2008-2018 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement (6 Viewers)

[ekolpack]

because I don’t think anyone can argue that a patch on an already compromised radiator is truly as good as a new factory radiator, and some of us are willing to pay the $280 for that peace of mind.

1. I think you're underestimating the strength of a properly done JB Weld. You can patch an engine block with that stuff and it'll hold for tens of thousands of miles if done properly. Add fiberglass reinforcement and it should be even more reliable!
2. I'm seeing repair costs in this thread quoted at WAY higher than $280. Maybe $280 if you do all the work yourself, but either way, it's a huge cost in time/money/labor vs. a simple, cheap, quick and effective epoxy patch.

 

[bloc]

1. I think you're underestimating the strength of a properly done JB Weld. You can patch an engine block with that stuff and it'll hold for tens of thousands of miles if done properly. Add fiberglass reinforcement and it should be even more reliable!
2. I'm seeing repair costs in this thread quoted at WAY higher than $280. Maybe $280 if you do all the work yourself, but either way, it's a huge cost in time/money/labor vs. a simple, cheap, quick and effective epoxy patch.

I think you’re overestimating the strength of an epoxy patch compared to a single molded piece of material with the original design flaw addressed, and definitely conflating different applications. These radiators are going to flex appreciably in normal heat cycling and are expected to hold back pressure... this is very different than a mechanical cover of a hole or crack in metal that isn’t containing fluid under significant pressure.

The updated OEM radiator is under $300 from multiple sources online and can be changed in a few hours with basic hand tools. What dealers overcharge is verging on irrelevant here. But sure, you can save that money and put a patch on a compromised radiator... and while you are at it have no way to monitor crack progression or underlying tank health until it finally blows while towing heavy during the summer or something. Lots of money saved.

 

[ekolpack]

I think you’re overestimating the strength of an epoxy patch compared to a single molded piece of material with the original design flaw addressed, and definitely conflating different applications. These radiators are going to flex appreciably in normal heat cycling and are expected to hold back pressure... this is very different than a mechanical cover of a hole or crack in metal that isn’t containing fluid under significant pressure.

The updated OEM radiator is under $300 from multiple sources online and can be changed in a few hours with basic hand tools. What dealers overcharge is verging on irrelevant here. But sure, you can save that money and put a patch on a compromised radiator... and while you are at it have no way to monitor crack progression or underlying tank health until it finally blows while towing heavy during the summer or something. Lots of money saved.

You have your opinion, I have mine. JB Weld sells a product called "Radiator Weld" that is specifically for this purpose and gets great results from people who have applied it properly, which is key and why I keep repeating this. If the area is heavily scuffed, perfectly clean, fiberglass is used to reinforce and the weld is properly mixed and applied, I am entirely confident it will hold up for many years, if not the life of the vehicle. To each their own. I'd rather at least give it a shot than tear my whole front clip apart and spend $300...or pay upwards of $1k from a dealer. Worst case scenario I might have to do it anyway several years down the line....or maybe never. Again, to each their own. Caveat emptor.

 

[bloc]

You have your opinion, I have mine. JB Weld sells a product called "Radiator Weld" that is specifically for this purpose and gets great results from people who have applied it properly, which is key and why I keep repeating this. If the area is heavily scuffed, perfectly clean, fiberglass is used to reinforce and the weld is properly mixed and applied, I am entirely confident it will hold up for many years, if not the life of the vehicle. To each their own. I'd rather at least give it a shot than tear my whole front clip apart and spend $300...or pay upwards of $1k from a dealer. Worst case scenario I might have to do it anyway several years down the line....or maybe never. Again, to each their own. Caveat emptor.

Understood, but you asked why people are spending the money and I gave what I believe to be a solid answer. Also you presented the patch as being as good as a new radiator, and I take issue with that concept.

In the big picture personally I like being able to see the crack and monitor the progression. Super early stages and have a 5k mile trip coming up? Go for it. Late stages and only drive around town where discovering a leak isn’t a huge problem? Keep it. Well-developed crack, looking at a big trip? Swap it.

In theory the patch should help prevent progression but we have no way to actually verify that. For those of us that take our rigs into the sticks, like the ~12k mile trip to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean/Tuktoytatuk I have planned for 2022 where just a tire can cost $1k and set you back a week.. I wouldn’t trust a patch.

Edit: also, the whole front clip doesn’t need to come apart. Remove the black panel on top of the core support and you have access to all the rad mount bolts. Remove the front skids and you have access to the whole lower side for the necessary work down there. Anyone saying the bumper skin needs to come off hasn’t actually looked for the mounting bolts in the core support.

 

[soapy511]

I’m glad I did mine. Had a few more issues going then just a crack starting.

