dco5000

I hope this post helps you DIYers out there, as so many of your posts have helped me (on all of my cars, not just my RX330).

Bottom line up front: For me, I could not safely access the rear engine block drain plug. I drained the radiator and front engine block drain plug. See pics of drain plugs.

I have a Haynes manual, but it was much less helpful than the RX300 DIY with PICs posted under 1st Gen RX. Keep in mind drain plugs are VERY different on my 04 RX330AWD from those on the RX300 DIYs. Props to the 1st Gen folks!

Opening only 2 of the 3 'orifices' yielded a mere 4 and 1/3 quarts of Toyota red. My RX was on ramps so the rear plug had the most fluid sitting on it, no doubt in my mind about that.

My plan to correct my shortcoming? Keep searching for a way to safely access the rear plug and in 45,000 or 60,000 mi (3 or 4 years) try to open the rear plug first, then the other two more easy to access. Perhaps if I remove the right front tire? Anyways have a couple years to try to figure it out.

For you perfectionists out there, my Toyota red looked very clean coming out. I agree less than 9 quarts is not perfect, but it is reality, this time.

On my 04 RX330, the radiator drain plug butterfly valve was easy to turn by hand and I used a tube a from the drain plug nipple (which was hard to access from within the frame or metal part in which it resides) to a drain pan at first, but then just ran it into my waste bottle. This drain as a trickle, give it a good 30 minutes to drain completely. Yes I had the radiator cap off so air could enter the system. (I did not remove the thermostat or have the ignition in the ON position)

The front engine drain plug was awkward to get to, but fairly accessible with a small ratchet wrench with a 10mm socket attached. Ensure your engine and exhaust pipes are cool, cold; else, you will get 2d degree burns on your hand and arm while trying to access the engine block drain. My burn was minimal and a good lesson learned. Please learn from my blisters.

I was surprised that it took a good 30-40 lbs force to open, but once it was cracked open, it immediately started draining. I rehearsed putting a tube on the drain after opening the valve, and a good thing I did. The engine block drain also drained continually for 30 minutes, yielding an estimated 1/2 gal. Without a tube, the coolant would have gone everywhere as it drains over the block, the exhaust, the suspension and frame, a real mess - make sure you've got your tube ready.

Rear engine block drain plug. On my 04 RX330 AWD, this is inaccessible. It is covered by the front axle and metal support braces of the suspension. I could not get either a ratchet or open end 10mm wrench on it, period. The angle did not allow me to get a 90 degree socket onto it, and there was no way I could apply any force to turn the valve, even if I could get a socket onto it. I don't give up easily, but I could not figure out a smart way to get to the valve. See pics of location. Even taking a pic of the bolt/valve on my AWD was very difficult.

Filling: Know how much fluid you removed, before you start to refill. (if you flushed, and have no idea how much fluid you will be able to put in, pay careful attention to your coolant to distilled water mixture, because refilling my RX was way too difficult compared to others car I have.) I have the Haynes RX300/Highlander/RX330 (04-06) manual. I tried to follow it to fill the radiator. Duh! This was a pain in the but*! I put a funnel into the radiator opening and started to pour in the coolant.

It immediately over flowed. This car does not vent at all. Refilling the coolant is extremely painful. The upper radiator hose on my 04 RX330 is on the extreme passenger side and under the right engine cover (which I hadn't removed). You have to squeeze the radiator hose to burp air, then add 3-4 oz (yes ounces) of coolant (or water depending on which you're adding at the time), then burp, then fluid, etc. Be patient, be comfortable, because this takes 15 or more minutes. If I did this wrong, please make a post so I know better for next time. However this was the procedure listed in the Haynes.

Once you've put in the same amount of fluid that you removed or the hose burping stops dropping the fluid level to where you can add more fluid, you can turn On the vehicle with the heater set on Full Hot. That moves fluid and once the engine heat up opens the thermostat, which could refill the fluid in the block (but I think the burping of the hose did this). Watch your temp gauge and ensure it doesn't peg hot if air gets trapped in the block and no fluid is getting circulated. Probably won't happen, but keep an eye on the temp gauge.

Wait for the car to completely cool down, open the radiator cap and spend another 10-15 minutes burping the radiator hose and adding the correct combo of coolant and (distilled) water until it will hold no more (the burp just causes the fluid to spill out of the radiator. (btw: From what I can tell my RX never used the coolant reservoir to compensate for being underfilled. Why I don't know, but the fluid color and level in the reservoir has not changed in the past 500 miles since I've changed the coolant. Welcome your thoughts on this.) And my RX330 is in great shape, a complement to Toyota (not me), so it is not that my RX is anomaly. I am sure it is the norm for a vehicle with 113k mi and 7 yo.

Post Analysis: Your ratio of coolant to water gets skewed when you can only replace a fraction of the total. My opinion here. If you pay somebody other than Lexus or Toyota to change your fluid, they will likely only change about 4-5 quarts. Maybe a Toyota expert independent mechanic can get to the back side engine drain, but it has to be someone who sees these RX330 AWDs a lot. The average shop, and chain shops, will at most flush the radiator (ignoring the engine block and definitely the back plug) once or twice and put in 4 quarts of 50/50 mix. Just keep that in mind, if you think you can pay someone ~$70 to change it for you, when the dealer wants ~$150 or more.

