cold heater,

LnMsjf · 11-29-06, 08:07 PM

My 60's heater is a little to cold for my tastes. It will blow warm, sometimes hot but I am skinny and love warm feet after a day of riding.
Recently driving over the mt rose hwy from reno I had decent heat, on the coast back down it got down right cold.
I have done some extensive searchin' and have come up with the following plan. All input and suggestions are welcomed. Thank you in advance.

I believe that the thermostat is Ok. It does heat up but the needle very rarely makes it past the .25 - .5 mark even in the summer. With the cold weather now it is definetly in the bottom .125 area.
This leads me too the gasket as I have read. I would like to just replace the whole thing for PM. I am thinking of the 190 t-stat.
Any reasons to stay with stock. I do frequent drives to the bay and reno areas in the summer I would like to stay out of trouble.

While I am in this area I would like to replace all the belts and hoses that I can along with a minor tune (plugs, filters, PCV, etc.)
Is there a way to check the condition of the water pump?
Should it also be replaced for pm?
What would the concensus be on hose clamps? Mine look a little "cheap"

I know I should have addressed this sooner but as always my cruiser seems to get bumped to the bottom of the list. We now have snow on the ground and the thought of a thorough flush and fluid replace which I also searched out does not appeal to me in the least. My local dealer (reno) will flush and replace with toy red fluid for $140.00. Seems reasonable to me considering the former?

My plan of attack.
-1. Replace t-stat and gaskets, (ensuring proper gasket placement) Check for corrosion and such of housings.
-2. Replace the rad hoses, upper, lower, and smaller in the vicinity
-3. Possible water pump replace
-4. Replace all belts
-5. tune up
-6. Flush coolant and replace
-7. Drive to Mountain, ski, take off boots, enjoy the warmth.

Should I have the coolant flushed and replaced before the work to avoid possibly gunking up the new parts? Would the dealer flush and related work negate this potential problem?

If all parts replacement done before hand I can do all work, fill with what is available (mystery as to what is in it now?), ensure proper workmanship, have flushed and be set for awhile.

I do have a haynes manual, Any reason to consult a FSM?
Id so does anyone have an electronic version as I have tried to get the FSM off the birfiald site with no success.

Thank you again, pray for snow.

brett76 · 11-29-06, 08:10 PM

sounds like a classic problem of not having the top oring seal on the thermostat so the water just blows by never getting hot enough really

LnMsjf · 11-29-06, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett76

sounds like a classic problem of not having the top oring seal on the thermostat so the water just blows by never getting hot enough really

Actually saw a couple of your previous posts while searchin and found them useful

Any ideas on how to check the waterpump?
What do you thinking of flushing, before or after?

bigbrown · 11-29-06, 10:17 PM

x2 on top o-ring gasket. auto part store computers seem to not show that you need it.

get a oem one from the dealer with both gaskets (30 bucks i think) . the top one just sits on top.

i had the same issue and it fixed it.

Cruzerman · 11-30-06, 09:07 AM

x3 on the o-ring gasket. My heater barely worked until I found the previous owner didn't put this in.

beatdown83fj60 · 12-01-06, 02:33 PM

x4 o-ring gasket. The po of my vehicle was a very "hackitogether" kind of guy and that fixed a lot of my heating problems. A coolant system flush will help a lot I've heard, but I've yet to do it. Maybe a new heater core (yuck) but I'm not doing that until it leaks. Also where my heater blows on my feet on the driver side, although I haven't looked at it too close, it has two very small ports which blow down on my feet so if possible I was going to cut another port into the plenum to be selfish and give myself a little more heat. I also wondered about blocking the hoses to the rear heater to keep the coolant a little warmer up in my area, as I rarely have passengers in the back and that heater doesn't seem to do a whole lot anyway. My truck needs a rediculous amount of love though due to the PO.

mtnfj · 12-01-06, 09:10 PM

I run a OEM 195 degree on my 60. I live at about 10,500 in Colorado with no problems. I admit it takes a while to heat the inside of the cab at 20 below, but with OEM thermo and gaskets I can't expect much more. Considering where you live, I think the same setup would work just fine

BruceW · 12-02-06, 12:44 AM

What are the O-rings that you are talking about? Are they involved with a thermostat replacement?

hodag · 12-02-06, 08:48 AM

I also wondered about blocking the hoses to the rear heater to keep the coolant a little warmer up in my area, as I rarely have passengers in the back and that heater doesn't seem to do a whole lot anyway.

