Any major edits? Missing steps? It is for an upcoming project for my daughter and I am trying not to scare her away as she is 1,700 miles from where I live.
Radiator Replacement
I suspect this is four hours for a first timer.
This is in the electronic manual. Pages EG-337 to EG-349 (or PDF pages 378 to 390) show the “official” steps. The PDF is indexed and searchable on the side bar under “Engine” “Cooling System” “EG-337 Radiator.” Ignore the pages on radiator repair.
This is probably a good time to buy a small torque wrench. The $20 ¼” from Harbor Freight is probably “good enough” and has enough range for everything here.
Parts:
New radiator 16400-66040 from Toyota with foam weather strip[1].
¼” self-stick foam weatherstrip for shroud to radiator seal.
1 gallon Toyota red coolant concentrate.
Radiator removal:
Remove skid plate held on by (4-5) 12mm bolts under the radiator above yellow shock absorber. It slides out to one side. The FSM calls for getting at the lower hoses for the radiator and transmission cooler from the top, I have set the clamps for bottom access.
You have both a long and a short ratcheting wrench that will be perfect.
Find white plastic drain valve at bottom of radiator, open and drain into clean plastic tub. A piece of ¼” ID clear vinyl hose from Home Depot fits the outlet on the drain, use it to direct flow and minimize mess. (Clean leftover from transmission will suffice)
Radiator Flush/Coolant Drain DIY - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/radiator-flush-coolant-drain-diy.223575/
3rd photo down shows a hose attached to control splatter.
Disconnect skinny water bypass hose from the top of the radiator.
Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator, no need to remove the end attached to the engine (squeeze clamp tabs, slide clamp back towards engine, twist hose and it should slide off without much resistance.) To minimize spilling there is an obvious way to tie a loop of string around it and the cap to the power steering reservoir.
Remove and save radiator cap. (New radiator will come with a cap, so you will have a spare-keep it.)
Remove the 4 nuts holding the fan to the engine
Remove the 2 bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator (lift shroud and fan out together). Repair shroud crack?
Remove the battery – 10mm nuts right next to posts.
Remove the battery tray (5 12mm bolts on bottom and fender side of tray) Push heavy wires through gromets on back side). The fender side (negative) wire tends to drop down and I have forgotten to pull it up prior to re-assembly several times.
Remove the front grille (remember the push down tab at top center) (4-5) 8mm bolts with extension. Tape trick is useful getting the lower bolts back in.
Remove the coolant reservoir hose from radiator.
Remove the coolant reservoir by lifting straight up. (optional for access)
Close drain valve, move the plastic tub under the lower radiator hose on the passenger side. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator in the same way as the upper hose. This will drain the remaining coolant. I think coolant can be re-used at this point unless you see obvious dirt or debris.
Disconnect the two transmission lines from the radiator. Passenger side will come off easily; driver’s side may be tight. Use a little bucket and hose plugs (4) to prevent major leaks. When you remove radiator from car, tip to one side and remove plugs to drain transmission fluid from radiator tanks into bucket. You can re-use this if you are careful Use pink grease on fittings before replacing hoses. Pulling hoses only tightens their grip.
Remove the two nuts that hold the radiator to the radiator support at the sides of radiator (area that the headlights and transmission cooler are mounted to behind the grill). You can locate these approximately by looking at the back of each side of the radiator for a gold-colored washer/bolt head which is opposite the nut you are looking for behind the grill. These can be removed with a 12mm 1/4" drive deep socket and a flexible joint wrapped with tape for stiffness. Use a shallow socket to start them back on, then deep when reassembling. (You can improve access by removing bolts for headlights and the transmission cooler right beside these nuts and wiggling the transmission cooler side to side. This should not be necessary with ¼” sockets)
Remove the bolts that hold the "L" brackets on the sides of the radiator to the radiator support. These are now visible looking down along the sides of the radiator.
Remove the radiator from the engine bay by lifting straight up.
Transfer the "L" bracket from each side of the old radiator to the new radiator.
Note the positions of the fitting for the transmission hose fittings on the old radiator and make certain that on the new one they are similar.
Reassemble, fill with coolant[2], check transmission fluid level[3], no bolt is super tight, and use a smear of the pink grease in the white tube on the inside of every hose and on every hose nipple prior to reassembly. Try and leave the hose clamp tabs in their original position where you can get at them easily again etc...
[1] The radiator needs to be sealed with foam weatherstrip to prevent outside air from bypassing the cooling fins and going around the radiator while moving at high speed and at low speed it prevents the fan from sucking in hot engine air. The weatherstrip makes a big difference in engine temperatures. I also used small self-stick ¼” foam between the shroud and the radiator for the same reason. There should be no large gaps.
[2] Fill radiator to the top with coolant and squeeze upper hose to get some air out. Start the car and reposition it so that the front is facing the garage door and the rear is sloped down. This ensures the radiator cap is the high point of the system for air to exit. Check for leaks and turn the heater on “high” allow the engine to warm-up fully to begin circulating coolant. This will “burp” or force air out of the system. Keep filling radiator through this period. Once you see coolant flow in the cap area it is only 2-3 minutes to clear all the air. Fill the side reservoir to the “Full” mark and re-connect hose. Check levels after your next couple of trips.
[3] Car should be hot and on a level surface. Transmission dipstick it has an orange handle and is on the driver’s side low in engine are, below oil dipstick. It is a pain to pull out because of retaining tab. After wiping and re-inserting, wet area should come up between the two notches. IIRC the difference between the two notches is only 1/2 quart.
