$800 for that repair bill is why the dealer gets a bad rap and deservingly so. Jeez. I'd love to know what the cost was for the radiator itself.

 

Actually, the Dealer had a good rep on the internet from a slew of customers. If truth be told, I too would give the place high marks. The only downside was the higher price. Sometimes you pay for what you get, and what I got was all OEM Toyota Parts w/a good warranty honored at all Toyota Dealerships, from a quality Toyota mechanic that looked at EVERYTHING under my hood and took the time to explain it all in detail to me. Not saying I wouldn't have attempted the repair myself if I were not over 2,000 miles from home, but overall I can't complain.

BTW, the OEM Radiator was $216.00, Thermostat $27.42, OEM Cap $19.39, Lower OEM Hose $19.34, Upper Hose $24.02,etc., etc. Total Parts: $401.61 + Labor $418.56 = $820.17. I'm no mechanic by any means, but this is my 3rd 4Runner since 1986, and this all sounds about right for quality work & OEM parts.

 

The parts from the dealer were about 400 here in Sac as well but 400+ for labor sounds odd. The third time I swapped my rad it took me under and hour to drain and pull the old one and put the new one in and drive. Hoses are a joke to swap when the rad is already out and if you have a lift the thermostat isnt hard either. Sounds steep to me, the whole job set me back about 200 but I didnt have to replace hoses or the thermostat.

 

Most good repair shops charge around $100 per hour for Labor, so $400 for all the things done for my repair seem about right. I did not mention that there was a complete diagnostic performed. I have had my check engine light on for over a year, and found out the possible culprit may be a catalytic converter. I was told it may go out in 6 months or so. I plan to look into that problem later.

This all started with an intermittent overheating problem, especially on tough grades in the mountains. For over a week, I had been talking to various people and even my mechanic back home that stated that the problem sounded like something to do w/the radiator. My wife & I woke up early, and left our hotel room around 7:30am to get over to the Toyota Dealership for the repair. We had not gone down the road over a few miles when all hell broke loose. Steam began pouring out from under the hood, and I immediately knew I was loosing my fluids. Pulled over into a parking lot, mind you it was raining, popped open the hood and saw that the upper rad hose had come off and my engine was drenched in coolant. Across the street I noticed a Walgreens w/their lights on, but when I got there they were closed. Started walking around the building looking for a water spigot. None there. When I got around to the back there was this van parked w/lights on, and a guy rolls down his window asking me what's up. Turns out, he was waiting for the store to open to deliver some magazines, and out of kindness he offered to take me to a nearby Super Scooper. Bought a gallon of green and 2 gallons of distilled water. Got back to the vehicle, and with pliers put the hose back on, filled up the rad w/50/50 mixture (extra gal of water left over) and then cranked her right up. Fortunately, I was able to get to the Dealer ok after that episode.
I told the Service guy all that info, so they had to wash off all that coolant in my engine and compartment, and do a full flush on my engine too due to the Toy OEM red coolant does not mix well with the green.
Anyway, my point is that I strongly believe this mechanic went well above & beyond the call of duty in getting my 4Runner repaired completely & properly, and his 4 hours of Labor charged to me was well earned.

 

This is OT, but can somebody tell this old-school puter noob how to down-rez pics to put on my Avatar or add to the Forum. Thanks.

 

Hey jbud, how's that rad swap holding up? Did you do water pump & thermostat too? I just reread your original post and you stated that this was your 3rd rad swap. What gives w/these Toyo rads? My rad failure was the 2nd for me on this vehicle, and I couldn't believe it! On my 1995 4Runner, I put on over 378,000 miles on it before I sold it, and never had any rad problems. I think if this rad problem happens again and I'm at home rather than 2,000mi away on a trip, I may attempt this repair myself.

 

I am having problems with my cooling system. I have a 2000 v6 4Runner, 192,000mi. About a year ago it started drinking coolant really badly but I didn't notice any leaks, then it stopped all of a sudden. Didn't have any problems until this past May. Top radiator hose started leaking. I replaced it immediately and earlier this month the temp guage started to rise and the coolant started boiling in resevoir after being driven for an hour. After emptying the resevoir and refilling it with new coolant the problem went away for a few days. Now it occassionally heats up when Im drving but not overheating. If Im sitting in traffic the guage goes all the way to the red but no smoke comes from under the hood. If I cut the engine off for 10-15 minutes the temp goes down. If I use AC after cranking back up, the temp stays mid level as long as Im not sitting still in drive. Also, there is a squeaking that seemsto be coming from the rear wheels only when the car is in reverse. It doesn't do this everytime, maybe 4/5 times in reverse. This week it started leaking oil. Can't find where its leaking from. There is a loss in idle while sitting, and a hesitation while starting. Took it to my machinic thats been working on it for 10 years but he doesn't seem to know what any of the problems are. Are there any tips on what any of the problems might be and how much the repair bill could be? This was my first car at the age of 16 and Im not ready to get a new one.

 

I think my koyo will be here on monday.. yay

 

thanks for this, I used it today. Even though its really simple, its nice to have someone write it up so I can walk up, do it, without thinking.

 

thank for the great write up ! dropped a koyo 1998b in my '99 4rnr last nite. used your 'sharpie' trick-no drips,no runs,no errors....those grill clips however were the toughest part. RTV sealant will work just fine on the busted ones---

 

Yeah it was the third Rad because the first 2 were the crappy spectras from autozone. The koyos are the way to go. I only swapped my Rad and fluid, no hoses or tstat.

 

Lol those gd clips were by far the worst part. Glad the write up helped. Some one asked if mine was still holding and it is. Engine temp is totally stable and it hasn't leaked a drop.

 

Any reason you guys removed grill? Had no problems changing mine without removing grill. I guess it would be slightly easier?

 

that's what i thought at first but new rad came with mounting bracket attached and i couldnt reach lower mounts through grill...

 

Thanks for the writeup, the easiest part was the grill clips . The hardest part was the passenger side lower bolt bracket wow that was a pita to get at with that round cylinder thing that goes to the A/C condensor in the way . I had to leave that bolt out becuase the mounting brackets on my koyo 1998 didnt line up properly. I also noticed Corrosion around the fittings on my oem radiator, im at 120,000 miles before the change. So im happy i got it done in time.

 

good tip, thanks!

 

And, any good tips for the grille clips ?

I am thinking it is time to get off my dead azz and get this done.

Linky

Thanks !

Britt

 

If you buy from AAP, make sure you buy online and USE COUPON CODES then go pick up in the store.

For that radiator, use code "DOW16". It takes $40 off $100.

As to the grille clips, stop by the stealership and pick up a few extra. They're like 25 cents a piece. I have a tough time with the grille every time, and it's nice to have some extra clips on hand in case you break one.

EDIT: Actually, try to use code "TRT30". It's supposed to take 30% off $50 or more. Which should total a $41.39 discount.

 

$ 41.40 was the magic number - worked like a champ. Now, I just gotta pick this up, & get-r-dun.

Wanna make a road trip ?

Britt

 

I did not remove the grille - I decided it was easier to play contortionist for the bottom bolts. Totally doable !

The only bad part was after I had pulled the old radiator I discovered the new one had taken a hit while in the box (before I got it ! ) and the side frame and aluminum core were bent. So, I had to make a "road trip" to a different AAP as mine only had the 1 radiator. Got it swapped out and installed, and all seems to be well so far. The OP was dead on about those "ears" that the radiator hangs on the core support with, so there was no fighting with holding the radiator while trying to install bolts.

I actually used the hoses to help hold the new one in, too - simple enough.

Thanks for the pointers !!

Britt