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Parts in the cart.. waiting to see if Bell Lexus has any type of Black Friday sale to beat their current pricing.
in prep for a new CFS radiator - also will be looking for a good BF deal on that.

-upper/lower rad hoses
-clamps
-new thermostat while im in there and approaching 200k miles on the rig

-will need to get coolant too - cant buy it online from the dealer

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I found that Prestige Lexus in New Jersey was actually about $3-4 cheaper than Bell.. but NJ is a bit further than AZ to CA lol. Both are offering free shipping.. so id assume the time from AZ to CA would be a bit quicker lol.
 
I'd suggest normal stainless worm drive clamps over OEM Lexus clamps. The are much easier to remove/install with a 5/16" nutdriver or ratchet. You'll just need to re-tighten them about a week after install and then check the tightness maybe a month after that. I usually get Ideal/Triton branded clamps at the hardware store, which are MUSA.

If you are going to do the radiator hoses, you also might as well do the heater hoses so they are all good-to-go. I have Gates branded hoses in my rig which have been fine, but I'm not sure if they'll last 15+ years like the OE Lexus hoses. Also, the thermostat needs a small gasket as well. And lastly, you'll need to top off the transmission fluid too when you pull the radiator as quite a bit will drain out. I'd suggest going ahead and changing the fluid while you are in there (unless you have recently), which you can do either with or without dropping the pan (just depends how far you want to go :)).
 
Rednexus said:
I'd suggest normal stainless worm drive clamps over OEM Lexus clamps. The are much easier to remove/install with a 5/16" nutdriver or ratchet. You'll just need to re-tighten them about a week after install and then check the tightness maybe a month after that. I usually get Ideal/Triton branded clamps at the hardware store, which are MUSA.

If you are going to do the radiator hoses, you also might as well do the heater hoses so they are all good-to-go. I have Gates branded hoses in my rig which have been fine, but I'm not sure if they'll last 15+ years like the OE Lexus hoses. Also, the thermostat needs a small gasket as well. And lastly, you'll need to top off the transmission fluid too when you pull the radiator as quite a bit will drain out. I'd suggest going ahead and changing the fluid while you are in there (unless you have recently), which you can do either with or without dropping the pan (just depends how far you want to go :)).
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By chance still have part numbers for the heater hoses?
Hmm I didnt see a gasket for the thermostat (could have missed it) other than the thermostat housing vs just the t-stat replacement.
Ahh good call on the trans fluid too. Since ill be doing the Hayden cooler, I was going to do a small drain/fill at the same time.
 
stupidchicken03 said:
By chance still have part numbers for the heater hoses?
Hmm I didnt see a gasket for the thermostat (could have missed it) other than the thermostat housing vs just the t-stat replacement.
Ahh good call on the trans fluid too. Since ill be doing the Hayden cooler, I was going to do a small drain/fill at the same time.
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Here are the part numbers I ordered way back in December 2020. I did all of these when my starter crapped out, as it required pulling the intake off. As far as the thermostat gasket, it is a rubber gasket that goes on the outside rim of the thermostat. It seals both the thermostat and housing when you clamp it down. Last time I got one it was at my local O'Reilly's and was a Fel-Pro marked Made in Japan.
Screenshot 2025-11-24 172925.webp

If your trans fluid is lightly dark, I'd just replace all of it. Otherwise, it's hard to know if you'll be mixing new fluid with whatever the PO put in their previously.
 
Rednexus said:
Here are the part numbers I ordered way back in December 2020. I did all of these when my starter crapped out, as it required pulling the intake off. As far as the thermostat gasket, it is a rubber gasket that goes on the outside rim of the thermostat. It seals both the thermostat and housing when you clamp it down. Last time I got one it was at my local O'Reilly's and was a Fel-Pro marked Made in Japan.
View attachment 4036760
If your trans fluid is lightly dark, I'd just replace all of it. Otherwise, it's hard to know if you'll be mixing new fluid with whatever the PO put in their previously.
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I doubt its ever been done, never saw anything trans related under service from previous owners.

