You’re welcome! Glad it helps.

 

my pink coolant level drop from F-line to in between F and L, is this a sign of coolant leak?

 

It is normal for the coolant level to increase when warm due to expansion. So depending on when you are checking the level (hot vs. cold), the level will change.

Are you ever needing to add coolant? If yes, then you have a leak.

 

Rule out the cheap stuff first... radiator cap and even the seal on coolant recovery bottle. I had that vent out some coolant in past before replacing.

 

Hey guys, seeking your expertise once again.

Background:
My 20’ GX has 68,690 miles and has been 100% dealer serviced (outside of a tire rotation I did myself). The closet Lexus dealer to me is about 2 hours away. I detailed my GX yesterday, and today was taking a Quick Look under the hood. The coolant reservoir tank is below the “low” indicator (pictured below).

I have not seen any drips on the ground (which I believe is common for the valley plate leak). I think powertrain warranty is for 70,000 miles.

Also, my GX has never had the coolant temp indicator go past the 1/2 way mark.

My Questions:
Would the valley plate repair be covered under powertrain warranty if I get it to the dealer before 70k miles?

Is it likely that I will be charged a large diagnostic fee if it is determined I do NOT have the valley plate leak?

Dealer has never mentioned that I am low on coolant, will they wait to tell me until after powertrain warranty is out?

Thanks in advance, once again for your help!

 

It would be covered under powertrain warranty.

See any pink stains on the underside front or rear of the motor?

You could top off at full and see if it drops further.

Any pink crusties on the top of the coolant recovery tank?

A replacement radiator cap might be cheaper than travel and from dealer but would top off tank first at “F”

 

Thanks for the reply @Acrad .There are no visible stains under the motor front or rear. There were some crusties at the top off the coolant recovery tank



Are the pink crusties an indicator that I need a new cap? I ordered some coolant. Should I fill it up to fill when at operating temp or cold?

 

Top off of that recovery bottle at “F”.. clean up all the crusties just for reference… and then put some silicon grease on the gasket of that recovery tank cap. Let’s see what that does

I had one leaking coolant via evaporation out that cap

You may end up needing to replace the cap as well.. if so then order this

 

Hi all,

I own a 2011 GX460, my SUV just got hit with the coolant valley plate leak. I live in the Toronto area. Any Club Lexus members have gotten the valley plate fixed from a good shop around the greater Toronto area? I am having a hard time finding a shop that's not a dealership. Thanks!

 

Our 2012 GX460 with 146k miles on it started a slow valley plate leak 2+ years ago, but it was so slow that the Lexus dealer never found it during oil change inspections. I even bought a bunch of Aisin parts ahead of time about 5 months ago. I was dragging my feet because of being out of state for work so much.

I found the coolant valley plate leak myself, finally, after pressure washing the underside and top side to start clean.

When a fast leak started somewhere else by the radiator 3 weeks ago that I was monitoring and topping up daily, I bought a coolant pressure tester and found a cracked upper neck on the radiator.

That was the final thing that made me decide to do an everything approach to the repair and maintenance and to do it myself while I was working from home for a few weeks.

This has been a great vehicle and I think it will go another 150k more without trouble if I take care of it.

Needless to say, I am finishing up the job by this weekend, hopefully. I only have had enough time to work an hour or two per most days, but that probably kept me from getting in a hurry or making mistakes.


List of items replaced:

1. water pump- original was still fine, replaced with Aisin unit because of 146k mile original
2. Cooling fan mount - original bearing was getting a bit noisy, so good timing to replace with Aisin replacement
3. Serpentine belt replacement- replaced with oem Toyota
4. serpentine tensioner replacement - original oem Dayco unit had mildly noisy bearing. Replaced with USA made Dayco replacement from Advance Auto parts
5. Coolant valley cover reseal
6. Replaced original spark plugs with NGK Iridium set that I verified were gapped .043. Original plugs looked very good and perfectly colored, zero carbon, even using Costco and grocery store gas. I also run 16 oz of Berryman B12 every other tank, as I buy it by the gallon for $30 from Oreilly; great stuff, as the intake ports were super clean as well, and it really wakes up the engine. Also, all coils came out dry and perfect, so I didn’t have to replace the valve cover seals or tube seals (very thankful for that, as I am tired!)
7. Replaced pcv hose, valve, new rubber grommets, and the entire new Pcv separator box under the EGR COOLER
8. Replaced knock sensor harness as preventative maintenance. Sensors are good.
9. Added oem front mount trans cooler with factory brackets and hard line pass-throughs,, bypassing radiator cooler circuit. Going to change trans fluid out a little at a time and I have a new oem filter and gasket ready.
10. Installed new oem radiator, oem hoses, aluminum housing thermostat

Very blessed to say that I started it today with no codes, no leaks or issues, and it runs better and quieter than it has ever with fresh spark plugs, tensioner, fan mount, idler.

 

Excellent work. Keep us updated on the repairs. Take and post pictures of the work if you can.

 

This happened on my 2011 GX460 starting at around 250k. My mechanic advised putting a small bottle of K-Seal in the coolant. Fixed it immediately and now pushing 300k.

 

Does anyone know why Toyota put this insulation there?

 

I believe the reason is to keep the hose warm in extremely cold ambient temperatures, to keep the moisture in the hose from freezing. There can be quite a bit of moisture in the crankcase.