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I have a 2001 Lexus Ls430. 172,000 miles. The radiator blew and I had what was a convenience at the time, Fly by night garage replace it. The problem is when I drive for a long period of time the temperature gauge goes up to the first line above normal. It will also go up to the last line before the red over heat indicator. At times it would come back down but today I had to turn the air conditioner off in order for it to not over heat until I got home. The Air Conditioner started blowing warm air when the indicator got to the last line before the red line. I have had the car 7 years and never had any problems until I had the radiator replaced. Do you think an under sized Radiator was installed or do I have a thermostat problem. Note the coolant is at the full level.
Country: United StatesMake: LexusModel: LS430Year: 2001Engine: 4.3 VVTi Already Tried: I had the local Mechanic that has done work for me before check it. The only thing at the time he found was a loose clamp and bad radiator cap. He fixed that and drove it for 15 minutes with a meter on it and he said he registered 217 degrees and seemed ok. Note local short trips it seems ok except I notice the gauges moving more that they did before.
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Do You know what kind of radiator they put in this vehicle? Did they give you a name brand or part number? When the radiator originally blew how hot did you get it? Did it get into the red zone for an extended period of time and did it stop running because it was hot?
No I did not know what kind of radiator they installed. I relied on them. No they did not give me a part number. I looked on the black casing on top of the radiator and see PA66+GF30.
It would be extremely unlikely that they installed the wrong radiator however some areas do have cheaper radiators with less tubes in them. It's possible that the thermostat could've gotten damaged when it overheated. Did they replaced the thermostat? When an engine overheats there's always a risk of the head gasket leaking or blowing out. It could be very minor and this could be causing some of your overheating at this point. The only way to rule this out is to remove the thermostat and run the engine with just the gasket in place to seal the housing and see if the vehicle continues to overheat. If it continues to overheat with no thermostat then you know you have an issue with circulation i.e. possibly the water pump being damaged or the head gasket leaking. With no thermostat in the vehicle it should run stone cold just barely off the cold Mark. It is important to make sure that both cooling fans are coming on. Perhaps they left one of the plugs disconnected or the plug to the controlling ECU for the fans.
Experience: Lexus Expert
No they did not replace the thermostat. He did mention that one of the cooling fans was unplugged and he plugged it back in. I checked those today and both were running. I assume I should take it back to the Shop that I had work done before. I live in Southport NC and the closest Lexus dealer is in Raleigh 150 miles away. About the head gasket. I do notice something at times on the guard just below the radiator. Could that be coming from the head gasket?
Not sure what you mean by the guard just below the radiator. Do you have a picture? Any Toyota dealer can look at this, it is still A Toyota for most parts. The installer of the radiator should take another look too if you trust there work and judgment.
I guess that is a splash pan. Sorry don't know all the terminologies. It is right below the radiator.
If you are noticing antifreeze on the splash pan it's possible that something could be leaking from the radiator if that's what you're referring to. If the splash shield is not installed correctly that can cause some of the air to be bypassing around the radiator but typically is not enough to cause any kind over heating problem. These are all issues that the repair shop should investigate and recheck their work prior to taking it someplace else for a second opinion like the dealership.