Radiator Replacement LS430

[Micholas]

I realise this subject has probably been done to death.. but I'm going to replace the radiator myself on my LS430 as a preventative measure, and I had a few questions. Firstly I'm thinking of buying a Nissens rad from CP4L for £100.. In my experience Nissens make very good OE plus rads .. has anyone had experience on whether they're a good fit? No open ports that shouldn't be there?

Secondly I'm doing the coolant hoses and oil cooler hoses whilst I'm at it, which I'm getting genuine parts from Lexus parts direct for pretty cheap.. however you can't get the hose clamps from them.. and Lexus themselves told me they're not in the country and need shipping in. Reluctant to use universal hose clamps as it'll be pretty catastrophic if they came lose. 

What have you guys used?

 

 

[The-Acre]

32 minutes ago, Micholas said:

I realise this subject has probably been done to death.. but I'm going to replace the radiator myself on my LS430 as a preventative measure, and I had a few questions. Firstly I'm thinking of buying a Nissens rad from CP4L for £100.. In my experience Nissens make very good OE plus rads .. has anyone had experience on whether they're a good fit? No open ports that shouldn't be there?

Secondly I'm doing the coolant hoses and oil cooler hoses whilst I'm at it, which I'm getting genuine parts from Lexus parts direct for pretty cheap.. however you can't get the hose clamps from them.. and Lexus themselves told me they're not in the country and need shipping in. Reluctant to use universal hose clamps as it'll be pretty catastrophic if they came lose. 

What have you guys used?

 

 

I've replaced two LS430 rads using Koyo which seem fine, although Nissens are good. The all important point is to be sure you get one with the nozzle at the end which connects the small hose to the expansion tank, the ones without are for the US/Japanese market like mine.  As far as the oil cooler hoses go, I replaced mine and I used jubilee clips but really good quality stainless steel ones, the cheaper ones I wouldn't trust.  I also bought 5 litres of Toyota ready mixed red coolant.  Changing the radiator is a piece of cake, especially if you're fitting new cooler hoses, that means you can do it all from above.  The foam between the rad and AC condenser will disintegrate but I would just discard it.  The whole job can be done in about an hour.

[Micholas]

Thanks for this! Surely if I'm replacing the oil cooler hoses I need to do this from the bottom when I'm connecting it to the oil cooler lines. FYI I've not had a real dig around in the engine bay yet, but from what I remember connection at the gearbox end is not reachable from above?

[John N]

This is the radiator I fitted to my LS430 two years ago, and it has been fine.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIT-FOR-LEXUS-LS430-AUTOMATIC-MANUAL-RADIATOR-2000-2006-2-YEAR-WARRANTY/152429318586?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Picked it as it was one of the few offering a 2 year guarantee.

I used ordinary 316 stainless steel Jubilee Clips for all the hoses, these are better than the original spring clips which are designed to be fast to fit on the production line. Being adjustable you can release them or tighten them up to cure any slight leaks.

Although the transmission cooling hoses were twenty years old they looked in perfect condition, so I just reconnected them. Use a couple of brake hose clamps when you disconnect them to avoid loosing transmission fluid. It's an easy job and I've had no problems.

When you come to refill the radiator and header tank with antifreeze it will take you a few attempts to get the air out of the heater system. The first time you fill the system take the car for a short run with the heating turned up full and get the engine up to its' normal temprature. Then when you leave it to go cold you will find the system needs topping up again, top it up and repeat the process. It may need topping up a couple of more times, but when you no longer need to top it up all the air will be out of the heater system.

Good luck.

John N

[B4NDIT]

i bought the same for mine but never fitted it and have now sold the car so now sitting in the shed

[Malc]

18 hours ago, John N said:

Although the transmission cooling hoses were twenty years old they looked in perfect condition,

and mine still are at 25 years and 232k miles old 

Malc

[The-Acre]

On 1/13/2021 at 11:14 PM, Micholas said:

Thanks for this! Surely if I'm replacing the oil cooler hoses I need to do this from the bottom when I'm connecting it to the oil cooler lines. FYI I've not had a real dig around in the engine bay yet, but from what I remember connection at the gearbox end is not reachable from above?

You can connect the new cooler hoses to the radiator before you install it and connection to transmission pipes is easy enough to do from on top.  As I say, both times I did it all without going underneath.  I would estimate trans fluid loss to be about an eggcup full at most, that's without plugging the hoses at all.  If you've got a pre facelift you're lucky enough to have a dipstick so if you do need to top the fluid up it's easy, just remember to use Toyota Type 1V.

[Micholas]

Thanks for all this chaps..

