Radiator Oil Leak

[Girv24]

Radiator

• Girv24
• May 2, 2018

Radiator

• Girv24
• May 2, 2018

So after owning the Land Cruiser for a few weeks, I am starting to plan out what needs to be fixed and trying to prioritize. For background, I picked up a 2001 with 170K miles for 5K. More rust than I would like, but in general everything was in working order. So far I have replaced timing belt/water pump, next up is wheel bearings and addressing undercarriage rust (spend its entire life in Maine).

** The red in the photos is front lint from a shop towel I used to try to wipe it down a bit.

I noticed earlier that at the bottom passenger side of the radiator, there was what seems like dirty oil on the bottom and you could tell it has been leaking. Directly under the spot, there is a hole completely rusted through on the skid plate with oil on it as well... But would oil do that?. The highest up I could see the oil is circled in the photo, and I did a pretty extensive search and came up with nothing. Any idea where this might be coming from or what might be needed to fix?

 

[outdoorsman]

It is really hard to tell from the picture what is leaking there. The lower section of the radiator is the transmission cooler which has red ATF or brown if it hasn’t been flushed for a while.

The Toyota “Red” antifreeze is also used so sometimes it is hard to tell what is leaking.

Easy fix replace radiator with either Denso or another quality aftermarket.

 

[Girv24]

It is really hard to tell from the picture what is leaking there. The lower section of the radiator is the transmission cooler which has red ATF or brown if it hasn’t been flushed for a while.

The Toyota “Red” antifreeze is also used so sometimes it is hard to tell what is leaking.

Easy fix replace radiator with either Denso or another quality aftermarket.

So I updated the original post, the only red there is from lint from a rag I used to wipe the area. The fluid looked like dirty oil. I had a shop do the timing belt last week, and I am pretty sure they replaced the ATF in the process.

 

[Girv24]

Alright so looks like it is not oil at all, the coolant in the car looks similar to clean oil. Seems like the radiator is leaking in a few spots. Is it fair to assume I just replace the entire radiator or try to diagnose more specifically? With there being coolant on both the far driver and passenger sides of the radiator, I dont think it is just one loose tube but I will check.

 

[bucfl]

I have been chasing leaks for a while now. Your best friend is some engine cleaner like hunk or similar. I had to do it like three times to get a really good feel for where my leaks were.

Try cleaner first before throwing money at it. I initially thought I had to redo a crank seal, but turns out the radiator screw and hose was leaking and wetting the crank weep hole. Hopefully I have them all in check now and I’ve saved $500 plus.

Got pics this weekend on my thread for reference. Good luck.

 

[abuck99]

Replace radiator. Spectra or Denso are good options and around $175.

Dont assume a repair shop did anything beyond what was printed on your signed work order. I doubt your transmission fluid was touched unless you instructed them to.

 

[flintknapper]

Replace radiator. Spectra or Denso are good options and around $175.

Dont assume a repair shop did anything beyond what was printed on your signed work order. I doubt your transmission fluid was touched unless you instructed them to.

^^^^^ This.