 

[bloc]

I’m glad I did mine. Had a few more issues going then just a crack starting.

View attachment 2576731

Yikes. Is that just dust? or fibrous?

 

[soapy511]

Yikes. Is that just dust? or fibrous?

It was all fibrous material. I tried to dig a little bit of it out but is stuck in there good.

 

[bloc]

It was all fibrous material. I tried to dig a little bit of it out but is stuck in there good.

Flushing backwards with a garden hose is the best way I’ve found. Or just replace it.

 

[Pacer]

Flushing backwards with a garden hose is the best way I’ve found. Or just replace it.

Careful use of compressed air additionally.

 

[elk]

Additional data point... I just replaced the radiator in my 2009 LC @ 157,868 miles. The crack started spraying coolant on a local drive. I purchased the truck with 148,xxx miles. The crack was present. I'm glad I had the chance to do this before my annual Colorado trip this summer. Next will be a preventative starter replacement.

$306 + shipping on ToyotalPartsDeal. R&R'd the coolant which was recently flushed. Total time was 3.5 hours working at a leisurely and careful pace. I left the passenger rad support in place and needed my wife to help me lift the radiator as I pushed the lower port past the shroud. The only hiccup was my lower hose dripping slightly for a day after install. I may replace it down the road.

 

[kcjaz]

Hoses are a good idea when u do the rad. Water pump too if u haven’t done it. Getting the hoses now and carting them is good peace of mind. I’m going to do started before LCDC.

 

[MVS007]

I think you’re overestimating the strength of an epoxy patch compared to a single molded piece of material with the original design flaw addressed, and definitely conflating different applications. These radiators are going to flex appreciably in normal heat cycling and are expected to hold back pressure... this is very different than a mechanical cover of a hole or crack in metal that isn’t containing fluid under significant pressure.

The updated OEM radiator is under $300 from multiple sources online and can be changed in a few hours with basic hand tools. What dealers overcharge is verging on irrelevant here. But sure, you can save that money and put a patch on a compromised radiator... and while you are at it have no way to monitor crack progression or underlying tank health until it finally blows while towing heavy during the summer or something. Lots of money saved.

I tried fixing with regular J&B Weld. It held for a few month but ultimately failed. I ended up replacing the radiator myself with OEM. I recommend using J&B Weld only to keep you running until you can replace the radiator.

 

[kcjaz]

.....I left the passenger rad support in place and needed my wife to help me lift the radiator as I pushed the lower port past the shroud.

So you were able to pull the radiator out with the fan and shroud in place?

 

[MVS007]

So you were able to pull the radiator out with the fan and shroud in place?

Yes. Little fanagling but don't remember it being to hard. I was worried about loss of transmission fluid, but was able to avoid.

 

[TXMeatball]

So you were able to pull the radiator out with the fan and shroud in place?

I also left mine in. Tight squeeze, be careful not to damage the fins.

 

[Gazziza]

Just wanted to get your guy's thoughts on this. Recently bought a 2013 LC with 70k mi on it from a Toyota dealership. On the PPI they noticed a leaking water pump and crack in the radiator. They fixed both prior to purchase and did not add on any additional costs after the repairs. So after I brought it home I inspected the radiator and it looks like a new unit however there were no markings on it. There was a small sticker in the back of the radiator with a part number (RD-13080-J) that is not Toyota. The service invoice also had a code but it did not bring up a Toyota part via google either. I searched the part number on the small sticker and it seems like it's a 3rd party aftermarket part. The water pump was oem though by the service record part #. I'm a little conflicted on this. On one hand I'm glad they replaced the radiator and water pump prior to purchase without changing our agreed purchase price. On the other hand I am an OEM parts kind of guy and would have preferred they used the Toyota OEM radiator. What are your thoughts on non-oem radiators? Obviously a crapshoot on how long these things will last but would you guys pre-emptively replace the radiator again in say 50k mi or just wait until I see signs of cracking?

At this point I doubt the dealer would do anything about it if I complained. Nothing I can do about it now since I already purchased the truck and drove 1,800 miles to bring it home. No issues and the temp on the way home was fine. If nothing else at least I am saved the upfront cost of replacing one after purchase or worse if the radiator blew. Hopefully I can get a few years out of this radiator before it needs to be replaced which I would have had to do with the original unit anyways.

