picked the new one up Saturday from Camelback. All good now, just need to find some time to install
2008-2018 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter jclarke450
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Here's mine. One thing I now notice is that it doesn't have the vendor markings. I know that it hasn't been changed...
Update...
Finally found the time to have the dealer replace the radiator on the '13. The revised design looks much better. All it cost me was renting a Rav4 for a couple of days from enterprise.
how'd you get them to pay?Update...
Finally found the time to have the dealer replace the radiator on the '13. The revised design looks much better. All it cost me was renting a Rav4 for a couple of days from enterprise.
Long story, but it was in the shop for a different issue and they damaged the radiator fins by being careless. So I had them replace what their tech damaged.
i see, lucky in the end. I just picked mine up from Camelback on Saturday, going to install soon. Happy i as well got what looks to be that new improved top plate deign
Just changed the radiator on my 2008 this weekend, and thought I'd add a few notes/observations. tl;dr: it was hard.
DN.
- Ordered parts from Priority Toyota of Richmond, VA. Price shopped some of the places noted earlier (Camelback, Boch, S. Atl). Camelback was cheapest (at first) but a) there was an extra shipping charge after I placed the order, and b) it was going to take too long to ship it to Northern VA to meet my timeline. Both were understandable, but I canceled. Priority was the closest dealer that had an actual e-commerce site (vs. "email us for a quote") and the price ended up being about the same in the end. Shipped out the next day and arrived quickly. Recommended for mid-Atlantic folks.
- Before ordering I went through this whole thread to figure out what to order. In the end I just bought:
- Radiator 16400-50384
- Upper Radiator Hose #1 (16571-38080)
- Lower Radiator Hose #2 (16572-38131)
- Toyota Super Long-Life Coolant (approx. 1.5 gallons) 00272-SLLC2 (local dealer)
- Things I didn't do:
- Only changed the coolant in the radiator, didn't drain/change coolant in the engine (replaced at 100k)
- The clamps (90466-A0026, 90467-43002) on mine looked to be in very good shape so I didn't replace them
- Water pump, serpentine belt, tensioner, and idler (replaced at 100k miles)
- Oil cooler hoses (top/front and back/bottom): wasn't sure what to order, and besides they looked to be in good shape.
- Fan clutch: might should've done that, but since I was going to try to change the radiator without taking apart the whole front end, I skipped it. Plus it looked like it may be hard, and I was short on time.
- I had a heck of a time getting all of the ARB skid plates off. Part of it was just figuring out how they were attached (threaded boss vs. loose nut behind the plates). And there were so many fasteners that I had to keep searching for why it wouldn't come off! Note I was in the street on a creeper on jack stands so there wasn't the most clearance.
- I collected all of the various tips (e.g., TexAZ, DrewDat, NWFL4Runner et al) for a quick and easy swap. Unfortunately I had to abandon this path since I couldn't get the passenger side mount off of the old radiator. The bottom has square nuts held in place by the molded plastic of the mount. They 'broke loose' and spun so I couldn't get them off. In retrospect maybe I could have wedged a flat-blade screwdriver in there to try to hold them.
- So I called an audible and moved over to using @Mogwai 's removal and installation pictures. Worked fine. I took off the bumper (not too hard actually).
- Recommend a binder clip or something to keep the headlight washer line from emptying everywhere.
- Didn't remove the air intake, hose, etc. since I didn't need to access engine drains
- Didn't remove the fan or shroud. Detached shroud from radiator but was able to get radiator out and new one in.
- Didn't bother with taping everything to prevent scratches. I'm careful, and besides I have way bigger pinstripes to deal with!
- Hardest part was getting the @#$@!! hose clamps off and on the lower/left radiator hose.
- Not a lot of clearance to access the top clamp, not enough "swing" to wiggle it back and forth to get it to slide down. Used basic slip-joint pliers. A small set of Channel-locks might have worked better.
- It was also tough to get the old hose off and new hose on. Found that wetting the inside of the new hose and outside of the plastic male piece helped a lot.
- This may have been easier if I had removed the shroud and fan, I don't know.
- Bottom was also hard, but not as bad as the top.
- Be meticulous about labeling each and every fastener! I did a C+ job of that, so when one of my radiator mounting bolts appeared to go missing, I spent an hour searching, and then sorting through the various bags of bolts to figure out what really went where. Was confusing since some of the radiator bolts were similar size to the skid bolts, different lengths, etc. Ended up buying a bolt from the BORG.
- Coolant capacity was listed at 14-16 liters, so I bought 5 gallons to be safe. "Duh" moment when it was full after about 1.5 gallons that the 14-16 liters included the engine coolant. Local dealer allowed me to return the unused 3.
