BradTank

I thought I would do a write up for the radiator I replaced, I thought this would help members out. It wasn’t a fun job, it took longer than I wanted, but it’s fairly straightforward. As far as modern cars go, this is about as easy a radiator job as it gets with a decent amount of space to work with and minimal connections. Obviously, don’t do any work on the car until it’s cooled down.







I purchased the Denso “towing” model radiator, part # 221-4100. I bought it off Rock Auto for only $66 plus shipping.



I also purchased new upper and lower radiator hoses. (Update : DO NOT USE Gates Lower Coolant Hose. They do not fit properly. Use OEM)
Denso is supposed to be the OEM, the radiator was essentially a perfect swap. I also purchased a new radiator cap. You should probably also replace the thermostat but I couldn’t get a hold of a new one in time and i had no issues. I plan to replace at the next timing belt service. I used Zerex Asian blend coolant instead of the Toyota stuff. It was about half the price and the same formula. You could probably get by with just one gallon if you just drain the radiator.






So you start here, where you have to take out the two screws on either side of the black plastic air intake and remove. Also go ahead and remove the two nuts on the silver, plastic engine cover.


You can see the leak.




Then you’ll see some electrical connectors. You only need to pull the black connector that is closest to the passenger side. Then move the cable to the driver’s side of the vehicle and out of the way. The other two connections stay with the fan unit and come out with the radiator assembly. I only found that out after I had pulled all of them.




Then undo the air intake box, it has 2 bolts securing it. Then undo the air intake clamps on the accordion air intake hose on both sides and move everything out of the way. Take care not to break anything. The air silencer has some delicate connections. The air intake box that holds the filter has a plastic “leg” that slides into the body underneath it and has to line up when reinstalling.






Then go to the bottom of the car and remove the lower air dam with a series of 10mm bolts and remove out of the way. I hosed mine down as it had coolant on it.
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Then go underneath the car where you will see a clear, plastic hose in about the middle. You’ll see a drain petcock just up from there. Place a catch container underneath and turn the petcock counterclockwise to open. Open the radiator cap on top to let it drain faster.

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Undo those clamp connectors on the upper and lower radiator hoses and set them aside. Also undo the clamp on the overflow tube. I reused all clamps as my dealer didn’t have several in stock and I don’t like the auto parts store “worm” style clamps. No issues so far. I got a bit of sticker shock as all new clamps from the dealership were almost as much as the radiator itself. About $8 per clamp. I reused everything and had no issues.

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Pull the hoses off and out of the way. (The order is not important, but you may want to replace the coolant hoses on the engine side after the old radiator comes out but before the new one goes in. You’ll have more room to work and that way you can just bolt in to the new radiator)
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Then unscrew the bolts with the rubber hold downs on the top of the radiator.






After the coolant has been drained, you’ll have to remove a plastic air dam support to get to the transmission hoses than run into the radiator. They have a 12mm bolt on each side, and then a series pf plastic screws. Mine were really brittle. Make sure you have something ready to plug the hoses as fluid will drain out of both the hoses and the transmission cooler ports located within the radiator. The hoses use small, spring clamps. Undo all the hoses and set aside.
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Then with a clear path, pull the radiator along with the electric fan assembly and overflow tank out as one unit. After pulling out, remove the bolts all around and transfer the electric fan assembly to the new radiator. Be careful as its plastic.







After pulling out, remove the bolts all around and transfer the electric fan assembly to the new radiator. Be careful as its plastic.
(One additional “perfectionist” step I did that wasn’t necessary is I filled the new radiator with transmission fluid where the transmission hoses for the cooler go in as it loses a bit from the old radiator. I just put a bit in there and then used the black plastic plugs that came with it to hold it in until I was ready to plug the hoses back in.)




I also noticed the old radiator assembly has some missing foam that had rotted. You can find something at the hardware store like pipe insulation to mimic it. Truthfully, I think you don’t to make this part perfect as mine was largely gone and I had no issues, but I tried to replicate it with what I had.




Then put the radiator back in, make sure the bottom plastic feet go into the proper factory holes in the car body on either side, and put all the hoses back on.





I have used this Lisle funnel kit in the past previous radiator work, but it’s not necessary. It’s about $25 and handy when you have to drain the cooling system. It allows you to run while full of coolant and gets all the air bubbles out. I also turned the heater to the highest setting. I let it idle for about 10+ minutes until I stopped seeing air bubbles come up. I squeezed the radiator hoses to help it along. Make sure there are no leaks anywhere. Then I used the residual coolant left over to fill the overflow.







It’s not a complicated job, but it’s definitely a lot more time consuming than say a brake job and it’s also messy. But a dealership would probably charge like $800 for all of this, I did it from around $100.




Hope it helps other members out. Personally, I would recommend just replacing the radiator and also the thermostat anytime you do a timing belt job. It all has to come out anyway and the parts themselves are inexpensive. Worth your time if you think you can tackle it.

LS430inDE.

Great GREAT write-up Brad! Thank you for the very detailed step by step instructions and good quality pictures!!! I will do brakes all day long but I'd be 50/50 on this DIY if/when the time comes.

Questions....how many miles did that radiator have? Besides the leak, what/when you notice the cracked radiator? Did you routinely check your coolant level or you observed coolant dripping on garage/driveway, etc?

BradTank

I don't know if the two were connected, but I did notice my overflow tank had basically emptied a few months prior, but I just assumed it had evaporated over several years. I suspect it was a bit of both and it had been seeping out for a while.

