DIY Coolant Valley Leak Repair (6 Viewers)

[Acrad]

Are they the clips from post #25?

DIY Coolant Valley Leak Repair

Man am I happy I got this fixed on my 2015 under warranty.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Train45]

yep. I couldn't get them to budge when cold, it was just pure luck that I tried with the engine hot, you can spread the tab down with tip of your finger with little effort, don't even need to use your fingernail. can't guarantee it will work for everyone but it made a huge difference for my clips. skinny hands and wrists are required though, as with most thigs in Japanese engine bays lol

also heads up, broke off the little locking tabs on two of the knock sensor connectors, if I had to do it again I would just order a new harness, that location makes them really really brittle. the connectors still hold pretty well without that little tab so I'm just going to put a little dab of silicone on the outside and hope for the best, don't have time to wait for a new harness.

 

[Washingtontaco]

Great thread!

 

[Acrad]

Is harness referenced this 82219A in picture below?

PN: 8221960100

 

[jmanscotch]

Is harness referenced this 82219A in picture below?

PN: 8221960100

That looks right

Not a bad price either, ~$20.

 

[Acrad]

Thanks!
Inexpensive too

$31.54

Lexus OEM Wire Sensor Part# 82219-60100 | OEM Vehicle Parts

OEM Lexus Part # 82219-60100 - Wire Sensor Fits

www.oemvehicleparts.com

 

[Maxer]

Valley Plate Retrospective​

First off thank jmanscotch for this incredible content, you’re a valley plate God for me. This was both inspiring and infuriating that you could instill so much confidence in my lackluster ability to accomplish this very difficult task. This would have cost me close to $2700 at the dealership, while in there, I also replace spark plugs, so another almost $1,000 saved. Thank you.

So, here is what I’ve learned from this repair…………

The bolt that shall not be named is 1,000% the hardest, most maddening and most bloodying part of this project. This is also the only part of the project that my biggest mistake was a eureka moment that will forever change the way I do this job, and possibly save the rest of you from contemplating some serious life decisions.


Fast forward to the moment where you’ve gotten to the “impossible” bolt in the back of the manifold. I was finally here, feeling great; so far it’s exactly like our God has foretold. Now for the hard parts.......The drivers side tab of the wiring harness was fairly easy to pop off, the passenger side not so much; carefully break it, don’t waste your time or blood, just be careful not to F up any of the actual wiring in the harness.


I struggled mightily with the passenger side clip until finally smashing it to bits, revealing the “impossible” bolt! HOLY s***, I’ve found it. I sliced my hands to hell and back, loosening this bolt and was certain at multiple points that this was truly an impossible project and that I’ve chosen poorly my path in life. But, I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and millimeter by mm I persevered until that ****ing bolt was beaten! It was one of the proudest moments of my life, I was so friggin happy I can’t even tell you, I placed the bolt on a pedestal next to the car in the garage and pledged to make a necklace out of it, I was so happy. I then went and sutured up my hands and got ready to remove the manifold, **** yea, I’ve done it!!


I unbolted everything holding the manifold down and proceeded to remove it, but it barely budged, huh, that’s odd, it should pop right off. Well, that was not reassuring. Then I remembered reading in many many other threads and service manuals that the impossible bolt holds the fuel line in place and that the dealership recommends removing the fuel line for this repair. That’s when I realized I was able to wiggle it around just enough to get a better look on what the manifold was hung up on………


Much to my bloodied knuckles chagrin (and my rad bolt necklace’s), I had declared victory on the wrong ****ing bolt; not the “impossible” bolt, but the wiring harness bolt that had almost killed me!!! MF’er!!!!!!...............BUT, in this moment I realize there’s just enough play in the fuel line that you can pull and angle the manifold enough to get much easier access to the “impossible” bolt!!!!! BOOM, rad necklace back in the works!! That's the Eureka moment!!!!!


So, be careful not to break the fuel line at all costs, but this little extra room will shave hours off the repair, it’ll also save you bloodied knuckles and save your sanity!


Thanks to jmanscotch who is a legend and my Valley Plate God, for all of his hard work putting this together for us. You’re a total badass. Godspeed.

 

[jmanscotch]

@Maxer lol great notes man.

I very much understand that I may have over sold the job a smidge and pushed some to do it that may not have otherwise attempted it, but such was my intentions.

