2006 V6 Leaking Radiator Driver Side

[ArthrusRunner]

While having some work done at the dealer they found that my radiator was leaking on the driver side, near the transmission coolant hoses. The truck has 120k miles so it seems a little early, but hard to see what the cause is until I pull it out.

Their quote came in at $783, just to replace the radiator. I think I'm going to take this on myself, but I have a few questions.

Anyone have a recommendation for a replacement radiator? I was leaning towards the Koyo from Amazon.

I was planning to replace with Toyota coolant, is there any better alternative?

Since I have to drain the coolant system I am also going to replace the thermostat and hoses. I usually buy the Toyota hoses because they fit well, but I've also heard just standard Gates hoses will work. Any experience or thoughts here?

 

[05Rrunner]

And this is in the fifth GEN section because?

 

[philsey]

[MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION]

 

[Brian3676]

While having some work done at the dealer they found that my radiator was leaking on the driver side, near the transmission coolant hoses. The truck has 120k miles so it seems a little early, but hard to see what the cause is until I pull it out.

Their quote came in at $783, just to replace the radiator. I think I'm going to take this on myself, but I have a few questions.

Anyone have a recommendation for a replacement radiator? I was leaning towards the Koyo from Amazon.

I was planning to replace with Toyota coolant, is there any better alternative?

Since I have to drain the coolant system I am also going to replace the thermostat and hoses. I usually buy the Toyota hoses because they fit well, but I've also heard just standard Gates hoses will work. Any experience or thoughts here?

Mine went out at 90K in my 08 :-( I used a Denso off Amazon, I think it was $165 shipped. Worked and fit great. I also used Toyota coolant. All said and done it was under $200 and maybe 30 minutes of my time.

 

[1engineer]

moved to proper location.

-mod-

 

[wadle5]

Agreed mine had a pinhole leak. Bought aftermarket part, used OEM coolant. . .definitley NOT even $500 for this to do it yourself. Could probably even pay a small shop to do it and it would maybe be $400?

 

[SSt4r]

Toyota coolant or the Zerex Asian is comparable (I used it).

 

[Hyaline]

Got mine from amazon prime about 100 bucks. Used Asian Zerex and came out to less than 200 buck to do 2 drain fills. But if its leaking buy the trans coolant lines check your trans fluid and make sure that isnt low at all. If it is it could be your cooler lines that are rusted and leaking.

 

[ArthrusRunner]

Sorry, I was reading a section in the 5th gen and mis-posted this. My bad.

Thanks for the help getting fixed!

 

[ArthrusRunner]

Got mine from amazon prime about 100 bucks. Used Asian Zerex and came out to less than 200 buck to do 2 drain fills. But if its leaking buy the trans coolant lines check your trans fluid and make sure that isnt low at all. If it is it could be your cooler lines that are rusted and leaking.

Good thought on the ATF level. I had some other work done at the dealer and they checked the level said it was ok. Hopefully the lines are ok. I'm planning to work on this over the weekend, I'll know for sure then.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

There isn't a "better" alternative than the factory Toyota SLLC, but if you need to use an alternative Zerex Asian is acceptable.

Koyo makes pretty good stuff, so I wouldn't be afraid to replace the radiator with it (I forget who makes the factory one, Denso maybe?) I'd try to get a factory thermostat with gasket if you could just to be safe, but any quality brand should be good.

Don't forget to check the ATF fluid level when you're done; you probably won't lose too much, but it's better safe than sorry to snag up a bottle of WS ATF also in case it needs to be topped off.

 

[ArthrusRunner]

Project wrap-up

I swapped out the radiator this weekend. This is radiator installed, but before I reconnected the hoses.

I went with the Koyo radiator and the Toyota OEM coolant. The Koyo was a good fit. My only gripe is that they have a warning on the side of the box about checking the torque on the transmission coolant fittings. I missed this warning when I unpacked the radiator and only found it after I had everything re-connected. Otherwise, it fit well and seems to be holding pressure. I bought the radiator from Amazon for $207.06 (including tax) and the coolant set me back about $45 for 2 gallons worth. So total was roughly $250, much better than the $783 quoted by the dealer. I'm kind of slow at this work so it took me about 2 hours total. But it is pretty easy work on the V6, lots of room between the engine and radiator.

I went with the factory Toyota thermostat that included the new o-ring gasket. That set me back $45. It was about the same price as those I found on Amazon, so not too bad.

Since I had everything apart I also replaced the drivebelt and all the coolant hoses. There's 11 hoses on the truck so I went with Toyota OEM hoses. That set me back another $238. But I got 120k and 10 years out of the set the truck came with so I'm hoping these will last a long time too.

Thanks for all the notes and responses to my question. It really helped to hear that others had done this and to see what else I might need to check as I was planning and doing the work.

 

[radlynx]

you don't really have to replace the hoses, just bring a duct tape. in my case, I did not replace the hoses. I always keep an eye on it though for cracking.

I swapped out the radiator this weekend. This is radiator installed, but before I reconnected the hoses.

I went with the Koyo radiator and the Toyota OEM coolant. The Koyo was a good fit. My only gripe is that they have a warning on the side of the box about checking the torque on the transmission coolant fittings. I missed this warning when I unpacked the radiator and only found it after I had everything re-connected. Otherwise, it fit well and seems to be holding pressure. I bought the radiator from Amazon for $207.06 (including tax) and the coolant set me back about $45 for 2 gallons worth. So total was roughly $250, much better than the $783 quoted by the dealer. I'm kind of slow at this work so it took me about 2 hours total. But it is pretty easy work on the V6, lots of room between the engine and radiator.

I went with the factory Toyota thermostat that included the new o-ring gasket. That set me back $45. It was about the same price as those I found on Amazon, so not too bad.

Since I had everything apart I also replaced the drivebelt and all the coolant hoses. There's 11 hoses on the truck so I went with Toyota OEM hoses. That set me back another $238. But I got 120k and 10 years out of the set the truck came with so I'm hoping these will last a long time too.

Thanks for all the notes and responses to my question. It really helped to hear that others had done this and to see what else I might need to check as I was planning and doing the work.