LS600hL coolant leak

[LEDMaestro101]

Good evening all! Long time since I’ve needed to post on here. Got a query that I could do with some input on. 
 

a couple of weeks have passed since I picked up my “new to me” ‘07 LS600hL and it appears I have a coolant leak (happy days). I have attached a couple of photos, apologies it’s very dark at the moment. I was wondering if I need to replace the condenser or just the radiator. climate control was ice cold and toasty warm up until 2 days ago when it just constantly blew cold and later that night I noticed my coolant was below minimum. I topped up the coolant this evening and then noticed what appears to be old/existing coolant on the front of the condenser. am I correct in my observation? Would I be better just replacing both for the sake of preventative maintenance? 
 

thoughts and input appreciated as always 🙂 

[Malc]

J ........I'm hoping someone will come along soon to assist you with this

Avery rare car indeed and in all the years I have been here this is the very first time this has been mentioned

Best wishes for a good and economic outcome

Malc

[PCM]

Just wondering... is there any comeback on the seller to rectify it?

[LEDMaestro101]

25 minutes ago, PCM said:

Just wondering... is there any comeback on the seller to rectify it?

I doubt it. The car was sold “as seen” by a private seller. The owner of the car was a member of this forum (LOC Sticker in the rear window) but he passed away and the car was sold by his family. The car has extensive history and drove fine on the test drive but this is a bit of a kick in the sensitives. £250 for a new rad and £230 for a condenser. I thought I was done fixing cars lol. 

[PCM]

Fair enough.

If it was me, I'd assume it a one-off and get a good local independent to check it all first and then fix what needed fixing...

[BigBoomer]

Are you certain that it's coolant? It looks like water to me.
Coolant normally has a red/pink tinge to it (or green/blue for some systems).
If the previous user didn't use the correct coolant, then the water will have caused corrosion and you will need a new radiator.
It shouldn't have affected the air-con condenser though as they are separate systems.
 

[LEDMaestro101]

3 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

Are you certain that it's coolant? It looks like water to me.
Coolant normally has a red/pink tinge to it (or green/blue for some systems).
If the previous user didn't use the correct coolant, then the water will have caused corrosion and you will need a new radiator.
It shouldn't have affected the air-con condenser though as they are separate systems.
 

Yep definitely coolant. Camera doesn’t pick it up very well but it definitely has a pink tinge to it. I can only assume there is a hole in the radiator, behind the condenser, and it’s just weeping through. 

[BigBoomer]

17 hours ago, LEDMaestro101 said:

Yep definitely coolant. Camera doesn’t pick it up very well but it definitely has a pink tinge to it. I can only assume there is a hole in the radiator, behind the condenser, and it’s just weeping through. 

In that case, when you get the Rad replaced make sure to get them to rinse the coolant out of the Condenser.

[LEDMaestro101]

Ok so just to update, new radiator arrived and I’ve spent the last 4 hours of sunlight trying to get the old one out. It appears the existing radiator might be ok, it’s bone dry. What I didn’t realise is that there as a cooler for the inverter and that has the same colour coolant. 
my issue is that the inverter cooler and condenser are sopping wet from something, the coolant level is always low but the inverter coolant is always at max. 
 

im at my wits end now, any advice would be very helpful. Google doesn’t seem to result in any similar situations with the 600hL

[Herbie]

22 minutes ago, LEDMaestro101 said:

my issue is that the inverter cooler and condenser are sopping wet from something, the coolant level is always low but the inverter coolant is always at max

So, logically then, the inverter coolant system is just a red herring and it must be something to do with the engine cooling system.

[LEDMaestro101]

Logically yes but the inverter cooler and condenser are both wet with coolant, the radiator isn’t. That’s what is confusing me. 
 

I’ll see if I can find a diagram of the cooling system and see exactly what runs up the top near the coolers 

[Supafly]

Did you manage to resolve this issue?

A couple of thoughts... could it be that the coolant is being sprayed from the radiator onto the other coolers?

Are you able to pressure test the radiator on the car? block one end off and use a pump/compressor(regulated) to see if there are any pin holes aywhere. 

[LEDMaestro101]

My apologies, I should have updated the thread. 
 

yes, there was a hairline split in the top of the radiator. Only managed to spot it when it started bubbling from lack of coolant lol. Ordered a genuine radiator from Lexus and tried to replace myself (i’ve done the same job on a couple of 430’s and IS’s) but there were a couple of bolts I couldn’t get to so ended up having Lexus do it. 
 

they managed to overfill the coolant so it was still steaming for a week after the repair while the excess coolant evaporated away but it’s been fine since January!