You, again, are proof that it can be done by a willing DIYer. Yes there’s frustrating and sometimes bloody bits, but it really is just nuts, bolts, wiring plugs and hose connections. All are individual things most of us have no problem tackling, it’s just some of them are in tricky, annoying and even painful spots…but they are just nuts and bolts and connections. Lefty loosey, righty tighty and the art of figuring out how to release certain electrical connections…all skill sets most of us have or can obtain and skill sets that are good for many aspects of life.

Well done, grab yourself a pint or three with that $3,700 saved cheers

 

[r2m]

Valley Plate Retrospective​

First off thank jmanscotch for this incredible content, you’re a valley plate God for me. This was both inspiring and infuriating that you could instill so much confidence in my lackluster ability to accomplish this very difficult task. This would have cost me close to $2700 at the dealership, while in there, I also replace spark plugs, so another almost $1,000 saved. Thank you.

So, here is what I’ve learned from this repair…………

The bolt that shall not be named is 1,000% the hardest, most maddening and most bloodying part of this project. This is also the only part of the project that my biggest mistake was a eureka moment that will forever change the way I do this job, and save the rest of you from contemplating some serious life decisions.


Fast forward to the moment where you’ve gotten to the “impossible” bolt in the back of the manifold. I was finally here, feeling great; so far it’s exactly like our God has foretold. Now for the hard parts.......The drivers side tab of the wiring harness was fairly easy to pop off, the passenger side not so much; carefully break it, don’t waste your time or blood, just be careful not to F up any of the actual wiring in the harness.


I struggled mightily with the passenger side clip until finally smashing it to bits, revealing the “impossible” bolt! HOLY s***, I’ve found it. I sliced my hands to hell and back, loosening this bolt and was certain at multiple points that this was truly an impossible project and that I’ve chosen poorly my path in life. But, I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and millimeter by mm I persevered until that f***ing bolt was beaten! It was one of the proudest moments of my life, I was so friggin happy I can’t even tell you, I placed the bolt on a pedestal next to the car in the garage and pledged to make a necklace out of it, I was so happy. I then went and sutured up my hands and got ready to remove the manifold, f*** yea, I’ve done it!!


I unbolted everything holding the manifold down and proceeded to remove it, but it barely budged, huh, that’s odd, it should pop right off. Well, that was not reassuring. Then I remembered reading in many many other threads and service manuals that the impossible bolt holds the fuel line in place and that the dealership recommends removing the fuel line for this repair. That’s when I realized I was able to wiggle it around just enough to get a better look on what the manifold was hung up on………


Much to my bloodied knuckles chagrin (and my rad bolt necklace’s), I had declared victory on the wrong f***ing bolt; not the “impossible” bolt, but the wiring harness bolt that had almost killed me!!! MF’er!!!!!!...............BUT, in this moment I realize there’s just enough play in the fuel line that you can pull and angle the manifold enough to get much easier access to the “impossible” bolt!!!!! BOOM, rad necklace back in the works!! That's the Eureka moment!!!!!


So, be careful not to break the fuel line at all costs, but this little extra room will shave hours off the repair, it’ll also save you bloodied knuckles and save your sanity!


Thanks to jmanscotch who is a legend and my Valley Plate God, for all of his hard work putting this together for us. You’re a total badass. Godspeed.

LOL Great write up!
Just a quick question, is there any type of wrench, ratchet, etc. that could access that bolt easier?
Maybe a ratcheting boxend? Multi-hinged ratchet, extension or box end?
Custom tool: maybe taking a (cheap) wrench (whatever the mm size is) and heat it up to bend it to a specific angle for better access?
Just spit-wading here and see if anything sticks...

 

[Maxer]

@Maxer lol great notes man.

I very much understand that I may have over sold the job a smidge and pushed some to do it that may not have otherwise attempted it, but such was my intentions.

You, again, are proof that it can be done by a willing DIYer. Yes there’s frustrating and sometimes bloody bits, but it really is just nuts, bolts, wiring plugs and hose connections. All are individual things most of us have no problem tackling, it’s just some of them are in tricky, annoying and even painful spots…but they are just nuts and bolts and connections. Lefty loosey, righty tighty and the art of figuring out how to release certain electrical connections…all skill sets most of us have or can obtain and skill sets that are good for many aspects of life.

