2008-2018 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement

[PDoyle]

You could drive it with the rad cap loose. I know that when the rad does crack and leak you won't know it until you see pink fluid under the hood or on the ground under the engine.
You can patch it. There has been success in doing that.

 

[RyanR]

Well, my 2013 developed a squeal and while I was inspecting the belt and tensioner noticed the same hairline crack around the stamped section was forming so I did the belt, tensioner, idler pulley, thermostat, radiator hoses and radiator yesterday. Having done the radiator previously on my 2008 I jumped right in around 9AM and was just cleaning my tools and putting everything away by noon. A set of offset wrenches made the pulleys and thermostat a cinch and I would highly recommend for anyone tackling that job. I could not find my 6mm allen socket but was able to break the tensioner free with a regular 6mm allen key, a socket would have been easier though.

Amazon product ASIN B08FB12R2J
Got everything buttoned up and took it for a drive. Everything seemed perfect. Nice and quiet, no squeals, got to temp and stayed perfectly stable. Get home and notice a drip on the floor. Throw a paper towel on it and sure enough, its pink. Take a look underneath and it appears to be dripping out of the radiator drain plug. Odd, the plug seems as snug as can be. I clean it up and watch and it is weeping fluid from a molded indent next to the drain plug. I can't even see the crack but sure enough, it is weeping enough that every 20 seconds or so it forms a drip. UGH! At least I have the radiator swap down to a less than 1 hour project now. Hopefully bamwholesalesparts.com is easy to work with on the replacement.

It is seeping from that little rectangular indent where you can see the fluid gathering

 

[blatant]

Welp, the patch isn't going to work, even with the cap half turned, idling it's leaking pretty good. I'm too far from home, through too remote of a desert stretch to chance it [ beautiful, but very remote ] so I'll have it flat bed to the dealer 50miles away and have them get it sorted out. They have to order the radiator, get it in a day, from Phoenix of all spots...where I'm headed. I like time off from work, but would rather it be for other reasons.

Thanks all that messaged or added.

 

[bloc]

Well, my 2013 developed a squeal and while I was inspecting the belt and tensioner noticed the same hairline crack around the stamped section was forming so I did the belt, tensioner, idler pulley, thermostat, radiator hoses and radiator yesterday. Having done the radiator previously on my 2008 I jumped right in around 9AM and was just cleaning my tools and putting everything away by noon. A set of offset wrenches made the pulleys and thermostat a cinch and I would highly recommend for anyone tackling that job. I could not find my 6mm allen socket but was able to break the tensioner free with a regular 6mm allen key, a socket would have been easier though.

Got everything buttoned up and took it for a drive. Everything seemed perfect. Nice and quiet, no squeals, got to temp and stayed perfectly stable. Get home and notice a drip on the floor. Throw a paper towel on it and sure enough, its pink. Take a look underneath and it appears to be dripping out of the radiator drain plug. Odd, the plug seems as snug as can be. I clean it up and watch and it is weeping fluid from a molded indent next to the drain plug. I can't even see the crack but sure enough, it is weeping enough that every 20 seconds or so it forms a drip. UGH! At least I have the radiator swap down to a less than 1 hour project now. Hopefully bamwholesalesparts.com is easy to work with on the replacement.

View attachment 2809512

It is seeping from that little rectangular indent where you can see the fluid gathering

Probably damaged in shipping. At least one other member has posted with the same issue. The packaging from the factory is fine for a parts department setting but not good for fedex.

 

[RyanR]

Probably damaged in shipping. At least one other member has posted with the same issue. The packaging from the factory is fine for a parts department setting but not good for fedex.

Interesting, the box arrived flawless. Zero evidence of abuse or dropping.

 

[Dwight Marshall]

Is a 2011 LC radiator the same part number as a 2011 LX570 in USA?

 

[PDoyle]

Yes. Same engine and drivetrain. But the LX is faster

 

[UCrazyKid]

Is a 2011 LC radiator the same part number as a 2011 LX570 in USA?

