Rx300 Hairline Crack On Radiator

[teuchter66]

My 2005 RX300 has been slow to heat up for the last few days, and yesterday I noticed steam coming from the radiator and the front bumper soaked in coolant.

When I got a good look at it today I added about 4 litres of water to the radiator and took the car for a run to heat it up.

On returning I found a hairline crack on the plastic to the left of the core at the front running downwards from an inch below the top of the rad with tiny bubbles coming from it. The crack is midway between the core and the foam cushioning and up to 4 inches long in total.

Leaving the car to heat up a bit more the bubble stream eventually turned to a jet of steam presumably as the water level dropped.

I topped up again with another 3 litres and repeated the exercise but this time the header tank remained full and the temperature / pressure did not get high enough to force anything out of the crack.

Never having any experience of plastic radiators before I was wondering if Radweld (or a raw egg) would help, or if it was likely that the rad is unrepairable and will eventually split from top to bottom.

I am getting a bit old to source and fit a cheap replacement, and I understand that Lexus would need around £700 to fit a OEM replacement.

Any thoughts??

John

[Duncan Roberts]

Out of curiosity I Googled this - there seem to be plenty of pieces about doing it. You might have a more detailed look at the subject and report but it would seem possible.

[Jaspersilus]

Hi John,

K Seal is regarded as pretty much the be all and end all of coolant system leak repair, I always carry a bottle in the boot, but have never used it. I do however know people that have used it to fix a cylinder head crack, have a read up on it, see what you think.

Option 2

if the above fails get it plastic welded

Option 3

get a new radiator, from £120 delivered, 2 yr warranty eBay uk and fit it thi sen as we say in

Rotherham!

I would go straight to option 3 personally

Option 4

Take it to Lexus £1 000 000 gone!

[jonthebarber]

Ditto , option 3 . If you do the other 2 you will end up with the 3rd option anyway .

Jon

[Tyrosman]

Strange, I am fairly sure my 2003 (2004 model) RX300 SE-L is fitted with a metal radiator, not plastic. I know that VW cars have plastic radiators which have a known failure problem.

My suggestion would be to find an independent radiator specialist if you do not want to DIY, they would be far less expensive than Lexus rip-off charges.

I would not recommend the Radwell route as it may cause heater matrix blockages.

Good luck.

[teuchter66]

Thanks to you all, guys

Managed to source a Koyo all-metal replacement locally, and got a friendly local mechanic to fit it for me.

Bleed valve changed position from original so had to drill a 20mm hole in the top bracket and improvise slightly to get it fitted snugly but all done for well under half the dealer's quote.

john

[Tyrosman]

Good for you John, that's exactly how I would have proceeded.

Barrie