ambrown307

Good Evening,

I had my LS at the dealer this morning getting the fuel regulator recall and they noticed that my radiator had a very small leak at the nipple where the overflow hose is connected. From what I've read, this is a very common issue that I probably caused by leaning on the fitting at some point while working on the car.

I'm no stranger to DIY and am willing to take this on. I'm looking at replacements online and I see two brass fittings at the bottom. Are those for transmission cooler lines? If so, wouldn't replacing the radiator cause the loss of some transmission fluid? Any guidance from those who have replaced the radiator would be much appreciated.

Aaron

roadfrog

I replaced mine myself with an Ebay unit which I paid about 60 bucks for. It's an easy DIY. Those two brass fittings are oil cooling lines. I did not lose any fluid during the change other than a little weeping. I wrapped them in a sandwich bag to prevent any minor dripping.

greg3852

Why not take it back to the dealer and make them pay for it?

roadfrog

I assumed the OP has no warranty. Thiough I would imagine that a warranty wouldn't cover the damage, since in this case (as was the case with me), it was caused by human error. Or more specifically in my case.....stupidity.

greg3852

Says he picked it up this morning after doing the fuel recall and they noticed the leak. When did they notice it? After working on it and breaking it? Or as soon as it was brought in. That would be my questions. Especially if the OP isn't a DIY'er and doesn't open the hood.

ambrown307

Thanks Roadfrog! I was really hoping you would chime in. I'm glad it's just an oil cooler - I was worried it was a transmission cooler as I know these trannys are finicky about their fluid level.

ambrown307

Because they did not break it. Coolant was crusted up around the fitting when they showed it to me - pretty clear there had been a slow leak for a while. I'm the only one who has worked on the car since the warranty ran out last year (130,000 miles on car now). I've recently replaced air filters and spark plugs, so I'm sure I leaned on it at some point.

greg3852

Gotcha, just making sure. Didn't want to see you go through all that if someone else was responsible. Good luck with the fix!

roadfrog

Yeah, that overflow tank fitting is a constant source of headache for DIY'ers here at CL. Even when armed with the information to watch out for it when working around the engine bay, many still manage to break it.....as did I. It's THAT delicate. I wouldn't be surprised if I break it again in a future servicing. LOL. Fortunately, it's not a difficult job, nor expensive.

Doublebase

Actually I think he's saying that's a transmission cooler, I could be wrong, but usually the tranny cooler is in the radiator.

As for the transmission itself, I'm actually seeing them for sale on eBay for around $1,400 bucks...and they're low mileage units. That's an insanely good price for a transmission like this, Honda Accord transmission with 120k miles sell for more. I'm shocked, totally shocked. Then again I don't ever hear of these trannies failing, so perhaps the demand drives the prices down.

roadfrog

Nope.....oil lines. Inlet on the passenger's side and outlet on the driver's side. As I recall, the transmission has it's own cooler.

Doublebase

Ok good to know.

ambrown307

Thanks everyone for all the insight. I ended up ordering a Denso radiator & Gates upper and lower hoses from RockAuto for $180 shipped. I'll have to stop by a Toyota dealer at some point to get coolant at some point.

roadfrog

Let us know how you make out!

PabloBontt

Hi guys!
I also accidentally broke the line that goes to the reservoir, Now shopping for radiators. Any suggestions? I see cheap ones on ebay, but it looks too cheap to be true..quality..