Radiator Replacement
I suspect this is four hours for a first timer.
This is in the electronic manual. Pages EG-337 to EG-349 (or PDF pages 378 to 390) show the “official” steps. The PDF is indexed and searchable on the side bar under “Engine” “Cooling System” “EG-337 Radiator.” Ignore the pages on radiator repair.
This is probably a good time to buy a small torque wrench. The $20 ¼” from Harbor Freight is probably “good enough” and has enough range for everything here.
Parts:
New radiator 16400-66040 from Toyota with foam weather strip[1].
¼” self-stick foam weatherstrip for shroud to radiator seal.
1 gallon Toyota red coolant concentrate.
Radiator removal:
Remove skid plate held on by (4-5) 12mm bolts under the radiator above yellow shock absorber. It slides out to one side. The FSM calls for getting at the lower hoses for the radiator and transmission cooler from the top, I have set the clamps for bottom access.
You have both a long and a short ratcheting wrench that will be perfect.
Find white plastic drain valve at bottom of radiator, open and drain into clean plastic tub. A piece of ¼” ID clear vinyl hose from Home Depot fits the outlet on the drain, use it to direct flow and minimize mess. (Clean leftover from transmission will suffice)
Radiator Flush/Coolant Drain DIY - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/radiator-flush-coolant-drain-diy.223575/
3rd photo down shows a hose attached to control splatter.
Disconnect skinny water bypass hose from the top of the radiator.
Disconnect the upper radiator hose from the radiator, no need to remove the end attached to the engine (squeeze clamp tabs, slide clamp back towards engine, twist hose and it should slide off without much resistance.) To minimize spilling there is an obvious way to tie a loop of string around it and the cap to the power steering reservoir.
Remove and save radiator cap. (New radiator will come with a cap, so you will have a spare-keep it.)
Remove the 4 nuts holding the fan to the engine
Remove the 2 bolts holding the fan shroud to the radiator (lift shroud and fan out together). Repair shroud crack?
Remove the battery – 10mm nuts right next to posts.
Remove the battery tray (5 12mm bolts on bottom and fender side of tray) Push heavy wires through gromets on back side). The fender side (negative) wire tends to drop down and I have forgotten to pull it up prior to re-assembly several times.
Remove the front grille (remember the push down tab at top center) (4-5) 8mm bolts with extension. Tape trick is useful getting the lower bolts back in.
Remove the coolant reservoir hose from radiator.
Remove the coolant reservoir by lifting straight up. (optional for access)
Close drain valve, move the plastic tub under the lower radiator hose on the passenger side. Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator in the same way as the upper hose. This will drain the remaining coolant. I think coolant can be re-used at this point unless you see obvious dirt or debris.
Disconnect the two transmission lines from the radiator. Passenger side will come off easily; driver’s side may be tight. Use a little bucket and hose plugs (4) to prevent major leaks. When you remove radiator from car, tip to one side and remove plugs to drain transmission fluid from radiator tanks into bucket. You can re-use this if you are careful Use pink grease on fittings before replacing hoses. Pulling hoses only tightens their grip.
Remove the two nuts that hold the radiator to the radiator support at the sides of radiator (area that the headlights and transmission cooler are mounted to behind the grill). You can locate these approximately by looking at the back of each side of the radiator for a gold-colored washer/bolt head which is opposite the nut you are looking for behind the grill. These can be removed with a 12mm 1/4" drive deep socket and a flexible joint wrapped with tape for stiffness. Use a shallow socket to start them back on, then deep when reassembling. (You can improve access by removing bolts for headlights and the transmission cooler right beside these nuts and wiggling the transmission cooler side to side. This should not be necessary with ¼” sockets)
Remove the bolts that hold the "L" brackets on the sides of the radiator to the radiator support. These are now visible looking down along the sides of the radiator.
Remove the radiator from the engine bay by lifting straight up.
Transfer the "L" bracket from each side of the old radiator to the new radiator.
Note the positions of the fitting for the transmission hose fittings on the old radiator and make certain that on the new one they are similar.
Reassemble, fill with coolant[2], check transmission fluid level[3], no bolt is super tight, and use a smear of the pink grease in the white tube on the inside of every hose and on every hose nipple prior to reassembly. Try and leave the hose clamp tabs in their original position where you can get at them easily again etc...
[1] The radiator needs to be sealed with foam weatherstrip to prevent outside air from bypassing the cooling fins and going around the radiator while moving at high speed and at low speed it prevents the fan from sucking in hot engine air. The weatherstrip makes a big difference in engine temperatures. I also used small self-stick ¼” foam between the shroud and the radiator for the same reason. There should be no large gaps.
[2] Fill radiator to the top with coolant and squeeze upper hose to get some air out. Start the car and reposition it so that the front is facing the garage door and the rear is sloped down. This ensures the radiator cap is the high point of the system for air to exit. Check for leaks and turn the heater on “high” allow the engine to warm-up fully to begin circulating coolant. This will “burp” or force air out of the system. Keep filling radiator through this period. Once you see coolant flow in the cap area it is only 2-3 minutes to clear all the air. Fill the side reservoir to the “Full” mark and re-connect hose. Check levels after your next couple of trips.
[3] Car should be hot and on a level surface. Transmission dipstick it has an orange handle and is on the driver’s side low in engine are, below oil dipstick. It is a pain to pull out because of retaining tab. After wiping and re-inserting, wet area should come up between the two notches. IIRC the difference between the two notches is only 1/2 quart.