If you flush the system, I wonder what your coolant mixture will be, especially if you can't get to the back drain plug. Anyways, the RX330 are incredible cars and probably won't overheat if you never change the fluid, used tap water, or the water from last night's spaghetti noodles. While I hope my post helps others doing the coolant flush/exchange for the first time, I also hope you will give me your tips/tricks so I can do a more complete exchange, more quickly and safely next time.

Read further in the post where tomit explains how he got to the back drain plug!

Best of Luck!

mandyfig

Just a question, why did you not use the Toyota Long Life Coolant?

dco5000

Shortest answer: Cost more, 2x the price. $20/g vs. $10/g Prestone @ Walmart.

Longer answer: Scientifically (by the specs) I couldn't find a difference. The Toyota is not better than the Prestone to justify a higher price. Coolant should be changed (every 3 to 5 years) and the Prestone is very solid for that time period; if it had been a permanent or 10 yr/100k mi flush (like trans fluid, timing belt or spark plugs) I would have spent the extra $10 (or $20 had I successfully flushed 8+ quarts in lieu of the 4 quarts I was able to get). I tend to often root for the underdog, and have a hard time swallowing the company line "just becuz," which is probably why I try to DIY if I can (and there are times I can not, i.e. timing belt and rear drain plug)

lexus114

my warranty on the radiator probably would have been denied if their was any other coolant in there besides the Toyota coolant. Which is excellent coolant btw. But kudos on the great post/pic`s !

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

It's $12/gal at Lexus of Pembroke Pines (that's where I buy my parts), without the shipping and handling charges. But usually you can balance the shipping charge by buying more.

I heard Prestone can cause problems inside the cooling system, apparently it's the same stuff that destroyed GM's cars.

dco5000

No doubt you have to be comfortable using any product you use. I would be curious about chemically what in the Prestone (or missing from the Prestone) causes problems.

mandyfig

There are liquids that are specified by carmakers to be "USE ONLY..." This is one of them from Toyota and Lexus, the coolant and the tranny fluid. Based on their research and experience.

Acura and Honda are also the same, they specify for their Coolant and Tranny fluid.

A lot of us here follow the carmakers based on their advise. And have good results.

Good luck with your Prestone coolant. You might be ok. But you will be questioned if you ever bring it in to the dealer.

tomit

Accessed the rear bank coolant drain on my wife's '06 AWD about 4 months ago - what a PITA!. IIRC I had to come through the wheel well and temporarily remove some kind of bracket. I refilled with Toyota Red (not pink) fluid mixed with distilled water. I prefer to drain and fill (no flushing) every 2 years. Previous '95 Avalon had clean water pump passages at 182,000 miles, so the 2 year drain and fill worked for me. To each his/her own.

Tom

dco5000

In the attached pic, is this the bracket you removed? Was your bracket different? How many bolts were there to get it off and then how direct was the access to the plug?

TIA

dco5000

mandyfig has a lot of great posts throughout the board, so I figured I'd call local Lexus and Toyota and pose the question. To be frank, the dealer service does make it sound pretty scary to use anything but Toyota coolant. They say that the other brands do not invalidate warranties, but they tell you other brands could shorten the life of your water pump or are not silicase-free and the Toyota coolant is.

Quite frankly in hindsight, and going forward, I'd pay the extra few $$$, and go Toyota Red, just to know that the coolant wouldn't be a factor in my wp making it another 100k mi.

Again, HTH helps other DIYs as you move forward.

powersj

Just a thought, my wife's 2000 RX300 water pump changed at 100k mile timing belt change, then her 2007 RX350 had the water pump go at 105k miles, my 1999 General Motors Chevrolet Silverado went 145k miles when I got rid of it no water pump failure, my current 2005 General Motors Chevrolet Silverado with 120k still on original water pump, maybe General Motors uses a better quality longer lasting water pump to overcome the inferior coolant. Now if only GM could use suspension parts as good as Toyota/Lexus I'd only have to replace brakes and tires.

jimmylee

Hey, that radiator drain plug is so tight on mine that it will not loosen. In fact, the sides of the plastic wing nut have broken off as I used as wrench to attempt to loosen it with no success. Why would they not use a better plug like they do on the oil and tranny fluid? Just awful. Also - you DO NOT have to use Toyota coolant to maintain your warranty. Anyone who tells you that has not read the manual, and is just plain wromg.

LexusLoyal

Very useful, thanks

salimshah

Whenever one creates extra leverage, there is an increased chance of something going wrong.. in your case the wrench instead of fingers snapped the ears off. Plastic plugs are used so that they do not corrode or electrobond. Crud can still cause them to bind and the temperature and time makes them brittle. So when you replace it, dont reach out for the metal ones.

Do the research on which anti-freeze to use. Personally I would only use Toyota/Lexus coolant. With this coolant in the system, your water pump would most likely last you more than 180K miles.



Salim

mandyfig

Ditto, agree with salimshah. A bit more in $ but peace of mind included.