Yes, the most current revision of the radiator is 16400-50384. Part number are the same across Toyota and Lexus. Attached is the parts list from my doing this work last month. There have been several parts revised. These are the most current. The parts come with all necessary gaskets for their installation and the radiator comes with a new cap.

 

[bloc]

One additional note: on most of the discount parts sites if you enter that you are looking for parts for a LX it will charge more for a given part number!

So you may want to enter equivalent year LC and save some money. How this would impact their helping out if a part number doesn’t actually work for your chassis, I wouldn’t know. But you can post part number requests in this forum and they will generally get addressed.

 

[TXMeatball]

Well, my 2013 developed a squeal and while I was inspecting the belt and tensioner noticed the same hairline crack around the stamped section was forming so I did the belt, tensioner, idler pulley, thermostat, radiator hoses and radiator yesterday. Having done the radiator previously on my 2008 I jumped right in around 9AM and was just cleaning my tools and putting everything away by noon. A set of offset wrenches made the pulleys and thermostat a cinch and I would highly recommend for anyone tackling that job. I could not find my 6mm allen socket but was able to break the tensioner free with a regular 6mm allen key, a socket would have been easier though.

Amazon product ASIN B08FB12R2J
Got everything buttoned up and took it for a drive. Everything seemed perfect. Nice and quiet, no squeals, got to temp and stayed perfectly stable. Get home and notice a drip on the floor. Throw a paper towel on it and sure enough, its pink. Take a look underneath and it appears to be dripping out of the radiator drain plug. Odd, the plug seems as snug as can be. I clean it up and watch and it is weeping fluid from a molded indent next to the drain plug. I can't even see the crack but sure enough, it is weeping enough that every 20 seconds or so it forms a drip. UGH! At least I have the radiator swap down to a less than 1 hour project now. Hopefully bamwholesalesparts.com is easy to work with on the replacement.

View attachment 2809512

It is seeping from that little rectangular indent where you can see the fluid gathering

My new OEM radiator had a pinhole leak in the same exact spot. Honestly after seeing this I think there might be a defect or something. Both radiators were picked up at toyota so no shipping shenanigans involved (hopefully).
Edit: 2008-2010 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2008-2010-radiator-failure-and-public-service-announcement.917447/page-56#post-13338184

 

[bloc]

My new OEM radiator had a pinhole leak in the same exact spot. Honestly after seeing this I think there might be a defect or something. Both radiators were picked up at toyota so no shipping shenanigans involved (hopefully).
Edit: 2008-2010 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2008-2010-radiator-failure-and-public-service-announcement.917447/page-56#post-13338184

Good point, I forgot yours wasn't shipped. Sucks these have to be installed to find the issue.

Might even be worth finding a way to pressure test new ones before install. Might not be too difficult to put a few PSI on it and check for bubbles with soapy water.. At least the defect seems pretty rare.

 

[RyanR]

Swapped them out, wasn't particularly hard or time consuming (don't have to remove bumper, just look through grill/lower grill and use lots of extensions). Hour thirty in when I noticed the new radiator was dripping. There's a pinhole crack or something in the notch right by the drain valve exit. Not looking forward to calling them tomorrow, any of y'all have an idea of how this'll play out?
View attachment 2422269View attachment 2422270

Update: Second radiator is good to go. Trying to contact the guy to get the second one was like pulling teeth; a call to toyota corporate really helped there.

Definitely seems like a manufacturing defect. My radiator box arrived without so much as a scuff on it and there were zero signs of damage on the radiator itself. My leak looks exactly the same.

Wishing I would have ordered the radiator locally from Toyota. bamwholesaleparts.com had the radiator in stock and a great shipping rate but it seems their warranty policy states absolutely no returns on parts that have been installed. Have reached out to them to see if they will work with me on this as there was no visible evidence that the part was damaged.

