Am I the only one who feels Toyota did us a favor by adding this stress point to the mold just exactly where one could see it?
Having worked around BMWs and other makes, plastic cooling system parts failure is business as usual. In the 2000s, if you hadn't replaced you water pump, ect... on your inline 6 BMW by 70k you were on borrowed time. Still the case with many....
I just completed this repair on my ' 08 at 152k
Some very good information in this thread posted early on.
Especially: Leaving the right side rad support bracket in the vehicle and unbolting the rad from it.... makes this job very straight forward. This avoids having to disturb the oil cooler. Major time-saver!
Secondly, I would absolutely recommend having a fan support bracket on hand before starting this job.
I replaced radiator, serpentine belt, water pump, idler pulley, tensioner assembly, thermostat, and plenty of hoses/clamps while I was in there. The only bearing that showed any sign of deterioration was that fan support bracket.
I got to say, guys who are patching the radiator from the outside, this just won't/cant work from a physics perspective. Plastic begins to deteriorate from the inside out and it's going to let go.
I have done it with aluminum motorcycle radiators, but that is when the rad has been damaged externally. This plastic is crumbling from the inside out.
Consider seeing the crack ahead of time a gift. Something to put you on notice to start collecting parts or book an appointment.
It is a straight forward job, do it all at once. Maybe six hours in my home garage once I had parts on hand.