Ive read good and bad things about doing all the fluid at once with something this old/mileage. My initial thought was to do 3-4 qts, roll with it for a few thousand miles and then do it again. Rinse and repeat a handful of times.
 
stupidchicken03 said:
I doubt its ever been done, never saw anything trans related under service from previous owners.

Ive read good and bad things about doing all the fluid at once with something this old/mileage. My initial thought was to do 3-4 qts, roll with it for a few thousand miles and then do it again. Rinse and repeat a handful of times.
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You could drain a bit out before starting the job and see how it looks. The trans pan does have a drain plug on it (10 mm head). If it's super dark/burned smelling it would certainly indicate that the trans is likely to have issues (with or without a fluid change). If it hasn't been cooked it will retain some of it's red color and smell like normal trans fluid.
 
Found a few sites with discounts on the CSF radiators. Found a great price (compared to what they've been listed at for the last several months) at just $500 (vs the $650-699)!

Oh wait... they wanted TWO HUNDRED in shipping..wtf.

So best price found was ~$630 shipped

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Summit also had it on sale, and free shipping for a Friday-Monday delivery and it would have been $2.45 cheaper.. but we're leaving today for Thanksgiving and wont be back till Sat or Sun. If I chose a later ETA arrival, the shipping from summit went up $32+... lame.
 
aztoytec said:
I’ve had good luck with Summit racing. Customer service is awesome, easy returns. Sometimes it’s worth the extra couple dollars knowing if something happens you’ll be ok.
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Same here! They are a rare company that has remained customer-centric for the past 25+ years. I bought a lot of stuff from Summit in the aughts when my project vehicle was a '72 C-10. They were good then and have been good for everything I've bought more recently for my GX.
 
aztoytec said:
I’ve had good luck with Summit racing. Customer service is awesome, easy returns. Sometimes it’s worth the extra couple dollars knowing if something happens you’ll be ok.
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Yea I checked the legitimacy of the site I purchased from first, and it's got a good rep.
I have zero issues or hesitation to order from Summit, and they were almost a few $ cheaper.. but the arrival time didnt work since we'll be in another state for 2 of the 3 possible delivery days.

I wont really have time to install anything till mid/end of Dec when im taking off work since ive reach my vacation accrual cap. This is the 2nd year in a row where if I take 5 vacation days, strategically placed lol, I can get 17 consecutive days off with holiday/weekends included :D
 
Mine came from TEQ for that reason - around $100 cheaper than even Summit. Other parts like my rock sliders were $100 cheaper at Summit than anywhere else due to free shipping :).

I'm also clocking out on 12/19 and not clocking back in until 1/5. I've somehow accumulated a massive surplus of vacation, which is a "new" problem for me as I never seemed to have enough at my old jobs :). Looking forward to spending 2 weeks with family and knocking out a number of to-do items.
 
stupidchicken03 said:
Hayden 698 and mount arrived from Goliath Offroad over the weekend :)

View attachment 4040421

No shipping updates on the radiator or hoses yet unfortunately.
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I just had this upgrade done by my mechanic. Fluid exchange as well. He said it was very easy. I sat on my parts for several months due to work. Finally got tired of looking at the boxes.
 
Timujin said:
I got dizzy looking at the photo. How was it in person? 😵‍💫
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I dont usually get motion sickness or anything like that, but my wife does. Neither of us had any problems for the show!
Honestly the audio quality was lacking.. (this was the first time ive seen ZBB, Im not a country music listener, and I know ZBB is/isnt country but its about as country as ill listen to lol) so not sure if it was the band, the audio tech for the show, or just the venue itself.

I felt like it was more of an attraction vs a concert. Your seats vibrate to match up with scenes on the screen. The screen itself is practically limitless for display. Could be one massive screen, or several different "monitors/screens" all at once.

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