Just received the ECP/CP4L Nissens rad, and it does NOT have the port for the hose to expansion tank.. Returns through them are a ball ache.. so Paypal resolution centre here I come.

Might go for the eBay one.. but it is unbranded. 

[The-Acre]

10 minutes ago, Micholas said:

Thanks for all this chaps..

Just received the ECP/CP4L Nissens rad, and it does NOT have the port for the hose to expansion tank.. Returns through them are a ball ache.. so Paypal resolution centre here I come.

Might go for the Ebay one.. but it is unbranded. 

Sadly that's the issue a lot of people have with these radiators.  The same will happen if you buy an original Denso one from the US because their setup is different to ours.  Obviously a main dealer would give you the correct one but may bankrupt you in the process, about £350 I believe.

[Micholas]

Yeah I've just seen on lexuspartsdirect that they're in that region. I don't mind paying that if that's the end of it. But then again it was the OE rad that seems to be faulting for everyone.. and I'm guessing since Lexus are in denial about this whole issue, they've not uprated their radiator to cure it. 

[BigBoomer]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXUS-LS430-GS430-SC430-Auto-GEARBOX-OIL-COOLER-UPGRADE-NEW/203109597302?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

Costs more than a cheap Radiator but future proofs the car and no need to replace the coolant.

[Malc]

does this totally obviate the potential for the watercoolant  / gearbox oil to ever mix then ?

Malc

[The-Acre]

2 hours ago, Micholas said:

Yeah I've just seen on lexuspartsdirect that they're in that region. I don't mind paying that if that's the end of it. But then again it was the OE rad that seems to be faulting for everyone.. and I'm guessing since Lexus are in denial about this whole issue, they've not uprated their radiator to cure it. 

The problem is not the radiator itself, the problem comes from the unions corroding with rust which causes them to expand and then the O rings no longer seal.

[The-Acre]

1 hour ago, Malc said:

does this totally obviate the potential for the watercoolant  / gearbox oil to ever mix then ?

Malc

It does because the fluid completely bypasses the radiator.  It certainly does work.

[Micholas]

7 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

The problem is not the radiator itself, the problem comes from the unions corroding with rust which causes them to expand and then the O rings no longer seal.

I've heard this a few times.. but then there's a lot of people saying that it's the plastic casing splitting from the metal core. 

 

On 1/15/2021 at 8:11 PM, John N said:

This is the radiator I fitted to my LS430 two years ago, and it has been fine.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIT-FOR-LEXUS-LS430-AUTOMATIC-MANUAL-RADIATOR-2000-2006-2-YEAR-WARRANTY/152429318586?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Picked it as it was one of the few offering a 2 year guarantee.

I used ordinary 316 stainless steel Jubilee Clips for all the hoses, these are better than the original spring clips which are designed to be fast to fit on the production line. Being adjustable you can release them or tighten them up to cure any slight leaks.

 

I ended up ordering this. The guarantee will be pointless.. they'll replace the radiator but not the price of a new gearbox 😄 I guess I'll see how it gets on and replace every couple of years as regular maintenance. 

Any ideas what size jubilee clips? With everything being shut I can't get in any motorfactors to match it to the hoses.

[The-Acre]

1 hour ago, Micholas said:

I've heard this a few times.. but then there's a lot of people saying that it's the plastic casing splitting from the metal core. 

 

I ended up ordering this. The guarantee will be pointless.. they'll replace the radiator but not the price of a new gearbox 😄 I guess I'll see how it gets on and replace every couple of years as regular maintenance. 

Any ideas what size jubilee clips? With everything being shut I can't get in any motorfactors to match it to the hoses.

No, that's not the case.  The cooler that sits in the bottom of the radiator is aluminium and is only held in place by the nuts on the front of the radiator. I've posted photos somewhere on the forum of the one I dismantled, it clearly shows corrosion being the problem.  I would say another way of preventing this would be to dismantle one side of the radiator connections at a time, clean well and replace the O rings, that should do the job....if you're brave enough!! I have also fitted a separate cooler, also a very very easy job.

[John N]

I've just tried to look what size jubilee clips I ordered, but my eBay purchase history from 2 years ago doesn't  show what size I bought.

Just measure the diameter of the hoses, you don't have to measure them exactly, as jubilee clips have a wide range of adjustment. That's one of their advantages.

2 hours ago, The-Acre said:

The problem is not the radiator itself, the problem comes from the unions corroding with rust which causes them to expand and then the O rings no longer seal.

I agree with The-Acre on this. The corrosion in the unions occurs because owners don't change their Anti-freeze every 5 years and the corrosion inhibiter looses its' effectiveness. This can be made worse if you have a leak on the system and keep topping it up with plain water instead of Anti-freeze, it dilutes the corrosion inhibiter faster. Worse still can be the back street garage that will refill the system with plain water after they have worked on it to save the cost of anti-freeze!

