tckcumming Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 Good evening, Did a search and can't find what I'm looking for... I'm about to replace the radiator in my '93 ES300. Local autoparts stores want about $200 - $250 for the new rad, Lexus/Toyota dealers want significantly more. My question is: Has anyone had any experience, good OR bad, with purchasing a radiator on eBay? Some of them are incredibly cheap ($60 - $80 USD). Awfully tempting. I know.. you usually get what you pay for, Toyota parts are better quality, I should use Lexus parts in my Lexus, etc. etc. Don't want to start a whole "aftermarket vs. dealer" debate! I'm just interested in hearing from anyone who has gone the "ebay rad" route. Any aftermarket brand-name recommendations would be appreciated, as well. tck...
cruznroadking Posted May 17, 2005 Posted May 17, 2005 I replaced the radiator on my ES250 with an aftermarket one that I bought from a local radiator shop almost a year ago & it's still holding up. If you go aftermarket be sure that the tank is made of metal. Some radiators including the factory ones use plastic tanks that crack. Hondas are known for this.
vcv10guy Posted May 19, 2005 Posted May 19, 2005 I can't comment on the ebay radiators, but I put an aftermarket radiator in my Camry (same exact engine as your '93 ES300, 3VZ-FE) that I purchased from a radiator shop for I think $120 or so, and so far no problems at all. I completely forgot the name of the brand though.
camlex Posted May 19, 2005 Posted May 19, 2005 Check it out here: http://racingradiator.net/product.asp
lexuseses Posted May 19, 2005 Posted May 19, 2005 Have you tried you local salvage yards? I had to replace my radiator a while back and picked one up at a local salvage yard for $60. It's metal and working great ever since.
tckcumming Posted May 21, 2005 Author Posted May 21, 2005 Why are you replacing your old one? ← Lots of corrosion - the fins are turning a greenish colour in spots, there are some areas that have no cooling fins, just the tubes. Corrosion is external - coolant is still clean and there are no leaks... yet! I figure it's just a matter of time before it lets go. I don't want to be stuck somewhere with an overheating Lexus, especially since the '93s like mine seem to be prone to problems if they overheat... tck
Air Force Rascal Posted May 21, 2005 Posted May 21, 2005 Why are you replacing your old one? ← Lots of corrosion - the fins are turning a greenish colour in spots, there are some areas that have no cooling fins, just the tubes. Corrosion is external - coolant is still clean and there are no leaks... yet! I figure it's just a matter of time before it lets go. I don't want to be stuck somewhere with an overheating Lexus, especially since the '93s like mine seem to be prone to problems if they overheat... tck ← I have ordered radiators from radiator.com with no problems and if I remember right they have all metal radiators too... Good Luck
tckcumming Posted May 21, 2005 Author Posted May 21, 2005 Have you tried you local salvage yards? I had to replace my radiator a while back and picked one up at a local salvage yard for $60. It's metal and working great ever since. ← Haven't tried salvage yards. Couldn't hurt to have a look, I guess. The trouble with buying parts at a salvage yard in this part of the world (Eastern Ontario, Canada) is that the part I get has surely been subjected to the same harsh weather conditions as the one in my car now. It probably has much the same problem as the one I'm replacing. Some things would be fine - engines, transmissions, suspension parts and the like. But things like rads, body panels, exhaust parts, etc. - not so much! They suffer too much in the salty (from road salt), damp conditions and extremes of temperature (-20C in winter, +30C in summer) that make up what we call our climate. tck...
tckcumming Posted May 21, 2005 Author Posted May 21, 2005 ← Check it out here: http://racingradiator.net/product.asp ← I have ordered radiators from radiator.com with no problems and if I remember right they have all metal radiators too... Good Luck ← -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the links. I'll check them out. I have to be careful of the shipping charges from US sites to Canada, tho... lots of added taxes, handling fees, customs fees (thank you, Canadian gov't!!) and the currency exchange rate too. It can all add up to turn an apparent bargain into an expensive excersise very easily. And yes, I am speaking from experience!! tck...
Parks2678 Posted May 28, 2005 Posted May 28, 2005 I just replaced the radiator on my '93 ES300. Go to: radiatorbarn.com. I paid $108 including shipping. I put it on myself in about 2 hrs. Not nearly as bad as I had feared.
tckcumming Posted May 29, 2005 Author Posted May 29, 2005 I just replaced the radiator on my '93 ES300. Go to: radiatorbarn.com. I paid $108 including shipping. I put it on myself in about 2 hrs. Not nearly as bad as I had feared. ← Thanks for the link. I checked it out... I like the free shipping! Quoted price was $111.00 US delivered to a US address. That's about $140 CDN. It's "all metal" too - better than OEM plastic tanks, I'm guessing. You say you installed it yourself... I'm planning on doing mine myself, too. It looks pretty straightforward. Any "issues" I need to know about? How was the fit of the new rad? tck...
Parks2678 Posted June 2, 2005 Posted June 2, 2005 I just replaced the radiator on my '93 ES300. Go to: radiatorbarn.com. I paid $108 including shipping. I put it on myself in about 2 hrs. Not nearly as bad as I had feared. ← Thanks for the link. I checked it out... I like the free shipping! Quoted price was $111.00 US delivered to a US address. That's about $140 CDN. It's "all metal" too - better than OEM plastic tanks, I'm guessing. You say you installed it yourself... I'm planning on doing mine myself, too. It looks pretty straightforward. Any "issues" I need to know about? How was the fit of the new rad? tck... ← The only issue I had was getting the hoses off of the old radiator. They had been there for 12-13 years and did not want to come off. There was some minor difficulty getting the radiator past the fan shroud. You will need two pairs of hands for that part. Other than that it was smooth sailing.
Toysrme Posted June 2, 2005 Posted June 2, 2005 I replaced mine from the Westwood part. It cost roughly $50-60 with the core returned.
tckcumming Posted June 2, 2005 Author Posted June 2, 2005 ← The only issue I had was getting the hoses off of the old radiator. They had been there for 12-13 years and did not want to come off. There was some minor difficulty getting the radiator past the fan shroud. You will need two pairs of hands for that part. Other than that it was smooth sailing. ← I'm thinking that I'll replace the hoses while I am at it... they still look like they're in great shape, no cracks or bulges or soft spots, but they ARE almost 13 years old! The top one is easy, Ill just cut it off & replace it. The lower one looks like a real b**ch to get at, the thermostat is at the engine end of that hose, too. I'll either change it all (lower rad hose and thermostat and clamps), or put the old lower hose back on and get a mechanic to do the dirty work - depending on how ambitious I feel that day! Thanks again for the input tck...
tckcumming Posted June 2, 2005 Author Posted June 2, 2005 I replaced mine from the Westwood part.It cost roughly $50-60 with the core returned. ← Is Westwood a brand name? I'm not familiar with it. The price is awesome, tho. Where did you get it? tck...
Toysrme Posted June 2, 2005 Posted June 2, 2005 At Westwood, it's a chain store down here. I remember napa being the highest, then tied with autozone was all the Part's America stores (O'riley's, and Advanced a few other chain names).
chrispiss Posted June 2, 2005 Posted June 2, 2005 I bought my radiator (replaced it probably 7 months ago) on ebay. I also bought a new radiator on ebay for my old civic which my little brother now drives, and that was almost 3 years ago and it still works great. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ssPageName=WDVW http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ssPageName=WDVW (might be wary of this one, dunno why it's so cheap) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ame=WDVW(bought the one in my ES from this guy) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...ssPageName=WDVW (bought the one in the civic from this guy)
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