The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

500SEC · Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:56 Post subject: Radiator leak

Looks like I could be due for a new radiator. A leak appeared visible yesterday, and I have found it necessary to refill the expansion tank several times over the last few weeks. The temp guage has not risen abnornally.

A new radiator from toyota costs £362. From Milners it's 268 delivered (inc VAT). Does anybody know if any other sources, or able to vouch for the quality of the Milner product ?

I am guessing it's an easy self-install job. Toyota wanted to charge three hours @ £106 - I laughed at them.
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Frederick (London SW15)

1986 Mercedes 500SEC
1996 TLC 4.2 GS TD
2006 Ford Falcon ute

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Towpack · Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2005 17:32 Post subject:

Why not get it reconditioned?You can probably get it done for less than half the price of a new one.I've had it done twice on previous vehicles and they come back as good as new.
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Phil

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DaveN · ******* Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 1190 Location: Sweden

I had mine rebuilt, but after 3 goes it still leaked. In the end I just went to Toyota and got a new one. You get a 3 year warranty on it, and you know the auto-cooling lines that run in the bottom are in good condition and clean. If one of them corrodes, you write off the transmission.

It's a bit of a pig to get out as you need to remove the batteries (which screwed up my alarm ecu). After doing mine 3 times, I made a cutout in the battery boxes to save taking out the batteries, and also cut the fan shroud in half so it could just be lifted out.

Mine was about £550 incl vat, so maybe they've dropped their prices?

500SEC · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 0:59 Post subject:

New Milners radiator fitted. Job took 4-5 hours, mostly spent removing batteries, battery trays, fan shroud and fan. Removal of radiator fairly straightforward. Replacement item slipped in perfectly.

Also replaced Thermostat today. Engine was taking ages to get warm. Can confirm improvement (or not) over next few days. Replacing thermostat was made easier by removing the wide rubber hoses that lead to the air filter. Why so wide ?? I'm presuming they feed lots of air to the turbo. Looked oily on the inside. Rubber is looking aged. Tempted to replace these with new items. Replacement items from Toyota cost £100. What do people think?

What do I do with the old radiator (original Toyota unit) ? It needs reconditioning because it leaks. Is there any market value for it ?
_________________
Frederick (London SW15)

1986 Mercedes 500SEC
1996 TLC 4.2 GS TD
2006 Ford Falcon ute

DaveN · ******* Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 1190 Location: Sweden

After cutting the fan shroud on half, and making cutouts inthe battery boxes, I could do mine in about 15 minutes.

500SEC · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 23:53 Post subject:

i'll need to try harder next time.
_________________
Frederick (London SW15)

1986 Mercedes 500SEC
1996 TLC 4.2 GS TD
2006 Ford Falcon ute

DaveN · ******* Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 1190 Location: Sweden

Ha, all being well, you won't have to.

If I'd gone the sensible route and bought new, I wouldn't have had the practice.

Did you have any alarm problems? I had to spend another £60 on the ECU when I disconnected the batteries.

500SEC · Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2006 23:52 Post subject:

I removed the first battery, and sat it on the ground, then connected jump leads to it. Then I removed the second battery while power was supplied by the first battery.

So far the installation has been ok... no leaks detected yet.

I also replaced the thermostat because the TLC was taking ages to warm up. New thermostat has made no difference. My Merc is up to 40 degrees in minutes, the 80 in ten minutes. The TLC takes a good 20 minutes to get warmed up. Is this a diesel trait ?
_________________
Frederick (London SW15)

1986 Mercedes 500SEC
1996 TLC 4.2 GS TD
2006 Ford Falcon ute

DaveN · ******* Joined: 14 May 2005 Posts: 1190 Location: Sweden

I wished I'd done the battery trick, would have saved me a lot of hassle.

I think they're all slow to warm up, certainly mine is, and always has been.

I remember when my heater matrix broke, and I couldn't find a leak, so suspected the head gasket. I started it from cold, and stuck a block tester in the header tank. After 1/2 hour waiting for it to warm up on a fast tickover (using the hand throttle on the dash), I gave up as the needle had hardly moved. The climate control switches on after about 1.5 miles, but it's probably about 5/6 miles before the needle really starts moving.