 

[RyanR]

My new OEM radiator had a pinhole leak in the same exact spot. Honestly after seeing this I think there might be a defect or something. Both radiators were picked up at toyota so no shipping shenanigans involved (hopefully).
Edit: 2008-2010 Radiator Failure and Public Service Announcement - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/2008-2010-radiator-failure-and-public-service-announcement.917447/page-56#post-13338184

I'm assuming you didn't have any issues with the warranty since you purchased from the dealership? I contacted bamwholesaleparts.com and they are saying no returns on installed items, but Toyota will warranty it just take it to a dealership. The local dealerships won't touch it because it was not purchased from a Toyota dealership. Anyone else run into a similar situation and have any advice? I think my next step is trying to call Toyota corporate.

EDIT: Just called Toyota. They basically said sorry if you didn't buy from a dealership or authorized dealer affiliated website, go kick rocks

 

[32cls6speedmt]

I'm assuming you didn't have any issues with the warranty since you purchased from the dealership? I contacted bamwholesaleparts.com and they are saying no returns on installed items, but Toyota will warranty it just take it to a dealership. The local dealerships won't touch it because it was not purchased from a Toyota dealership. Anyone else run into a similar situation and have any advice? I think my next step is trying to call Toyota corporate.

that is terrible. Guessing that bam is a gray market seller. as a last resort you could file a complaint with credit card since you received defective part.

 

[RyanR]

that is terrible. Guessing that bam is a gray market seller. as a last resort you could file a complaint with credit card since you received defective part.

EDIT: Leaving my statement below for reference but bamwholesaleparts.com got back to me. They are actually the online store for Brunswick Auto Mart, an authorized Toyota dealership in Brunswick, OH. Once I called Toyota back with that information instead of "bamwholesaleparts.com" they were immediately helpful and should have confirmation tomorrow but it the game plan is to warranty the part and ship a replacement to my local dealership for pickup. WOOHOO!

Yep, exactly what Toyota stated. They are a gray market seller so they won't stand behind anything purchased from them. Their price was great, their shipping was dirt cheap and they shipped it out crazy fast but all that certainly doesn't matter if you are SOL for any support or returns.

 

[TXMeatball]

Consider disputing the charge with your bank, you did receive a defective product after all.
Looks like it's gone up a little since I bought it last august but autonation south austin still has it for a great price.

2010-2021 Toyota Land Cruiser Radiator 16400-50384 | Discount Toy

2010-2021 Toyota Land Cruiser part # 16400-50384 - Radiator

parts.autonationtoyotasouthaustin.com

 

[jbyrd78]

Guys, just a heads up when purchasing parts from your local dealership. Make sure you ask them, if the warranty on the part will still be honored, if you install it at home. Or if when returning the defective part, if it stills needs to be installed on the vehicle and diagnosed by the dealership before they do an exchange. I had an issue happen with the battery on my LX470 back at the end of August. The battery has a 72 month warranty on it. The dealership wouldn't honor a replacement battery unless I scheduled a service appointment and they ran a diagnostic check on the battery and concluded the battery was the issue.

 

[bloc]

Guys, just a heads up when purchasing parts from your local dealership. Make sure you ask them, if the warranty on the part will still be honored, if you install it at home. Or if when returning the defective part, if it stills needs to be installed on the vehicle and diagnosed by the dealership before they do an exchange. I had an issue happen with the battery on my LX470 back at the end of August. The battery has a 72 month warranty on it. The dealership wouldn't honor a replacement battery unless I scheduled a service appointment and they ran a diagnostic check on the battery and concluded the battery was the issue.

This must be dealer specific. A friend of mine got two warranty batteries on the same 4Runner by just bringing them back, no hoops to jump through. Appears he kept getting bad ones from the dealer.. the third worked great.

 

[damdifino]

2009 with 211,000 miles. I'm getting the radiator, water pump, and thermostat replaced at Toyota as we speak. I asked if I should replace the timing belt at the same time, but the service advisor looked it up and said I have a timing chain, not a belt. I asked him to confirm when I dropped it off but he said, yeah, chain. Is that correct?

 

[nwfl4runner]

Yes - you have an accessory belt, but a timing chain