1994 Ls 400 Coolant Reservoir Tank Help!

[Larry W]

The reservoir tank on my 1994 LS 400 has a crack by the neck and is losing coolant. I have been trying to avoid the dealer ($238) and buy one online. I have checked several sites and cannot seem to locate one. Does anyone have a site they can recommend so I can get my car back on the road? The local salvage yard has a "good" one for $100, but its also 18 years old. Any assistance would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

[jaswood]

Ebay or Craigslist..mine, $15, came from the latter.

[steve2006]

Search and you will find!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/93-LEXUS-LS400-COOLANT-RESERVOIR-/251016825011?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3a71c4c8b3&vxp=mtr

[lenore]

If you were create, you could take it out of car and then buy a fiberglass repair kit and do a little work and sanding and probably achieve a fix. Sorry we old navy guys had to learn to fix anything without parts at sea and it has paid me well over the years....I have saved a bundle. total cost would be around $10 for the kit at your favorite wally world....

[Larry W]

I cleaned it up and epoxied the neck and surrounding area that had cracked. Worked for about a week and it cracked again. I can't rely on a maybe fix. I just checked Craigslist and there are no LS400's available for parts. Thanks anyway. I thought some company must make this part other than Lexus. HELP!

[lenore]

Yea epoxy wont hold, that is why I use fiberglass cloth and resin to repair on plastics....it will definetely hold....The epoxy becomes too hard and wont stick well....Good luck

[jaswood]

Yea epoxy wont hold, that is why I use fiberglass cloth and resin to repair on plastics....it will definetely hold....The epoxy becomes too hard and wont stick well....Good luck

Sorry to say..but the fiberglas cloth and resin, 3M/NAPA, I tried would not adhere, long term, to the plastic surface of the reservior

[SRK]

For a used tank $100.00 is far too much, if the new part is $238.00, which is actually a very fair price. You've identified the used part may fail as well, in the same way, which is true. It's not a part that the aftermarket would normally supply, and if they did, it would not be as high quality as the Toyota/Lexus part anyways.

As to repairing, that's not an option, especially if you want reliability. Fiberglass cloth can be used with many different resins, polyester being the one used in boat building, and epoxy. Polyester is not an adhesive, and bonds best to itself, epoxy is an adhesive, but bonds only to certain materials. The tank is probably made from low density polyethylene or polypropylene, and neither will provide a bond to polyester or epoxy resin. Consider that the tank is pressurized and "bloats" up with every heating cycle, so a bond is difficult to achieve over time.

Buy a new tank, solve the problem, rest easy.

[lenore]

You can get a brand new one here: join Club Lexus and then sign in to this site and get the discounted price of $156

http://lexus.sewellparts.com/oem-catalog/1603MAC148-EngineAndFuel-LS400-1994.html

[Larry W]

I am a member of Club Lexus. Checking the site. Thanks.

[Larry W]

You can get a brand new one here: join Club Lexus and then sign in to this site and get the discounted price of $156

http://lexus.sewellp...LS400-1994.html

Just ordered the part from Sewell at the club discounted price of $156 saving $82 from the local dealer. Being a member has its advantages. This forum always has the right answers and thanks to everyone for your advice.

[lenore]

Your welcome....

[VBdenny]

I think Pic n Pull often has an older LS in and they'd probably got around $15 for one, maybe less. Of course JB Weld always works on everything