jditom

I am sure you can find a nice after market KOYORAD at the site listed above for your GS. No it is not common.

slvrpine03

I once owned a GS, the ball joints are prone to failure at around the age and mileage you have. These cars are very dependable, when they do go wrong, it is more expensive fix, but the gamble is worth it. You can't get better odds in vegas.

Most other cars on the road (if they are still on the road) with that mileage and age would require more frequent and expensive repairs.

Our 1998 GS only required regular service, the ball joints, tensioner, and the a/c compressor failed at 190k. Aside from the normal stuff these are the only things that failed. I am certain she is still on the road today.

I say, give her what she needs, she will thank you with many more trouble free miles. Head to your Toyota parts department and get an oem replacement, or an improved quality replacement, like the koyo mentioned here.

peafarmer

I am getting ready to replace my radiator on my 05 GX470. I bought this used a few months ago.

I was under there today, and most of my engine under-cover bolts are missing. Some of the bolts appear to go into the frame that holds the radiator. On mine, there is nothing left for the bolts to screw in to.

When I replace my radiator will I be able to restore the "nuts" underneath the radiator? I don't really know what is supposed to be there and want to have this ready to go when I replace the radiator.

FireGuy

While at the toyota dealer in the area doing my oil change tech showed me sides of radiators, (plastic), some seepage was observed. After kicking around the idea of a Lexus oem cost around 600-700 just for the radiator. I shopped it around and had prices ranging from 160.00 (auto zone/O'Reily's, ect ...to that 600-700 from Lexus. Turns out there are are also two different after market core sizes so be careful. The two sizes for the replacement radiator for this vehicle. If you get the smaller size of the two I was told by a parts guy at Lexus that I have done quite a bit of business and trust as well as my toyota guy I also trust both from years of knowing. as well you could experience overheating issues because of the number of cooling fins and core size. I settled for a Denso, part and install all for $475.00 after some serious negotiating being a long time customer. I am very pleased I went that route, didn't want to be cheap and have problems over a hundred bucks or two. Turns out also this issue is very common so I suggest you look at your radiator carefully if it has never been replaced. Best of luck to you all.

bldiddy

Hi, newbie here. I have followed the mostly excellent instructions on here to remove the rad on my gx470 2005. The advice to get the hose clamp pliers was invaluable. thanks.

My only problem at this point is everyone just says: "remove the 4 bolts on the radiator" but they never talk about how to get the bottom bolts off. My main problem is getting to the bolts from the front part - in other words, I can get a socket on the bolt head that rests against the bushing facing the engine but I have to also to put a wrench on the nut.

On the bottom bolts there seems to be a lot of "stuff" blocking it, including electrical wiring and a grill -- did you have to take all this off and if so how?

Or did two long socket extensions do the trick?

thanks,

B

Cheesy55

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...720&cc=1426069 this one is $160

OG Dada

iTrader: (10)

Quick question, I just replaced my radiator today. Very easy. But not sure what do you mean by open up heater valve? I turned the AC all the way to 85, but it was blowing cold air all throughout, and as soon as I drove the SUV the temp went up! Need help asap, thanks!

dkotanto

Looks like you have air pockets in the cooling system and it needs to be bled/burped properly:

1. jack the front end up as high as you can (this is the trick to get the air out as air bubbles will raise at the highest point)
2. open radiator cap
3. set air temp to heat
4. run the fan at lowest setting
5. start the truck
6. let it run till operating temp
7. while topping off the coolant
8. once it has been warmed up and ran a few mins after that
9. install cap
10. turn truck off
11. top of reservoir tank a little past full
12. lower front end up and let it cool down.

You can also use this Lisle funnel to make it easier:

OG Dada

iTrader: (10)

Yeah, it was just air in the system. Forgot to top it off. Didn't have time to trouble shoot a while ago cause I needed to pick up my daughter from school and was panicking. LOL

I just drove the coupé for a change.

NiftyNeud

quick tip.
I just finished changing the rad on my 04 gx470 and I agree that it is important to have the hose clamp tool. One trick though is to disconnect the lower radiator hose from the engine (rather than from the radiator) which is much easier to get to than on the radiator end. The rad will still be able to be removed with the lower hose connected only to the radiator. Then when installing the new radiator install the hose to the rad first before placing the radiator into the engine area. That saves your hands from getting that clamp on with very tight tolerance down low. Not to say this makes everything perfectly easy as the lower mounting bolts are a bit tough to get to but all in all a very doable job for someone with a bit of experience.

Also be careful as there is a rubber pack washer/bushing that can fall out of the mounting holes on the radiator that can come loose and fall out while you are pulling the radiator out of the engine area, they can be difficult to find (trust me). So take some care while pulling out the mounting bolts/nuts.

All in all it took me 3 hours to change out the radiator which is start to finish with new fluids and putting all the engine covers back on.
Mine had 226,000 km's, leaking on both sides of the radiator looks to be near the top.

NiftyNeud

although it was a bit of a pain in the ***, I was able to get a socket with extension in there between the bumper and the bolt head. You could peak in there with a flashlight through the grates on the lower part of the bumper. No need to remover anything at all. Granted it is a pain but keep with it and you'll get it.

nyoung

This video helped me to fix this myself and I saved a lot of money!

YouCrazy

Should I change the oem hose clamps when changing to radiator new hoses? Or Screw in clamps from homedepot?

chiph9

Ideally, you want to stay with the constant-tension style. Rock Auto sells the Gates ones - just tell them the diameter of the hose.

Chip H.

Lexus4321

Post #29 is it.
Do not use the worm drive clamps.
Is the question "can I reuse the oem clamps when replacing hoses?", answer is yes. I still have my 2006 oem clamps, and I have taken off the hoses many times.