So a few days ago I got under the car to check it out. Hadn't done it yet. (Bought it a few months ago. Well i found a radiator leak. Its the lower driver side corner Where the plastic end cap meets the radiator. I have looked on sewell for a replacement and they dont sell it whole, at least I think. It does look like they sell the O-ring that seals the two. That looks like where my leak is coming from. Anybody ever deal with this? Or have advice on what I should do?

 

It's a very common defect, it happened on mine in the same spot. I bought a replacement Denso radiator from RockAuto for about $180. Denso is an OEM manufacturer for Toyota/Lexus, but it looks like these are built at a different plant (not Japan) . It was an exact fit, no issues, and looked high quality.

I personally feel buying a radiator through a Lexus dealer is a waste, especially since the original ones have such a high failure rate for this model. I'm not sure exactly why they fail in this area, but I wasn't going to pay nearly 3 times the price only to have it happen again.

I wouldn't even try to fix or patch the radiator. I have in the past used an epoxy to fix a radiator, and it did "work" but a quality replacement is just not that much money and it's not worth the risk in my opinion.

 

Leaky radiators are not uncommon on our GX. I'm going w/ the aluminum Koyo one when my stock one fails.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...-radiator.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...s-leaking.html

 

I also got a Denso from Rock Auto, it's been good since.

 

After I saw the sand in my overflow reservoir from the sand casting of the block, I am wondering if this doesn't accelerate cooling system problems.

 

The Honda Ridgeline & Pilot owners are going with Koyo when they replace, since the stock one still has the cause of their corrosion problem (Honda put a steel washer in the transmission cooler fitting. When it rusts, it pops the fitting out, allowing coolant & transmission fluid to mix).

Chip H.

 

Yeah, I am not going to put another OEM one in. I think I will go with the Denso. Good price. Also about time to do a coolant flush, about to hit 100k. Thanks for the advice.

 

I replaced mine with a Koyo, it was better built with thicker vanes than OEM