well my trusty 99 TH Magna Solara Wagon has just had her first radiator replacement at 350,670kms!!!! :D

Is that a good thing?
Didn't realize they needed changing

Is that a good thing?
Didn't realize they needed changing
Regardless of what coolant you use, they're subject to internal corrosion, which will eventually lead to leaks, plus scale etc. can build up over time, ultimately leading to blockages. A blockage here, a leak there and voila! engine overheats.

350k is fantastic! My Ralliart's needed changing at 100k so that goes to show how important maintenance/coolant changes are. A lot of radiators will crack the plastic tanks due to age and heat. The original Magna ones must have been good quality.

I was told last time I went to change my radiator that I had the most unusual crack, instead of being on the bottom plastic tank, it was on the top, and I couldn't understand a crack that was about 6 centimeters long but barely leaked

same as mine khn47, it was about a 4 cm hair line crack at the top of the plastic just below the radiator cap coolant seeped out in very minimal amounts quite surprised that a radiator would last 350,000kms let alone nearly 14 years!!

Pretty sure cracking along the top is fairly common, mine has started to but will take a long time to get bad

Pretty sure cracking along the top is fairly common, mine has started to but will take a long time to get bad

Seeing as the hottest coolant enters at the top, that area of the radiator sees the most expansion/contraction, its easy to see why it suffers the most fatigue. Pretty sure radiators are designed this way as cooler fluids sink to the bottom, assisting, not fighting ( however marginally ) the water pump, effiency being the goal there I presume..