Keep the Anti-freeze in the radiator up to strength and you shouldn't have any problems.

I only use an external transmission cooler in addition to the cooling coil on the radiator because I tow a big caravan.

John N

[The-Acre]

20 minutes ago, John N said:

I've just tried to look what size jubilee clips I ordered, but my Ebay purchase history from 2 years ago doesn't  show what size I bought.

Just measure the diameter of the hoses, you don't have to measure them exactly, as jubilee clips have a wide range of adjustment. That's one of their advantages.

I agree with The-Acre on this. The corrosion in the unions occurs because owners don't change their Anti-freeze every 5 years and the corrosion inhibiter looses its' effectiveness. This can be made worse if you have a leak on the system and keep topping it up with plain water instead of Anti-freeze, it dilutes the corrosion inhibiter faster. Worse still can be the back street garage that will refill the system with plain water after they have worked on it to save the cost of anti-freeze!

Keep the Anti-freeze in the radiator up to strength and you shouldn't have any problems.

I only use an external transmission cooler in addition to the cooling coil on the radiator because I tow a big caravan.

John N

I've got a piece of transmission hose in my workshop so I'll try to remember to measure it tomorrow.  How do you find towing with an LS, it's rare to see them with a towbar....then again it's rare to see them anywhere!

[John N]

13 hours ago, The-Acre said:

How do you find towing with an LS, it's rare to see them with a towbar....then again it's rare to see them anywhere!

Off subject, but the LS430 makes a brilliant tow car. It has the power and torque not to notice the caravan behind, but you have to be carefull to keep to the 60mph speed limit. The self leveling suspension when set to 'sport' keeps the car level and controls any bounce.

You do need to fit an additional transmission cooler if you are towing anything heavy for any time, and keep the transmission in 4th gear at all times.

John N

[The-Acre]

1 hour ago, John N said:

Off subject, but the LS430 makes a brilliant tow car. It has the power and torque not to notice the caravan behind, but you have to be carefull to keep to the 60mph speed limit. The self leveling suspension when set to 'sport' keeps the car level and controls any bounce.

You do need to fit an additional transmission cooler if you are towing anything heavy for any time, and keep the transmission in 4th gear at all times.

John N

Good to know, not that I intend towing, but it's good info for those that do.  I've just checked my spare piece of transmission cooler hose and it's 17mm externally and I slipped a jubilee clip over it which says on the box 10-16mm and the fit is just right.

[Micholas]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:28 PM, The-Acre said:

Good to know, not that I intend towing, but it's good info for those that do.  I've just checked my spare piece of transmission cooler hose and it's 17mm externally and I slipped a jubilee clip over it which says on the box 10-16mm and the fit is just right.

Thanks a lot for checking this out. I'll place an order tonight. 

The eBay rad came today.. Looks promising, ports look correct, but no filler cap on top opening on top! How hard can it be to just get a like for like radiator on this car!

[The-Acre]

7 minutes ago, Micholas said:

Thanks a lot for checking this out. I'll place an order tonight. 

The eBay rad came today.. Looks promising, ports look correct, but no filler cap on top opening on top! How hard can it be to just get a like for like radiator on this car!

I know just what you mean!  I believe the radiator without the cap was fitted to later cars and as far as I'm aware you should be able to use it without any problems.

[John N]

1 hour ago, The-Acre said:

I know just what you mean!  I believe the radiator without the cap was fitted to later cars and as far as I'm aware you should be able to use it without any problems.

It does work fine (mine has for the last 2 years). Just use the port with a plastc screw plug on top of the radiator the first time you fill the system with anti-freeze. Then fill the reservoir with anti-freeze. After that top the system up (when it's cold) using the reservoir filler cap as the air trapped in the heater bleeds out of the system over the next few days.

John N

[Mikaelse]

When I did my cambelt I notised on both my 20+ year old LS400 that the rubber hosing ( all hoses)  felt really good still. Soft, springy and fault free. I did not change mine. Perhaps swedish climate helps.  25+ years now on my oldest and stil all original hoses

 

[The-Acre]

56 minutes ago, Mikaelse said:

When I did my cambelt I notised on both my 20+ year old LS400 that the rubber hosing ( all hoses)  felt really good still. Soft, springy and fault free. I did not change mine. Perhaps swedish climate helps.  25+ years now on my oldest and stil all original hoses

I'm sure that's the same in most cases, I only replaced mine for peace of mind and because on a previous one I found a deep split.