radiator looked fine when it was off, but I guess it's corrosion on the inside that is the potential issue.

Either way, it's good to have the peace of mind knowing that it's been done!

Completely agree. My radiator showed signs of age but looked healthy, but it's the inside corrosion you don't see. I'm going to break my old rad down tonight to see if there is any corrosion.

[Spacewagon52]

2 minutes ago, RichGS11 said:

Completely agree. My radiator showed signs of age but looked healthy, but it's the inside corrosion you don't see. I'm going to break my old rad down tonight to see if there is any corrosion.

Photos please Richard!

[4969_LXS]

Hi @Rich1988 ,have a read through this thread about the radiator. You can see mine was looking worse for wear at the time. It's been a while but I remember reading somewhere about a recommendation to change it every 10 years. If you're good with tools this will be an alright DIY job.

I'm not trying to scare you into doing it, it's just more information for you to decide what's best for you and your car.

On a side note, when I did it at home, I lost a little bit of transmission fluid when changing the radiator so I had to have the trans fluid re-levelled.

The Lexus dealership I took it to had to do it twice as it wasn't quite right first time and even then, the person who did the work didn't tighten the level plug properly and it's been leaking fluid for 6 months, makes you question the Labour rate of £125 an hour 🤔. God I wish I had my own ramp. Anyway I digress. The level plug will need a new crush washer.

If you know a decent garage that has a diagnostic reader that picks up our cars transmission temperature sensor (a snap-on system at an independent garage I trust was able to read all the cars diag systems), I'd get it done there and watch what they do. It's simple enough to be done at home too but the car needs to be level and you need a reader etc. Temp range is 35-42 degrees Celsius. Try and do it as soon as 35 pops up if you go down that route. 👍

[Rich1988]

Hi guys I’m changing my radiator and water pump soon but unsure how much coolant I’ll need. Also is it possible to top up the atf as surely some will be lost when the rad is removed. Any help will be appreciated 

Rich 

[4969_LXS]

Hi Rich,

I think I ordered two 5 litre bottles of 50/50 premix Lexus coolant. I've still got some left in the 1 bottle from when I did it. 

In terms of the transmission fluid. Put a jug under each hose when you remove them to see how much comes out but try and plug the hoses as quickly as possible with something to limit how much comes out. I can't remember the diameter of the hose, does anyone know or recommend something to plug the hoses with, I used the end of a random tool?

Doing the trans fluid level is easy if you have a diagnostic tool to read the temperature guage, something to put the fluid into the gearbox via the fill hole and making sure the car is level. You could try syringing the same amount + a little more back into one of the hoses and quickly put it onto the radiator connectors. 

[Rich1988]

17 hours ago, 4969_LXS said:

Hi Rich,

I think I ordered two 5 litre bottles of 50/50 premix Lexus coolant. I've still got some left in the 1 bottle from when I did it. 

In terms of the transmission fluid. Put a jug under each hose when you remove them to see how much comes out but try and plug the hoses as quickly as possible with something to limit how much comes out. I can't remember the diameter of the hose, does anyone know or recommend something to plug the hoses with, I used the end of a random tool?

Doing the trans fluid level is easy if you have a diagnostic tool to read the temperature guage, something to put the fluid into the gearbox via the fill hole and making sure the car is level. You could try syringing the same amount + a little more back into one of the hoses and quickly put it onto the radiator connectors. 

Thanks mate I’ll order two 5litres 

[Grey One]

I had mine done at my dealer last week, around £570, which I thought was something of a bargain.  I am not a fan of preventative mechanics unless a proven issue, but as enough folks have mentioned this it seemed worthwhile.

In hindsight I would have liked to have kept the old radiator as a spare, but forgot.

I wonder as the ISF is now nearly ten years out of production if we are beginning to benefit from reduced spares prices from Lexus?

[BTCC_ Racer]

I had my replaced a week ago and I the rad looked in great shape. If anyone needs a rad happy to sell.

Certainly worth getting done

thanks 

[Rich1988]

Had mine done today along with the waterpump. I spent £420 in total. 
I got parts from AUTODOC and coolant from Lexus. 
I work for Mercedes so got the fitting done with discount. 
 

Im pleased it’s all done now and I can relax. The radiator looks like it was seeping along the top as there was a lot of dried coolant. Bottom ATF inlet/outlet slightly corroded.  
 

If I get time I’ll cut it open and see what the inside is like. 
 

[ubersonic]

2 hours ago, Rich1988 said:

If I get time I’ll cut it open and see what the inside is like. 

If your engine coolant was pink before you did the swap then you can pretty much guarantee it will be spotless, if there was any corrosion taking place inside the rad caused by old/contaminated coolant then it would be obvious by the mud coloured coolant in the engine bay bottle.

This is one of the big advantages of having the ATF cooler inside the radiator instead of in the engine bay like it was on 70's/early 80's cars, the engine coolant's corrosion inhibitors protect it so it's practically impossible for it to fail barring a manufacturing defect, you only have to worry about the ATF hoses or the hose connections on the rad (hence why they are inspected during a service).

[Rich1988]

20 minutes ago, ubersonic said:

If your engine coolant was pink before you did the swap then you can pretty much guarantee it will be spotless, if there was any corrosion taking place inside the rad caused by old/contaminated coolant then it would be obvious by the mud coloured coolant in the engine bay bottle.

This is one of the big advantages of having the ATF cooler inside the radiator instead of in the engine bay like it was on 70's/early 80's cars, the engine coolant's corrosion inhibitors protect it so it's practically impossible for it to fail barring a manufacturing defect, you only have to worry about the ATF hoses or the hose connections on the rad (hence why they are inspected during a service).

Thanks, I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about the coolant mixing with the aft and thought it’s better safe than sorry. 
 

[Rich1988]

For anyone who’s thinking of doing the job on a budget I can recommend Autodoc for the parts.

I bought an Aisin water pump which is who supply Toyota so same as a genuine one for £61.70

NRF Radiator was £117.69

2x 5 litres of Toyota Long Life Coolant I got with a friend discount for £56.