05RX330AWD

I purchased several parts from Rockauto.com, with the rate of exchange for the weak Canadian dollar & shipping to Canada, the price is $195. Cnd dollars. Still a great deal compared to $450., although I will compare pricing in Montreal first as it takes about 3 weeks for parts to arrive from Rockauto. I reside on a tiny island, here, everyone sets prices to the roof for special order items (example below: Rad w/ Towing including taxes $450.), even the Toyota dealer will take you for a ride. If there are more than 3 Lexus RX vehicles on the island, I would be shocked.

05RX330AWD

Just visited the Rad specialist, his expert advice was that it is a very small leak, nothing major can happen with that type of leak even with the A/C on....
monitor the coolant level every time I fill up for fuel. If I plan to use JB Weld, it will not do any harm, all the better if it does seal the leak.
As myself, he had a negative attitude towards Stop Leak products.
Of course he recommended to replace the radiator when I return from the trip & can afford to (he doesn't know I am not returning), his estimate was $800. including labor.

mdbrown

Now see, that advice would bother me. A very small leak like that isn't an issue in and of itself but to say that it cannot get bigger is patently false. It's leaking where it's leaking because that is the weakest point in the system. It might be that it is releasing enough pressure to keep the status quo but it may also begin to grow larger if that area continues to weaken. If you are very careful you can clamp that leak closed and use lead solder to seal it off, risky if you are not well practiced though as the whole radiator is held together with lead solder and if you get the radiator too hot it can compromise all those seals.

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

$800 CAD? i think it's around $300-$500 USD..

I tried JB Weld on my radiator before our repair.. couldn't get it to work.. but I am not a JB weld expert..

mylexbaby

Thought about and then looked at your photo again. Is the leak at the seam between the plastic side tank and the metal of the radiator? If so, it's not the same as a crack in just a plastic side tank (like in one of my cars in the past) or a crack in metal and it isn't clear to me how a patch would work. Maybe share your experience if you go that route.

The one leak in my RX near the bottom (and on the side under the radiator cap) was at the seam as well IIRC.

05RX330AWD

Leaks are always misleading, it's actually on the radiator itself, I will attempt to JB WaterWeld the small leak.
Mdbrown is correct, the technique he mentioned would be the best way to go although I am not interested in playing with matches.
However I disagree the leak will all of a sudden become a waterfall with 16 PSI pressure, when nothing has changed in 6 months & a Rad expert confirmed I should be fine as long as I monitor the coolant.
Radiators haven't changed that much over the years unlike engines, electronics & options, therefore if a Rad expert says my radiator is in excellent condition, too bad for the small leak, I'll take his word for it.

05RX330AWD

Move here, you will be broke in a hurry.
I reconstructed a plastic part with JB PlasticWeld on a expensive classic film camera I own since the part was impossible to find.
It was a small part, after 3 tries & sanding, it came out perfect & stronger than the original.
If the area is cleaned properly & sanded (roughed up a little), it bonds well.Just do not get any in your hair.

05RX330AWD

Update, put a thin layer of JB WaterWeld on the affected area for the leak after cleaning the area properly with a toothbrush & some degreaser cleaner, let the JB Weld set for 4 hrs...
had to take a short drive, then the JB Weld set for another 14 hrs.
Just took a longer drive to get the temperature up to normal running temperature for a longer period of time....
No more leak, however I will continue to monitor & post the progress.

numbafree

how much did the JB weld cost ya? glad it worked out.

btw, the radiator for the 996 is $1k, I would have installed it myself. but it takes 6 gallons or coolant and is a ***** to burp (minimum 3, 20 minute drives to properly burp the system).

05RX330AWD

Everything is more expensive here , $16.00 for the JB WaterWeld...
at least it was $$ well spent.
Yesterday, drove an hour & a half highway with the A/C on, no leak.
When I first purchased the vehicle the previous owner ignored the fact the radiator was leaking slightly, the temperature gauge was jumping all over the place due to air in the system.
I had to add about 1 1/2 gallons of coolant, about 20 minutes in the freezing cold to burp the system.
That was 6 months ago, since then, I must of periodically added a total of about 2 quarts of coolant until I figured better try to fix it for the road trip.