 

[tacoduck]

Just wanted to get your guy's thoughts on this. Recently bought a 2013 LC with 70k mi on it from a Toyota dealership. On the PPI they noticed a leaking water pump and crack in the radiator. They fixed both prior to purchase and did not add on any additional costs after the repairs. So after I brought it home I inspected the radiator and it looks like a new unit however there were no markings on it. There was a small sticker in the back of the radiator with a part number (RD-13080-J) that is not Toyota. The service invoice also had a code but it did not bring up a Toyota part via google either. I searched the part number on the small sticker and it seems like it's a 3rd party aftermarket part. The water pump was oem though by the service record part #. I'm a little conflicted on this. On one hand I'm glad they replaced the radiator and water pump prior to purchase without changing our agreed purchase price. On the other hand I am an OEM parts kind of guy and would have preferred they used the Toyota OEM radiator. What are your thoughts on non-oem radiators? Obviously a crapshoot on how long these things will last but would you guys pre-emptively replace the radiator again in say 50k mi or just wait until I see signs of cracking?

At this point I doubt the dealer would do anything about it if I complained. Nothing I can do about it now since I already purchased the truck and drove 1,800 miles to bring it home. No issues and the temp on the way home was fine. If nothing else at least I am saved the upfront cost of replacing one after purchase or worse if the radiator blew. Hopefully I can get a few years out of this radiator before it needs to be replaced which I would have had to do with the original unit anyways.

I would drive it until the new one fails. My lx470 blew a radiator and it was drama free. No steam, no spike in temps. Just the smell of antifreeze. My point is that these radiators are not under a ton of pressure.
The 470 had 300k miles on it, and the radiator looked original.

 

[PDoyle]

Can you post a pic. Is the rad cap oem?

 

[bloc]

Just wanted to get your guy's thoughts on this. Recently bought a 2013 LC with 70k mi on it from a Toyota dealership. On the PPI they noticed a leaking water pump and crack in the radiator. They fixed both prior to purchase and did not add on any additional costs after the repairs. So after I brought it home I inspected the radiator and it looks like a new unit however there were no markings on it. There was a small sticker in the back of the radiator with a part number (RD-13080-J) that is not Toyota. The service invoice also had a code but it did not bring up a Toyota part via google either. I searched the part number on the small sticker and it seems like it's a 3rd party aftermarket part. The water pump was oem though by the service record part #. I'm a little conflicted on this. On one hand I'm glad they replaced the radiator and water pump prior to purchase without changing our agreed purchase price. On the other hand I am an OEM parts kind of guy and would have preferred they used the Toyota OEM radiator. What are your thoughts on non-oem radiators? Obviously a crapshoot on how long these things will last but would you guys pre-emptively replace the radiator again in say 50k mi or just wait until I see signs of cracking?

At this point I doubt the dealer would do anything about it if I complained. Nothing I can do about it now since I already purchased the truck and drove 1,800 miles to bring it home. No issues and the temp on the way home was fine. If nothing else at least I am saved the upfront cost of replacing one after purchase or worse if the radiator blew. Hopefully I can get a few years out of this radiator before it needs to be replaced which I would have had to do with the original unit anyways.

The failure mode documented in this thread is likely unique to the original OEM unit. Unlikely yours will fail in the same way.

Which is what would concern me long term. A low quality radiator might just let go entirely, and probably isn’t built to toyota OEM standards so who knows how far it will go anyway.

For me picking a mileage number and having a new OEM unit installed before then would be my strategy.. if 50k is yours that sounds reasonable.

 

[Supra88]

Just wanted to get your guy's thoughts on this. Recently bought a 2013 LC with 70k mi on it from a Toyota dealership. On the PPI they noticed a leaking water pump and crack in the radiator. They fixed both prior to purchase and did not add on any additional costs after the repairs. So after I brought it home I inspected the radiator and it looks like a new unit however there were no markings on it. There was a small sticker in the back of the radiator with a part number (RD-13080-J) that is not Toyota. The service invoice also had a code but it did not bring up a Toyota part via google either. I searched the part number on the small sticker and it seems like it's a 3rd party aftermarket part. The water pump was oem though by the service record part #. I'm a little conflicted on this. On one hand I'm glad they replaced the radiator and water pump prior to purchase without changing our agreed purchase price. On the other hand I am an OEM parts kind of guy and would have preferred they used the Toyota OEM radiator. What are your thoughts on non-oem radiators? Obviously a crapshoot on how long these things will last but would you guys pre-emptively replace the radiator again in say 50k mi or just wait until I see signs of cracking?

At this point I doubt the dealer would do anything about it if I complained. Nothing I can do about it now since I already purchased the truck and drove 1,800 miles to bring it home. No issues and the temp on the way home was fine. If nothing else at least I am saved the upfront cost of replacing one after purchase or worse if the radiator blew. Hopefully I can get a few years out of this radiator before it needs to be replaced which I would have had to do with the original unit anyways.

A Toyota dealer installed an aftermarket radiator?