2008-2018 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement

[LvCruiserNewb]

Running 18 months on JBWeld plastic epoxy which was rather crudely applied. Did not have leak prior to install but I sanded the plastic and hoped to minimize extension of the stress rider.

Plastic epoxy was rated for well below zero to nearly 400F so good to go.

I was wondering if any folks had preemptively added an epoxy fillet around the square edge and what the results may be. It could make the part good for another 100k, or there is a small chance it will just move the stress riser elsewhere. I'm just a simple EE and material properties and stress/fatigue analysis are not my thing. That and not having access to a FEM for the radiator. I'll try to get some of my materials people at work to take a SWAG.

 

[04UZJ100]

I was wondering if any folks had preemptively added an epoxy fillet around the square edge and what the results may be. It could make the part good for another 100k, or there is a small chance it will just move the stress riser elsewhere. I'm just a simple EE and material properties and stress/fatigue analysis are not my thing. That and not having access to a FEM for the radiator. I'll try to get some of my materials people at work to take a SWAG.

The stress riser is from the extrusion on the original radiator design. Likely due to the small diameter chamfer and difference in material thickness at that location.

Recovering Mechanical Engineer…..

 

[grinchy]

Yes, a few of us have. I think the best one I saw was embedding some fiberglass Mat into the plastic epoxy

 

[NeilC]

Yes, a few of us have. I think the best one I saw was embedding some fiberglass Mat into the plastic epoxy

This is what I am planning. I was thinking of cutting the fiberglass mat in the shape of a U to raise the area around the raised part and then building the entire area up a little with JB weld.

 

[grinchy]

Should be effective

 

[bloc]

I'm attaching a picture that shows why I'll just be replacing again before I have 100k on this radiator, independent of what the crack is doing and whether it can be patched. The tank is becoming compromised even if it isn't cracking. Ultimately this is what happens when they put plastic in this application.. but that's what we have to work with, and there are other benefits.

In the big picture a new OE rad is pretty cheap ($225 with the recent sale) and doesn't take long to install.

This one had 110k on it and a crack that wasn't leaking yet. Then it sat next to my garage for a week before getting tossed.. this is what I found.

 

[bloc]

I was wondering if any folks had preemptively added an epoxy fillet around the square edge and what the results may be. It could make the part good for another 100k, or there is a small chance it will just move the stress riser elsewhere.

The stress riser is from the extrusion on the original radiator design. Likely due to the small diameter chamfer and difference in material thickness at that location.

Evidence of this being the problem is the new design with rounded corners and the label boss being tilted to make it less tall in the front, likely to keep the material thickness uniform during molding.

 

[NeilC]

Where are you guys finding new OE radiators for $225?

 

[Ratchey]

Where are you guys finding new OE radiators for $225?

It was part of the huge March sale Toyota had.

 

[NeilC]

The toyota dealers where I live dont want sell me toyota parts for a Lexus... They are being a$$holes honestly. Maybe I can tell them I am updating my 80.

My 2 btw.

 

[04UZJ100]

The toyota dealers where I live dont want sell me toyota parts for a Lexus... They are being a$$holes honestly. Maybe I can tell them I am updating my 80.

My 2 btw.View attachment 2988630

Get some random vin and go back.

 

[bloc]

The toyota dealers where I live dont want sell me toyota parts for a Lexus... They are being a$$holes honestly. Maybe I can tell them I am updating my 80.

My 2 btw.View attachment 2988630

Tons of places will sell you parts. Every time you place an order somewhere else send the parts/service manager an email detailing how much money they could have made going through no effort to do business with you.

 

[NeilC]

I have 3 Toyota dealers near me, the closest is a mile and a half away and normally where I normally get my parts. I called and asked for AHC suspension fluid and he asked what it was for. At that point he started babbling about the warrantee and he cant order it because "only one Toyota vehicle uses it...." My response was it is an 11 year old truck with 108,000 miles so obviously no warrantee vehicle or fluid. I thought about it with the radiator but had seen a few posts about leaks on new ones and figured I would call the Lexus/Toyota dealer and was quoted over $460. For say $50-$60 more I would get the Lexus part but for half as much, I would go Toyota if the part had a possibility of needing to use the warrantee. Strange, I bought an LX because the Land Cruisers were too expensive but parts wise, I have to buy the Toyota part because the Lexus part is too expensive.

