High temp indication

[brucemc777]

Hi!

It has been suggested that I have a Series 80. All I know is that I bought a used 1994 Land Cruiser late last Fall, so I am beyond clueless. Anyway, the temp gage goes off the top end as soon as I engage ignition. Just precautionary, I replaced the thermostat, figuring it would probably lie in wait for me to not be able to sense a high temp problem and go bad on me (Paranoid? Delusional? Just too used to Murphy's Law running my life...). Anyone able to tell me 1) Where the heck the temp sensor is on the engine, and 2) Any basic tests I can run on the sensor and the gage to figure out which one, if either, have become possessed?

Also, it was just diagnosed with a bad a/c compressor - something that seems kind of good to have running in these here parts. They want something between $1,100 t $1,300 to replace (tracer dye leaking all around the seals). Can you folks weigh in on that figure?

btw, I cam down from Michigan a few months ago. With the snow, there was no problem at all justifying a max of 11 mpg. - there were times that I was one of the few vehicles that was able to handle the roads safely. But here... do y'all go hunting rattlers across some desert or something???

[mkaustin]

Bruce - You could try and see what these guys have:
Austin Rebuilders Inc
505 W Oltorf St
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 448-0884

One of the local guys just bought a rebuilt compressor for an '88 FJ62 for a couple of hundred. He put it in himself, but I think they may have mechanics to


Go out to the desert to hunt rattlers???!!!???
Heck, we just go down to Home Depot. They keep them in the garden section.
KXAN.com - News, Weather, Sports - Austin, TX | Woman Bit By Snake At Home Depot

[mmw68]

Bruce,

I was the "guy" who just bought a compressor. Now I have 38 degree cold air blowing in my FJ62!

Austin re-builders is great, I also have a wonderful A/C guy that helped me vacuumed down the system and charge it up. His name is David, (Mr. Freeze) and his number is 512-358-1385.

Who did you get such a high quote from for the A/C? Just to give you a example. I went to my my regular trusted mechanic, and he quoted me a price of $1800, - that included a $800 compressor, charge the A/C, buy a dryer, check for leaks..etc. I've done a few A/C systems my self, and I was just blown away buy this quote.

I picked up the A/C compressor me self with a new dryer for $256. I then took all the part to David, and paid him another $250...and the system works great. Two week later (yesterday) I called him and told him that the system was not cooling well - so we talked thru the problem. He suggested that my fan clutch was not working 100% (something he mentioned two weeks ago). So for $59 at auto Zone, and a few beers - I installed a new one.

Still the A/C was not getting Ice cold - so I called David. He said just to drop the truck of for the day. He tweaked the system yesterday, and charged me $35 for his time. Great guy to deal with.

[brucemc777]

Big thanks!

I'll bet he can have a stab at the darned temp sensor also...

[mmw68]

Yes he can. He does everything auto related, and works out of his house. Today I left him my FJ40, and he is going to repaint the top white. Tell him Mark sent you, he will treat you right.

[mmw68]

Some more info from a old post http://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wa...p-randy-6.html

Today I had the A/C fixed. The compressor that was on the truck was squealing like a pig, and was on it way out.

I highly recommend "Mr. Freeze" here in Austin. He is a local a/c guy that works out of his house. 512-358-1385.

I dropped the truck off around noon, and he called me around 5pm and said the job was done. He even gave me a ride to Michelle's office down town after I dropped it off. He vacuumed down the system for a hour to around -28, installed the new compressor, and then charged the system up, and checked everything. He even took the extra time to fix a frayed wire and solder it, and even used heat shrink. He also checked a few other things and alerted me to a few I should fix. Great attention to detail.

It blows nice and cold around 45 degrees on the road, and I cost me a total of $488.76 (which is priceless to have a happy wife!). The ambient temperature in his garage was right at 97 degrees, and the A/C was blowing around 55 degrees in his shop.

Here was the break down:
labor: $200
36 OZ of R134a $25
8 Oz prag 150 compressor Oil and o rings $15
Rebuilt compressor from Austin Re-builders $225
New Drier $23.76

[brucemc777]

Going to see him soon myself; hope to continue this with as positive results as you have had!

[mmw68]

It seems that David is a jack of all trades. I went ahead and let him paint the top of my FJ40, and he tweaked Michelle's A/C system a little more. Iam giving a A+ so far.

You can see the top here:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series...ml#post3381576