I seems in my truck I probably get more heat from the rear heater than I do from the front.

You might try putting a piece of cardboard in front of the rad. I do this every year and it seems to help a little. Waiting yet to do it this year, it was 60 degrees here on Tues, then 22 on Wed. Ill wait till its consistently in the 30s.

Hodag

RHON · 12-02-06, 06:59 PM

I've got the same problem , but my gaskets are new and correct, My theory is that maybe since the radiator that was in it needed a " rod out ", and later I replaced it with a new one, that the same crud that was clogging my radiator is clogging my heater core and maybe the oil cooler also-- what do you guys think? Seems posible but would like a second opinion.

Nedshead · 12-02-06, 07:08 PM

It's possible - All my cruisers and friends cruisers have a had the heater replaced shortly after the Rad. Make sure your thermostat is working properly 1st cause it;s a major pain to replace that heater.

Every one I've removed has been clogged up pretty bad.

- BTW thermostat and both gaskets from Cruiser Dan - under $29 - go OEM IMHO

Heater core runs around $120 for non-OEM

LnMsjf · 12-03-06, 02:30 AM

mtnfj, thank you for the advice. Hot definetly sounds better.

I don't think that crud is a big issue here. The fluid looks pretty bright and clean. There is adequate heat on warmer days and nights. At least for my elevation.

Not many cars come with a built in boot heater. By-passing the back heater wouldn't be an option.
It also helps fill the seats to keep gas expenses in line if you know what I mean.
Everyone likes to ride in the cruiser when it is snowin'.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceW

What are the O-rings that you are talking about? Are they involved with a thermostat replacement?

Bruce try searching for anything with "thermostat" in it. Lots of good titles or this spot,
http://www.sor.com/sor/cat054b.tam?xax=26045
#'s 18 & 20

BruceW · 12-04-06, 12:07 AM

Thanks!

My heater is working less than ideally as well. Is the thermostat an easy replacement? It does not look too bad...

I figured I could replace that (and the O rings

and then get the radiator flushed. Hopefully that would get things a little hotter.

Spook50 · 12-04-06, 01:12 AM

If you want to do some PM while working on the rig, I suggest doing a coolant flush anyway. Drain the rad and the block, fill the system with water (I mean fill the system completely. Fill the rad and as it warms up keep adding water until it's full). Run it with both heaters on and let it warm up and cycle water through everything. Drain, repeat, then fill with however much Toyota red coolant you need (I try to keep a 50/50 ratio of coolant and water in my rig), then keep topping off with distilled water (it'll help cut down on mineral deposits which can bork your system up good over time) until your system is good.

If you haven't done it for a while, I highly recommend replacing all your hoses after the second flush too. I say do the thermostat when you do the first flush, since it'll help the truck warm up more completely. I've always stuck with the stock thermostat and I live in a place that sees upwards of 110F in the summer and down to zero (sometimes sub-zero) in the winter. It was 5F just last Tuesday. I haven't had a problem with the stock thermostat.

Word of advice when you do the Tstat, do it with the engine cold! My dad tried to do it while the engine was still somewhat warm shortly after he first bought my rig back in '90 and one of the "ears" that the bolts go through snapped right off. It's aluminum so be careful. He wasn't happy when he did that...

redandtootall · 12-04-06, 03:36 AM

I agree with RHON. The heater core looses it's effectivness and cant radiate as many BTU's when the entirior walls are coated in rust. You could try replacing it or use a flushing agent. Make sure if you use a flushing agent you get all of the chems out later or you'll eat up alot more than old rust. Personally I'd replace the heater core since they like to leak after 150k anyway and then check the coolant temperator with a honest temp guage and make sure your running at 180 degrees.

RHON · 12-04-06, 10:10 AM

hanks for confirming what I was guessing as I could'nt come up with any other answars- yes , thermostat is new also (from Toyota) , a little more pricey but they did have it in stock at the time.

RHON · 12-04-06, 10:14 AM

Also, maybe the flushing idea sounds like a good idea, looks like I could disconnect the hoses at the firewall and try it from there instead of doing the whole system, worth a shot before buying a new heater core.