- Installation & buttoning it up went pretty smoothly other than the lower hose and the missing bolt. There was definitely a pucker factor when I turned it on. I was *pretty* sure I had reconnected all of the hoses securely but not 100%. Fortunately there was no oil, coolant, etc. gushing out and it warmed up and held temp just fine. I will note that I couldn't feel the upper hose warming up as mentioned in the instructions. But the temps did go to normal and hold throughout the test drive and beyond.
DN.
bloc
SILVER Star
These things make the spring clamps very easy to deal with. “Hose clamp pliers” should return good results. I don’t like the spiked tool on the right btw.. good way to gouge the plastic or aluminum surfaces our radiator hoses attach to
Just checked mine when replacing my PCV. It doesn't look too bad. I have 3 separate 2,500 mile family trips this summer. I am reluctant to change it since I have a warranty. I did buy the Nashua tape, a small plastic welder, and a jb weld radiator repair kit in case it goes out on the road. I have a 2008 with 99k miles.
bjowett
Supporting Vendor
Diesel radiator with expansion tank almost complete.
bloc
SILVER Star
fan is same diameter and in the same place? or 3UR fan and shroud on that radiator?
supdizzle
SILVER Star
I bought a 2008 with 189K, original radiator. Very small line forming. Took no chances and installed new radiator, hoses and heater tee's. Also did the Starter to the new smaller Toyota version. Water Pump was done at 110K with new version in 2013. Fun camping trip to Canyonlands over Memorial Day weekend.
bjowett
Supporting Vendor
The shroud fits as everything is the same but the upper tank. To run the 200 expansion tank, the stock overflow tank needs to be cut from the shroud. Additionally, the oil dip stick is slightly tweaked so it can be removed to check oil level, and the wire harness that feeds the air pumps relocated. I will post more info and pics this week. It's an excellent set up that will improve system efficiency and life.
FYI mine looked similar and Toyota replaced it under the extended warranty - everything but the hoses and clamps which I had to pay for. List prices & book labor were supposedly about $750. I had 76k on the truck and a 100k warranty at the time.
It seemed like the dealer policy was "don't replace unless it's cracked". I opened the cap to check the level and might have dripped a bit on the top of the radiator. They said mine appeared to be slightly weeping and replaced it.
Personally if you have a decent dealership nearby I'd suggest discussing with your local dealer and running it up the chain. I assume since you say 99k miles and are reluctant to change it you've got the 125k warranty? If so I'd argue this is a known issue, it's going to go before the warranty us up, and it's going to cost Toyota a lot more to tow your vehicle when you're stranded on your trip in the middle of nowhere than to just fix it now.
This is not a Toyota warranty but a 3rd party warranty the prior owner paid $3k for it. I know these 3rd party ones are reluctant to pay out.
I suspect if someone accidentally dropped a heavy tool (such as a hammer) on top of that spot the crack would give, even if, say, a large block of wood was resting across the top distributing the weight of that tool. You know, hypothetically.
Installing my new radiator Monday. Any specific tools needed. I got about 12”+ of extensions for my socket. Anything needed to get the hose clamps off? I bought new ones so not reusing the old. Only other question is how much coolant do I fill with? I’m just changing radiator clamps and hoses
bloc
SILVER Star
The tools I posted above help with the hose clamps but I've done them with just adjustable pliers before.
You might need more than 12" of extensions to get through the grill to the rad mount bracket bolts, though removing the plastic trim on the top of the core support and reaching down through that area can reduce the needed extensions.
Make sure you have a 12mm open ended wrench to hold back the square nuts welded to the washers on the back of the rad mount brackets. The bolts go through from the front of the core support, through a rubber isolator in the rad mount, then into a large washer with the square nut. Sometimes the washer and nut will start spinning. The 12mm wrench will keep that from happening.
A gallon of coolant should get the job done. Just find some clear vinyl tubing that fits onto the spigot on the bottom of the radiator and drain yours into a bucket. Keep it clean and you can reuse it. The gallon will just be used to replace whatever gets spilled.
Toyota dealer charged me for 2 gallons when the did the replacement. I have no idea how much they used but I assume no more than 2 or else they would've surely charged me more
BTW the manual says to change your coolant after 120k miles, so depending on how many miles you have you may just want to drain and fill it all
BTW the manual says to change your coolant after 120k miles, so depending on how many miles you have you may just want to drain and fill it all
Great tips @bloc and @linuxgod thank you. I gotta double check but I think I did get more than 12” worth of extensions because I was worried about that. Also got a swivel head for it. Coolant I bought from the dealership when I got the radiator. I am at 113k miles so I do plan on draining the whole thing.
If you're at 113k I'd personally do the water pump and thermostat as well. You can skip it if you want, but they tend to start leaking slightly in the 100-150k range it seems and to replace it you'll need to basically drain the radiator again and pull everything you're replacing anyway.
