Oro

I agree w/you, Green is always wrong in these cars. I am well aware of what it can do to headgaskets and people should be a lot more careful than they are.

However, the pre-96 were G-05 type/HOAT spec'd - not the same at all as green. Yellow/G-05 is HOAT, similar chemistry to the Red OAT. Green is IAT and not using the similar additives. Most of the changes that went with the coolant change occurred in alloys used in the radiators, gaskets, heater core, valve, etc. and nothing was different with the engine metals, etc. Yellow will not attack the head gasket like green will, or like Dex-Cool (or "death cool" as it's known for the problems it caused when first formulated).

Right now O'Reilly Auto has their house brand universal (gold jug, yellow fluid - HOAT type) on sale for $8/gallon for premix. Sale lasts to 9/30/2014. So if the OP buys 3 gallons, your good for years, cheaper than most any other option, and have the correct fluid. Their house brand is made by Old World, which is the "Peak" brand. So it is probably re-labeled Peak Universal.

vintagelex

Ok so it seems I can get everything at rockauto except for the 2 plenum hoses and the throttle body hose. On the OEM parts site it is showing me 5 bypass hoses, but there are no parts diagrams to tell me which is which. Sewell doesn't have the diagrams either. So Does anyone know which of the hoses are the right ones? Also why are there 5 choices, are there two bypass hoses somewhere that I forgot about??

http://www.lexuspartsnow.com/Page_Pr...onentsID=16-03

vintagelex

Mystery solved! I found a parts diagram with part numbers at Lexus of South Atlanta, and it turns out there were two more bypass hoses I didn't notice. I'm ordering parts tomorrow, here's the diagram in case anyone needs it in the future.

vintagelex

So I just got my parts in from Rockauto and I have a question. Is it normal to have to trim / shorten the aftermarket radiator hoses? The top one has a whole extra bend to it at the end that is not supposed to be there, but it will fit if I shorten it enough. The bottom one looks basically ok. The heater hoses look like they will fit well but the one that goes from the engine to the heater (the return one, I'm guessing, since it doesn't go through the heater valve) is not available on rockauto so I'll have to spend $40(!!!) or so for an OEM one

Heater valve also came in, I paid $14.99 and it's exactly the same as the original

Now just waiting on the plenum hoses (OEM) and hopefully I'll do the coolant next weekend.

Oro

Good score on the heater valve. Where did you get it again?

I had to take and inch or two off one hose for our 2002; a whole bend sounds weird but if it's the right diameter and you can cut it to fine, all is good.

Check O'Reilly or Napa for the hose you need, they often have them. Usually only the radiator ones, though, and not the heater ones.

If the one you need doesn't have a lot of kinks in it, you can fashion one from $1/foot hose from the auto parts store.

vintagelex

The hose has 2 fairly sharp bends in it so if I can't find it I will probably just shell out the money for the OEM one, as much as I don't want to. But I will call all the local parts stores tomorrow in case they have it.

The heater valve was from partsgeek.com

vintagelex

Ok now that I have all the pieces I'm going to do the coolant change this weekend. My final question is about flushing. I would flush it with distilled water, but I will not be able to get it all out (heater core, etc). I'm using pre-mixed coolant and since I'm in Wisconsin right now where it already gets super cold at night I don't want there to be too much water in the system so it doesn't freeze.

Should I just flush the radiator (pour in distilled water and catch it in a pan with the lower hose removed) and not the engine block? The coolant has always been changed on time and it's clean so it's not like there's any real junk in there that has to be flushed. Any thoughts on this?

LeX2K

I would drain the radiator and also open up the drains on the block, no need to flush water through the system.

Oro

Yes, I agree. if you are NOT changing coolant type, the bit still in the heater core (~1.5 qts I think) won't matter. If you are changing type, then you need to run it w/water and dilute it, re-drain.

Block drains are on either side of the V, you can google it to find pics of them. If you look around from underneath you can spot them.

What you can do is drain the three holes (2 block and radiator), refill, run until thermostat opens w/heater on. That will mix up the heater core portion into your system, so when you drain you get most of it out. But, if the types are the same and it's clean, it's not going to matter much.

vintagelex

So I started working on the car today. I say started because the lower radiator hose turned out to be completely wrong, the bends were completely wrong and even when I trimmed it I could not get it to fit. Lesson learned, DO NOT BUY AC-Delco HOSES! I went to the parts store and got a lower hose, which then turned out to be the wrong one. Round three: back at the parts store we were able to order the correct hose, it will be here Monday.

So today I changed the plenum bypass hoses, and the upper hose. Tomorrow I will change the heater hoses and valve, so that Monday all I have to do is put the lower hose on and bleed the system. I'll update here on Monday.

Oro

If this wasn't mentioned elsewhere, when you bleed it is helpful a bit if you can point the car uphill somewhat. It does help the air to work it's way up and out a bit faster. "Burping" the hoses helps too, but don't do it too hard or you can force more coolant out than air.

vintagelex

Ok, all done. Hoses are replaced and the system is bled. I left it on the ramps to bleed it, so that the front was raised up.

Some advice to anyone doing this in the future: Just pay the extra few dollars and buy OEM hoses, you will save yourself a lot of trouble. The lower hose from rockauto (AC-Delco) was completely incorrect. I called all the parts stores in the area, and one of them had a lower hose. Went there, got it, was the wrong one again (this time Goodyear). So I got the part number of the old lower hose, and they were able to order one, I picked it up today (this one fits perfectly). So for anyone looking for a lower radiator hose, you will need Goodyear 62095 if you're not buying OEM.