But I definitely noticed a strong antifreeze smell one day out of the blue pulling in when I decided to check it, it smells like maple syrup. Then I saw all the pink crust and some wet fluid. Barely any though had ever made it to the garage floor.

The car had pretty extensive dealer records when I got it, and I can't recall ever seeing a radiator replacement. It had 175k or so miles.

My advice would be change the radiator when you do the timing belt. This silly design of fusing plastic to aluminum on the radiator to save a few nickels is where they always leak. My wife's Lexus GX had the same leak at the plastic tank seam at around 100k miles, it's very common.

hoye0017

What a coincedence. I did that exact same job with the exact same radiator, for the exact same reason, on the same day you posted this. Nice write-up. Mine went exactly the same way.

js058515

Well done Brad and thank you.

coug66

How do you determine if you need a towing or non towing version of the radiator?

I purchased the Denso “towing” model radiator, part # 221-4100. I bought it off Rock Auto for only $66 plus shipping.

I get the car tomorrow but what should I look for to determine which one I need?

Thanks,

Bocatrip

. My radiator failed around 120,000 miles. I had Lexus replace it along with the thermostat. I specified a Denso aftermarket and checked the part number after install. A year later the radiator developed a leak in the center and the dealer replaced again at no charge. The total cost out the door was $500 which I thought was fair at a Lexus dealer. One less item to worry about for my old timer.

BradTank

My understanding is they both will fit, mine had no issue.

I'm not sure if any LS430's in North America came with a "towing radiator" option. Usually the towing radiator is just a bit thicker, in the past they would have added an extra row or two of cooling.
In this instance, I think it's just like a 1/4" thicker or something like that, but there was no issue mounting it.

I live in a really hot climate (AZ) and I actually think the towing radiator was like 50% cheaper than one that wasn't a towing model and the manufacturer was Denso, so it made sense to upgrade.

Truthfully, I don't think it makes a difference which one you get towing vs non-towing. My temperature reading stays at one full mark towards the "C" side below the halfway point at full operating temperature when its over 90 degrees out and it doesn't get any hotter. I believe it was like that before I went with the new radiator, but I can't be sure.

coug66

I just ordered the same radiator, thermostat and cap from Rock Auto. Thank you for the recommendation, part number and web site. I will pick up my Lexus tonight, short drive home and then replace once they show up.

Did you get the recommended coolant from a national chain auto part store?

Thanks again, these write ups are amazingly helpful and give great encouragement.
needs a few jobs tackled and your post resolved the big one for me. radiator = check
next = coils, interior rear seat replace, head light restore and replace rear break sensors.

Johnhav430

Not to open a can of worms, but probably one of the best places for pink coolant (SLLC2) is Walmart, who carries Zerex Asian. Pink came in 2004+ cars, but as far as I know it's only if your car was made in the 90's (might be 1996 and older?) that you don't want to use it.

Online it was under $9/gal for 50/50. Toyota tends to be $26/gal.

On the other hand, it seems that Toyota red coolant, what came with 2001-2003, is about $15/gal. for OEM 50/50 anywhere...seems that some people prefer it, even on newer cars, just a shorter drain interval....

edit: meaning you order online, pickup in store, Walmart is like $8.xx for Zerex Asian. Pretty sure if you just walk in it's like $11.97...imho Walmart and Sears crush amazon, but they have a stigma....me, I want to save $$$$....

BradTank

I got my "Zerex Asian" through Amazon, it was like $15 a gallon delivered to my door.

It's honestly sort of hit and miss locally to get the formula that's red/pink. I've bought it at NAPA before, and it's probably at most auto parts stores. But it's all a matter of where you live what the individual stores stock. Amazon's price is so close to what you can get locally at a store, I just didn't want to drive around looking for it to save like $1 a jug.

When you drain your radiator before you pull it out, you may want to set aside the "old" coolant in a clean container if it's not too old in case you need just a bit extra to top it off or fill your overflow rather than buy a whole 2nd jug. Or you can just go ahead and buy 2 gallons and just have extra.

Glad the DIY helped, best of luck.

Bocatrip

More than likely, our cars are so robust that no matter what coolant you decide to put in your car, it will probably keep running. However, for the last 7-8 years of ownership with my 01 LS430 with now 129,400 miles, I have consistently stuck with OEM parts for everything even the coolant. Early LS430s went with the Toyota Red, and for the few pennies more why would I hold back and take any chances? When I replaced my radiator, Lexus put in the pink even though I insisted only Red. I made them drain the system and install the Red. OEM parts for all my cars have always been the way to go unless the prices become prohibitive which luckily has not occurred yet.

BradTank

They also have Toyota brand motor oil, Toyota brand brake fluid, Toyota brand air filters, etc.

I'm using an antifreeze formula specifically made for Toyota/Lexus vehicles by a billion dollar company that makes antifreeze, I'm not worried any more than if I used non-Toyota motor oil in my car.

I love my car, but it's worth around $6,000 and has a $60 radiator. I'm not going to get too bent out of shape going outside the Lexus dealership for antifreeze.

coug66

bought the Asian, 2 jugs

I read somewhere the engine takes 10.5 qts. for a total fill? So I need three jugs?
I will use the two I have and get more if they aren't enough.

Ian

BradTank

They make the blue for Honda/Acura vehicles and red/pink for the Toyota/Lexus because that's the colors the factory uses. It might be the same formula, but unless you're draining all of it, I would probably stick with the same color.