sub786

Hello folks and Happy Friday. I want to share my experience with replacing the radiator for my 2010 Lexus es350. Hope this helps others.
One morning on a regular weekly engine check for fluid levels, I noticed dried coolant spray marks on the front of the engine, and the fan was also covered with dried pink coolant marks. The reservoir was empty. I opened the radiator cap and was not able to see the fluid level. I added fluid to see how much was missing. I was able to top it with half a glass of coolant. I found the spot where the fluid was leaking. It was just below the radiator cap where plastic and metal meet. The good thing was the engine never overheated as it still had 90% coolant. I did some research and ordered the radiator from Denso. I followed the YouTube video on how to replace it. Some links and snapshots are below.
Note the radiator has two options one with a tow and the other without a tow. I read some comments on Amazon they say both are a good fit. Mine was with tow. I am a DIY person for me it turned out to be a straightforward replacement. Also, note while replacing the radiator you will lose transmission fluid which is in the radiator. So top it off from the driver-side fill port, and drain the excess when the vehicle temp reaches 104 to 110. I used a harbor freight temp gun and pointed to the transmission pan to read the temperature. It took me around 5 hours to complete.
During this process, you can also change the rubber housing if you want. Mine were in good condition. They are easy to change anyway if you want to do it later.

Key points/summary:
1) Drain coolant
2) Remove battery
3) Remove plastic air ducts and top metal radiator rack portion ( it has hood lock you do not need to remove the hood lock only the metal partition ) see the video
4) Remove the connectors and fan wires snap clips. You might break some but they can still be reused or you can use zip ties
5) Disconnect coolant hoses to and from the radiator. I coverd the open end with zip bags and wrap the electrical tape around it so that I do not drop accidentally any dirt. Also when you disconnect the transmission lines you will spill some fluid so be ready to catch in the catch pan for coolant as well as for oil. Also, put the electrical tape around the open end so that no dirt goes in while you do your work, and secure it in place close to the engine so that you have enough space in front
6) Remove the fan assembly which is held by clips on the top. They are easy to remove just squeeze them and pull them out ( you might need to little jiggle to move them out)
7) Condensor is held by 4 screws so you need to remove those see the video.
8) Now you can remove the radiator. Note it has 4 rubber pads, 2 on top and 2 at bottom. You can reuse it if you do not have new ones. I reused them. Also, you can reuse the radiator cap. The new radiator does not come with the cap. You can buy a new one if the old one is bad
9) Replace in reverse order.
10) Fill the coolant bleed and fill the reservoir ( You will need a total of 2 jugs of 50/50 pink coolant unless you want to completely drain from the engine block then 3. I recently flushed it few months back so I just need to fill the radiator and bleed)
11) Top off the transmission fluid.

Keep an eye on the coolant level for the next few days ( multiple times after every drive) for any leaks. And make it a habit to check all fluids once or twice a week, especially with old vehicles. In my case, there was no coolant spill on the floor as the coolant evaporated while the engine was hot so you can miss it. Checking frequently engine and fluid levels will avoid any catastrophic and costly issues.

Hope this helps



How to replace radiator:
Coolant and air bleeding:

sthpawil

I just replaced my radiator yesterday with an OEM radiator from Grieco Toyota Parts Online.
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Along with draining the radiator, I drained the engine block. It took about 1.9 gallons of Toyota pink coolant to re-fill the system. I had purchased 3 gallons just in case, but I only needed two jugs.

You don't need to remove the horns from the cross brace. Just disconnect their wiring plugs.

I didn't remove my battery nor air cleaner box. I simply used a strap to pull the air intake back out of the way.

AAA batteries fit perfectly into the ends of the two transmission fluid cooling lines. Get them in it quickly and you'll lose minimal trans fluid.
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The drain **** for the engine block is on the backside of the engine block up along the exhaust piping. Use a 5/16 ID x 2 foot long piece of clear vinyl tubing to easily drain the coolant to a bucket. Takes a 10mm socket.

"Car Care Nuts" video on bleeding the coolant system was excellent. I heated up the end of 1/4" ID vinyl tubing to get it over the drain **** on the top of the engine (straight back from the oil fill cap). Takes a 10mm socket.

sub786

Status update: Almost a month since I replaced mine with Denso. No issues so far. No leaks. I placed two marks on the reservoir with Sharpie ( Cold and Hot levels) to monitor.