Well done, grab yourself a pint or three with that $3,700 saved cheers

Seriously my friend, you are awesome for writing this up, I can't thank you enough and it was really rewarding when I finished it and IT ALL WORKED!!!!

 

[Maxer]

LOL Great write up!
Just a quick question, is there any type of wrench, ratchet, etc. that could access that bolt easier?
Maybe a ratcheting boxend? Multi-hinged ratchet, extension or box end?
Custom tool: maybe taking a (cheap) wrench (whatever the mm size is) and heat it up to bend it to a specific angle for better access?
Just spit-wading here and see if anything sticks...

So, I bought some long ratcheting wrenches just for this repair, they did not work for me, but I also thought the bolt I was after was the right one! BUT!! They sure did come in handy for the draining of coolant from the engine block, which is an absolute MUST I think. Also, in hindsight, I might have bought an Endoscope Camera 1080P HD Triple Lens Borescope Inspection Camera, to have helped locate it for easier removal. But I'm telling you, get the tabs off and slightly adjust the manifold to get to that bolt much more easily. You humans on here ROCK, TY ALL.

 

[swild]

I had to write and say thanks to everyone on this forum and to the dude who wrote up this repair process.
I did the repair this weekend, and I can't recommend this thread enough.

To everyone thinking of doing this...follow it to the T, and you'll be alright. Get all the tools he describes as well. The hardest part was the one wire harness bolt on the back of the intake manifold and then the rear passenger side bolt on the intake manifold. Other than those two, it was pretty straightforward.

A magnetic pickup tool was a godsend as I was dropping bolts and nuts left and right. I highly recommend getting an endoscope like this:
Amazon product ASIN B07X8SPJZTas it helps you locate the items you'll drop but also all you to see if things have sealed up properly.

I did the entire repair and discovered coolant leaking on my garage floor. After tearing it apart again, I found that I had pinched the o-ring just like he did. The endoscope allowed me to confirm this once I got the manifold off. On the second install, I lubed the o-rings with just a touch of silicone, and they went in perfectly.

Feels good knowing this was done correctly and shouldn't leak again anytime soon; that 103 FPIG is some amazing stuff. It was not fun trying to clean that stuff off before the second install attempt.

Good luck to everyone, and follow those instructions...they are 100% accurate.

 

[jmanscotch]

I did the entire repair and discovered coolant leaking on my garage floor. After tearing it apart again, I found that I had pinched the o-ring just like he did. The endoscope allowed me to confirm this once I got the manifold off. On the second install, I lubed the o-rings with just a touch of silicone, and they went in perfectly.

Dammit, it sucks doing it twice doesn’t it?!

Glad it worked out in the end though! Cheers

 

[swild]

Dammit, it sucks doing it twice doesn’t it?!

Glad it worked out in the end though! Cheers

Dude, I was beyond pissed. The only thing that made me happy was finding out that I had pinched an o-ring. I knew that was an easy solve. My fear the whole time was the seating of the 103 FIPG on the valley plate etc. That liquid gasket stuff is always a sketchy process.

 

[vegasfj40]

This is a fantastic thread! Thank you to all that have contributed. I'm still under warranty but if I get this issue in the future I'm confident I can pull this off!

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Reminded to a PTSD level never to buy a PRADO. Worst German engineering I have seen from Toyota. Total clusterf@#k!

 

[Acrad]

Basically all the *UR engines could experience it

200 series as well with 3UR-FE

Kind of "Mystery" Coolant leak back of engine (heat exchanger valley leak)

Hey guys, I had another thread going on on my 09 Lx puking out coolant from what I thought was the waterpump.. But after taking wheels off and a bunch of other plastic crap off of the front of engine (more than I want to remember) waterpump area is completely dry and is coolant drip free (no...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[GrizzlyClint]

Reminded to a PTSD level never to buy a PRADO. Worst German engineering I have seen from Toyota. Total clusterf@#k!

Sarcasm? Gotta be sarcasm. No sane individual on earth says this.

 

[r2m]

Reminded to a PTSD level never to buy a PRADO. Worst German engineering I have seen from Toyota. Total clusterf@#k!

Funny thing, a lady officer I worked with in the Army Reserves, her first and last name? Mercedes Prado.
Probably one of the best first/last names one could get if they were car geeks!

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Sarcasm? Gotta be sarcasm. No sane individual on earth says this.

Sarcasm. Is yours sarcasm? with a hint of reality.