On a side note, is their a good online dealer that sells Lexus parts at a discount? I normally buy Toyota parts online at Conicelli but they showed the radiator as no longer available.

 

[bloc]

On a side note, is their a good online dealer that sells Lexus parts at a discount? I normally buy Toyota parts online at Conicelli but they showed the radiator as no longer available.

Check the big parts sale thread from a month ago, it’s still hovering on the first page. Teckis and others discussed sites to get Lexus parts on. For the record a toyota rad in a Lexus shouldn’t keep you from returning a defective product if it’s damaged during shipping.

And the radiator is definitely still available. You could try calling Conicelli to see if it’s a glitch in their system..

 

[NeilC]

I did the first stage today at lunch. Did use the fiberglass mat because it seemed like it was going to hard to get the mat to conform without leaving some possible voids underneath. I just used regular JB Weld.

 

[justinsmnz]

I just got a call back from the dealer with a price to install radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, tensioner, and belt (I ordered all the OEM parts online and brought it to them.) They told me I'm looking at $1,500 for the labor alone.

Am I crazy or is that nearly double what it should be for the labor? I was thinking we'd be somewhere between $600-800 depending on how generous the tech felt combining book hours, but $1,500 for labor alone seems outright ridiculous.

If you guys tell me I'm off-base with my expectations, then I'll just bite the bullet and go for it. However, at that price I'm leaning towards dealing with the annoyance of picking it up and bringing it to an indy shop.

 

[32cls6speedmt]

I just got a call back from the dealer with a price to install radiator, water pump, thermostat, hoses, tensioner, and belt (I ordered all the OEM parts online and brought it to them.) They told me I'm looking at $1,500 for the labor alone.

Am I crazy or is that nearly double what it should be for the labor? I was thinking we'd be somewhere between $600-800 depending on how generous the tech felt combining book hours, but $1,500 for labor alone seems outright ridiculous.

If you guys tell me I'm off-base with my expectations, then I'll just bite the bullet and go for it. However, at that price I'm leaning towards dealing with the annoyance of picking it up and bringing it to an indy shop.

outrageous....about 3.5 hours...i paid about $400 for labor only at an independent. dropped it off in the morning and was ready by lunch time.

 

[NeilC]

Put another layer of JB Weld, fiberglass patch and final layer of JB. I think that this should reinforce the area to keep the crack from even happening. Time will tell but I feel confident enough to go ahead and change the coolant without fear that the radiator will let go in the near future. Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[justinsmnz]

outrageous....about 3.5 hours...i paid about $400 for labor only at an independent. dropped it off in the morning and was ready by lunch time.

To be fair, the book hours for the radiator alone is around 5.5 based on what the service rep told me. I just assumed they would give me more of a break on the water pump, thermostat, and tensioner since those are the epitome of "while you're in there" parts during the radiator swap. I couldn't believe when the service rep told me they were "giving me a break" by comping the 2.5 hour book time for the thermostat itself. I brought a full OEM inlet/thermostat combo so they wouldn't even have to use the original inlet – unless I'm completely mistaken, that's a 5 minute swap at most when the hoses are already off. Their total price was based on 10.5 hours for everything (@ $135/hr).

Unfortunately, I think I may just suck it up and go for it at the dealership anyways. I called my usual indy shop and he gave me a rough estimate of $1200 for everything based on his book times without seeing the actual layout of the parts. Sadly – in my area, at least – we're very much in a seller's market for service right now. Every shop has more business than they can handle, so I don't have much room to push back on quotes. The truck is already at the dealership and having a dealer invoice for the repair might be worth an extra couple hundred bucks if I ever decide to sell, so it looks like I'm about the become the owner of the most expensive 200 series radiator so far on the forum.

Combined with the valley leak I had repaired at 165k (~$1600 iirc,) my 200 will soon have a complete cooling system worth its weight in gold.

 

[grinchy]

$1200 will buy you a rear locker. or a full set of skids. or 1/2 a rear bumper. A fancy snorkel + cell booster. So many things . . . perhaps you consider doing this over a Saturday and paying yourself that $135/hr.